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Down Home Dietitian - Healthy doesn't have to be hard.
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Browsing Tag
metabolism
How Your Body Works

Ever wonder what happens when you eat carbs?

As I’ve been focusing on carbohydrates in my research thus far, I wanted to build a “foundation of physiology”, if you will, to build all the dietary recommendations on. If you’re a science geek, I hope you’ll enjoy this with me. If you’re not a science geek and you’d rather mow grass with fingernail clippers than read about the way your body works, stop reading and come back tomorrow. I promise to post a delicious new recipe for you then. Now, on to the nitty-gritty.

Carbohydrates are the primary source of energy in grains, fruits, dairy, starchy veggies (potatoes, beans, etc.), and sugar. Depending on the type of food, the carbohydrates are either long chains of molecules (complex carbohydrates), or short chains or single molecules (simple carbohydrates). Once you put these in your mouth, your body gets right to work. An enzyme in your saliva starts breaking the bonds between the molecules. It usually doesn’t get very far, because most of us swallow before it has a chance to break all of the chains apart. My sixth grade science teacher used a neat trick to demonstrate this breakdown by giving us each a saltine cracker and told us to chew on it for at least a minute. Eventually, it started to taste sweet because the carbohydrates were being broken down into their individual sugar bits…pretty neat, huh?

Anyway, then you swallow and the food goes into your stomach. Not much happens here in the way of breaking apart the carb chains, because your stomach contents are too acidic for the enzymes to work. After your stomach has done its thing, the food passes into your small intestine where most of the magic happens. Another enzyme (dispatched from your pancreas) goes to work breaking the rest of the bonds in the chains of carbohydrates. You are basically left with single molecules known as monosaccharides. You may be familiar with their individual names: glucose, fructose, and galactose. I’m only going to talk about glucose for now, because that’s the most prominent player in your energy pathways. Glucose molecules are transported into your intestinal cells and then pass from there into your blood through a variety of methods. If you have ever heard of someone testing their blood glucose or their blood sugars, they are essentially measuring how many of these glucose molecules are floating around in their blood at any given time. Some of the glucose then goes to the liver for storage, and some of it needs to get into your body’s cells to provide you with energy. To get out of the blood and into most of those cells, glucose needs help from a hormone called insulin.

 

 

Think of the glucose molecules in your blood as people walking on the street, and the cells of your body as locked houses. The glucose can’t get into the houses without a key – in this case, insulin (as you can see in my highly sophisticated diagram above). Once it’s in your cells, it can either be used to make energy right away, or stored away in long chains called glycogen until your body needs energy later.

If there is more glucose left over when all of your body’s glycogen stores are full, then your body converts the glucose into fatty acids and stores it away as body fat. Furthermore, that extra glucose actually tells your body to use less of your body’s stored fat for energy. Now before you go scolding your body for this process, remember that it came from the survival instincts of our ancestors who often lived in times of either feast or famine. While there was plenty to eat, their bodies stored fat to sustain them in times of hunger. The problem for many modern-day people is that they constantly live in times of plenty. When people go on low-calorie weight-loss diets, their bodies will start to use that fat (and unfortunately, muscle) to fuel them. Now I’m definitely not advocating that we all just run off and haphazardly quit eating carbohydrates to lose weight. There are definitely pros and cons to be weighed, and for now I’m an advocate of age-old moderation. In agreement with the information I referenced in previous posts, my textbook on metabolism states that (as of 2009) researchers have yet to determine the ideal balance between carbohydrate, fat, and protein intakes for fat loss. Clearly, there is a balance to be achieved.

So there you have it – a snippet of your body’s complex innerworkings. Maybe now you and your body will have more to talk about!

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Down Home Dietitian

Diet culture is determined to tell you that you have to be miserable to be healthy.

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beckiparsons.rd.ep

I am OVER confusing advice, disgusting diets, and boring exercise.
Healthy doesn't have to be hard!
๐ŸŽ Dietitian
๐Ÿšถโ€โ™€๏ธ Exercise Physiologist

Becki Parsons, MS, RD, CEP
Are you ready to start dating healthy changes? Pro Are you ready to start dating healthy changes? Prospective clients always want to know what it's like to work with me and what their plan will look like (understandably)! Everyone's plan ends up different, so I can't tell you what your plan will look like beforehand...I haven't gotten to know you yet! But I can tell you that we will work to match your personality, schedule, budget, goals and more to healthy changes so they are streamlined and aligned with your lifestyle. We are looking for a long-term relationship here...but that means dating first! 
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โ™ฅ๏ธ Like this post if you've ever beat yourself up for "failing" at a new healthy change that, in hindsight, just wasn't the right fit.
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๐Ÿ’ช Comment below and tell me about it if you're feeling brave! I'll start...
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#dietitian #lifestylechange #donedieting #antidiet #wellnessjourney #nutritionist #fitness #fitforlife #fitfam #wellnesscoach #wellnesscoaching #nutritioncoach #fitnesscoach #exercisecoach #olympianutrition #seattlenutrition #olympiadietitian #seattledietitian #seattleweightloss #olympiaweightloss #weightlosstips #weightlosscoaching
If you need a bit of accountability to keep yourse If you need a bit of accountability to keep yourself in the game for your goals - my Virtual Accountability Subscription is for you! One 60-minute goal setting appointment and 11 weekly e-mail follow-ups to stay in touch and keep you supported and encouraged along the way. Plus, you can get 10% off with the promo code "DHD22" if you start your subscription today - don't miss out! Click the link in my bio to get started.
You don't know why they are the weight they are. You don't know why they are the weight they are.

You don't know what struggles they may face.

If you think it's just "eat less, move more," you're missing a big part of the picture.

If you think they are eating more than they "should," keep in mind that you can't know that by observing one meal or even a few.

If you think it might be nice to compliment someone on their weight loss, I totally get it. I love to cheer someone on! But unless you are REALLY informed on their situation, keep in mind that you might be:

-Reinforcing an eating disorder
-Encouraging them to continue an over-restrictive deprivation diet
-Noticing the effects of a scary diagnosis
-Confirming their fears that everyone pays attention to their size.
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#weightstigma #weightloss #weightbias #nutrition #fitness #exercise #dietitian #registereddietitian #antidiet #antidietdietitian #wellness #besupportive #eatingdisorderawareness
January 2021 I injured my back, causing an extrude January 2021 I injured my back, causing an extruded L5/S1 disc (think REALLY bad bulging disc) that led to sciatica. At the time, I had to stop doing all of my regular workouts including weightlifting, and focus on walking and rest for several months. Sitting, especially for long periods, became very painful. Since a lot of my job involves virtual appointments and computer work that was obviously a big bummer, to say the least.

I've really missed weight lifting over the last year or so, and I could not wait to get back to it. But if you've ever dealt with chronic pain and injury, you know that re-injury is certainly not something anyone is interested in. I waited a very long time to get back to lifting and make sure that I rehabbed my back properly with PT and bodyweight exercises before I started again.

Getting back to it has been awesome, but it certainly has its challenges. I have to choose my core work very carefully and limit my high impact exercises (I avoid jump roping for more than a couple-minute warm up, for example). I'm lifting much lighter weights than I used to, which can feel defeating after I had worked so hard. Prior to my injury, one of the goals I had been working towards was to increase my chin-ups. It was a hard-fought victory to get to three chin-ups, and I was pretty darn sure I was going to be starting again at square one when I got back to it. I put it off trying it for longer than I had to because I didn't want to know...lol. ๐Ÿ™ˆ I could not believe that over a year later, I'm still able to do two! Thank you body, for having my back. I've got yours too. ๐Ÿ˜‰

P.S. I love this shirt from @activefaithsports - #icandoallthings #notsponsoredjustloveit
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This is one of my favorite things to hear from cli This is one of my favorite things to hear from clients, because it's often when we are focusing elsewhere that the weight loss happens. It is seriously 75% mindset and mental shifts, and 25% habits. It doesn't have to be hard!
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You know you've been waiting around to feel better and stop letting pain, limitations, or low energy hold you back from living your life. Why wait any longer? Get a Registered Dietitian and Exercise Physiologist in your corner - let's do this! Click the link in my bio and use the promo code "DHD22" to get started. ๐Ÿ’ช
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I have and will put my heart and soul into serving I have and will put my heart and soul into serving my clients - and I LOVE doing it! โ™ฅ๏ธ 

I actually went to school intending to be a crime scene investigator. I had interned at the coroner's office throughout high school and had my eyes set on Eastern Washington University's forensic science program. I think I had known for a while that I was leaning away from that but when you're a senior and everyone is asking about your plans, it's nice to have an answer to give them. ๐Ÿ˜†

Once I got to @washington_state_university I changed my major to Nutrition and Exercise Physiology. I LOVED that program - the perfect balance of science and serving people. I was shocked to learn how many different settings dietitians work in: food service, workplace wellness, hospitals, clinics, sports teams, schools, military, community health...

Coming out of school I honestly wasn't sure which way I wanted to take my career, but I DID say that I would NEVER want to open a private practice. ๐Ÿ˜† I am so grateful to have had the experiences I had that led me to change my mind. Being an entrepreneur is hard and messy and absolutely awesome. ๐Ÿคฉ
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It is not my job to: - Tell you what you "shouldn It is not my job to:

- Tell you what you "shouldn't" eat.
- Tell you what you "should" eat.
- To restrict your favorite foods.
- To force you to eat foods you hate.
- To give you a pre-made meal plan that is one-size-fits-almost-none
- To tell you how much exercise you "must do."

Outside of deadly allergies, celiac disease, dangerous addictions, and rare medical situations, there is almost never a food you can never have.

It is my job to tell you:
- How different foods are digested, absorbed, and metabolized, and how that relates to your lived experience, symptoms, or medical conditions.
- That healthy doesn't have to look a certain way.
- To get to know you well enough to recommend healthy strategies that may likely be good fits for you.
- To clear up what research does and does not say about food and exercise and health.

So often people fear RDs as "the food police." I'm sure they are out there, as every profession has their own bad apples, but most of my colleagues are awesome and will partner with you to live your best healthy life. ๐Ÿ˜Š

Have you worried about these things when thinking about trying nutrition counseling?
Some movement is WAY better than none...in fact, r Some movement is WAY better than none...in fact, research shows that going to some movement from none brings the greatest health benefits. Don't expect yourself to show up over and over to do activity you hate - where's the happy in that? 

I am personally a cardio machine hater...they are great tools and an awesome fit for some people! I am not that person. I spend every step watching that stinkin' timer and thinking, "when...can I...get off...this...is so...boring!"

Think outside the box and try something you wouldn't have considered a "workout," but that will keep you coming back because you love it! It's amazing the doors that fun and enjoyable movement can open!

Ever tried geocaching? It's one of my faves! What are your favorite fun movements?
Food is meant to be enjoyed, absorbed, and metabol Food is meant to be enjoyed, absorbed, and metabolized, not obsessed over. That is all! ๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ“
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If you've ever been victimized by the mental anguish of a diet, pop a ๐Ÿ–๏ธ down below - we can start a support group!
Load More... Follow on Instagram
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  • How Much to Plant in Your Vegetable Garden
  • Recipe: Immune Boosting Winter Smoothie
  • Choosing an Exercise Plan you can Stick To
  • Working Toward Your Health Goals When Life is Busy or Stressful

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