Water makes up two-thirds of the human body. It transports nutrients in and waste out of your body. It is involved in your entire body functioning, including absorption of water-soluble vitamins and body temperature regulation.

You need to consume 8-10 (8oz) cups of water each day, and keep water flowing in on a regular basis so not to dehydrate during exercise. While on a diet, you may restrict your water intake before being weighed, in hopes of having a lower scale weight. This actually works against you. The reason is when your body detects a shortage of water coming in, your body actually retains water, as a survival mechanism. But if much water is coming in on a regular basis, your body lets water flow out just as easily. So, if you are feeling bloated, don’t cut back on your water; drink it.

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Carbohydrates supply your body with energy, and if carbohydrates are omitted from your diet, your body then uses protein for repair and fat for energy (fuel). There are two types of carbohydrates – simple carbohydrates and complex carbohydrates.

Simple Carbohydrates

Simple Carbohydrates are just that; they break down very simply and therefore are called simple sugars. They include lactose (milk sugar), fructose (fruit sugar), sucrose (table sugar), and many other sugars.

Simple Carbohydrates that should be avoided to help you lose body fat and keep it off:

They contain little or no fiber and break down extremely quickly to sugar. They are also high on the Glycemic List. (which is discussed in another section). A food can seem to be low in carbohydrates but still very HIGH on the Glycemic List. The Glycemic List rates each food choice with a number from 1 – 100. The higher the number, the quicker the food breaks down to sugar. You want to choose a food choice that is lower on the Glycemic List.

Being that simple carbohydrates have little or no fiber, your body can break them down very easily. When simple carbohydrates are broken down, they are converted into glucose (sugar). This glucose raises your blood sugar, which triggers the hormone, insulin, to be released to take up all of this sugar from your blood stream. The excess sugar is now stored as body fat.

We have just described the sugar crash. When simple sugar is consumed, your blood sugar rises. This rise in blood sugar gives you quick energy. But when the hormone, insulin, is released to take up this influx of sugar from your blood stream, you crash. You felt the results of high sugar, then low sugar. You had energy, and then you could just go to sleep. So guess what? You crave sugar again to bring you back “up”. That is why you may say that you are a carbohydrate addict, and that you always crave sugar. You always crave sugar because you always eat sugar. You will always be going “up”, and then “down”, and then needing that “up” again. If you tried not to eat simple carbs (sugar), your blood sugar would be stable and you would have sustained energy all day long.

Children/Fat Cells

Fat Cells are created when you are a child. Then as you became an adult, you now have these fat cells from when you were younger. Now as an adult, when you gain weight, your fat cells just plump up. And when you lose weight, those same fat cells shrink down. If you knew then, what you know now, you probably wouldn’t have many fat cells to plump up. You would have made better choices as a child (or your parents would have). Why not make is easy for your kids, this next time around? You don’t want your children battling weight like all of America is now doing.

Plus, watch the attitudes and personalities of your children when sugar, juices, and refined, simple carbohydrate treats are omitted from their daily diets, and replaced with protein with each and every meal, plus complex carbohydrates like nuts (which will keep them satisfied and fuller longer), fruits, and vegetables. Start reading labels for the amounts of carbohydrates and sugars in each product. You are going to be shocked!

Complex Carbohydrates

Complex Carbohydrates are chains of simple glucose molecules that need to be broken down before use. One of the big differences between simple carbs and complex carbs is that complex carbs also contain fiber, which helps to slow down the absorption rate of simple sugars. The more fiber a food contains, the slower your body takes to break it down for energy. In turn, there aren’t any spikes in your blood sugar, triggering your insulin to be released; Therefore, your blood sugar (glucose) stays level for a longer period of time, which then gives your body more time to burn off that food energy, with your everyday activities, instead of storing the excess as body fat.

Complex Carbohydrates include vegetables, some fruits, nuts, and beans.

Complex Carbohydrate Choices to include in your Meal Plans:

I personally, take the Starbodies™ Psyllium Fiber Capsules when I am going to consume a special treat that might be considered a simple carbohydrate. This way, I add fiber, in addition to the simple carbohydrate treat, to make it more of a complex carbohydrate. This fiber will slow down the absorption rate of the sugar, giving my body more time to burn off the sugar, instead of spiking my insulin and storing this excess sugar as body fat! (Though, I do only eat simple carbs on special occasions.)

What is one of the major differences again between a simple carbohydrate and a complex carbohydrate? The fiber.

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Protein is needed for building tissue in the human body. Protein is made up of amino acids. Your body can synthesize 11 amino acids itself, but then has to consume the other 9, which are called essential amino acids. There are a total of twenty amino acids.

Protein is supplied from fish, chicken, meat, eggs, dairy, nuts, and Starbodies Whey to MUSCLE Protein Shakes. (Also, some plant proteins can be combined to make a complete protein).

Protein Choices Include:

Protein helps build your muscles. Like a tree needs water to grow, your muscles need protein to grow.

If you lift weights and train hard to build your muscles, but then do not eat the adequate amounts of protein to feed those muscles, they will never grow. Why do all the hard work in the gym, then not do the easy part by eating adequate amounts of protein to help build and repair those muscles that you just tore down?

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Fats are actually needed in your body, although you’ve been trained to think that fats are not good for you. Fats are your concentrated forms of energy, which keep you satiated, or satisfied, for longer periods of time, because they take longer to digest. Your body will burn fat for energy, and protein to build and repair, as long as carbohydrates are not present. With any food, though, if you take in more calories than your body can burn, you will store body fat.

Fats are also necessary for transporting your fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K. There are three different types of fatty acids – saturated, polyunsaturated, and monounsaturated.

Saturated Fatty Acids
Saturated Fatty Acids are solid at room temperature and are found in:

Animal products (like beef, pork, ham, veal, dairy products, cheese, whole milk, & cream)
Coconut Oil
Palm Oil
Vegetable Shortening

Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids
Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids are liquid at room temperature and are found in:

Canola Oil
Corn Oil
Flax Seed Oil
Safflower Oil
Soybean Oil
Sunflower Oil

Monounsaturated Fatty Acids
Monounsaturated Fatty Acids have shown to reduce your low-density lipoproteins (LDL’s), which are the bad ones, and not affect your HDL’s. They are liquid at room temperature and are found in:

Almond Oil
Avocados
Olive Oil
Peanut Oil

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