I currently teach a class called Yoga for Healthy Weight Loss. In this class, I mostly emphasize easy ways to boost metabolism. And of course, we practice yoga postures, breathing, and relaxation. But one thing I mostly avoid is a discussion of diet.
Why? Because bringing up diet always opens a big can of worms.
It is true that changing one's diet is really the most effective means to weight loss. The tips I recommend in my class, such as improving one's posture, can only make a small difference, while diet is the way to make big change.
But for many people, diet is a form of religion. Many students are seriously surprised to hear that I, as a yoga teacher, eat meat! Isn't meat forbidden to all yoga teachers? Actually, no. Even Kripalu Institute, the largest yoga ashram in North America, now serves animal protein in its cafeteria! This change is in response to the understanding that a healthy, balanced diet needs optimal and varied sources of high quality protein. Although lots of yogis may still choose a vegetarian diet, Kripalu now caters to the needs of a wider audience.
Choosing what foods we include in our diet is an intensely personal decision. Often the food-related decisions we make are based on emotion, the influence of charismatic teachers or celebrities, magazine articles, and other sources of sometimes-iffy information. For example, whenever I bring up eating a healthy, balanced breakfast with adequate protein in my class, I hear all kinds of high carb, low protein suggestions, including whole grain toast, muffins, and quinoa. Magazine articles have given us the idea that quinoa is "high protein," when a half cup serving contains only 4 grams of protein! This is even less than whole wheat couscous! To get your 20-21 grams of protein (3 blocks) needed for a small woman, you would have to eat 5 servings! This would be a ridiculous amount of carbs and a low quality source of protein to boot. People also think cereal and milk is a good source of protein. A cup of milk has only 8 grams of protein. Most cereals have close to none. And you probably want to avoid the "high protein" cereals which add highly processed soy "nuggets" to up the protein content. To open another can of worms, most of the soy now grown in this country is genetically modified.
To make a very long and complicated story a tad bit shorter for today, I'd just like to point out that our food choices are intricately wrapped up in our basic beliefs. I know I have personally changed my eating habits radically over the course of my adult life, trying everything from vegetarianism to Paleo. My goal, first and foremost, is to enhance my own health and fitness. In order to do this, I have chosen to experiment and to listen to my body. I also read copious amounts of books, articles, and blogs while speaking with my clients, students, and you all about nutrition. I hope that all this information will filter through me and my body and eventually become of some use to you! And I hope that all of us will continue to examine both our beliefs and our diets in order to continue to find what really works best for each of us. Let me know how your journey is going!
Why? Because bringing up diet always opens a big can of worms.
It is true that changing one's diet is really the most effective means to weight loss. The tips I recommend in my class, such as improving one's posture, can only make a small difference, while diet is the way to make big change.
But for many people, diet is a form of religion. Many students are seriously surprised to hear that I, as a yoga teacher, eat meat! Isn't meat forbidden to all yoga teachers? Actually, no. Even Kripalu Institute, the largest yoga ashram in North America, now serves animal protein in its cafeteria! This change is in response to the understanding that a healthy, balanced diet needs optimal and varied sources of high quality protein. Although lots of yogis may still choose a vegetarian diet, Kripalu now caters to the needs of a wider audience.
Choosing what foods we include in our diet is an intensely personal decision. Often the food-related decisions we make are based on emotion, the influence of charismatic teachers or celebrities, magazine articles, and other sources of sometimes-iffy information. For example, whenever I bring up eating a healthy, balanced breakfast with adequate protein in my class, I hear all kinds of high carb, low protein suggestions, including whole grain toast, muffins, and quinoa. Magazine articles have given us the idea that quinoa is "high protein," when a half cup serving contains only 4 grams of protein! This is even less than whole wheat couscous! To get your 20-21 grams of protein (3 blocks) needed for a small woman, you would have to eat 5 servings! This would be a ridiculous amount of carbs and a low quality source of protein to boot. People also think cereal and milk is a good source of protein. A cup of milk has only 8 grams of protein. Most cereals have close to none. And you probably want to avoid the "high protein" cereals which add highly processed soy "nuggets" to up the protein content. To open another can of worms, most of the soy now grown in this country is genetically modified.
To make a very long and complicated story a tad bit shorter for today, I'd just like to point out that our food choices are intricately wrapped up in our basic beliefs. I know I have personally changed my eating habits radically over the course of my adult life, trying everything from vegetarianism to Paleo. My goal, first and foremost, is to enhance my own health and fitness. In order to do this, I have chosen to experiment and to listen to my body. I also read copious amounts of books, articles, and blogs while speaking with my clients, students, and you all about nutrition. I hope that all this information will filter through me and my body and eventually become of some use to you! And I hope that all of us will continue to examine both our beliefs and our diets in order to continue to find what really works best for each of us. Let me know how your journey is going!
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