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Do you have a good handle on carbohydrates? Essentially, you get carbohydrates from a wide range of foods, and you need them to keep your body’s engine running.

Just what are carbs, anyway? As much as people talk about carbohydrates, you’d think that everyone actually knows wherewe get our “carbs” and how much carbohydrate we should be eating every day – or not. In truth, carbohydrates have been both praised and punished… in part because they’re largely misunderstood.

Carbs explained

When I say the word, “carb” you probably picture starchy foods like noodles, bread, rice and potatoes. And you’d be right. But you’d be just as right if fruits or vegetables popped into your head. And you’d still be right if you thought of sugar or honey or jam…or even a glass of milk. That’s because lots of foods supply carbohydrate – and it’s a good thing, too. Because when it comes to keeping your engine running, your body’s first choice of fuel isn’t fat or protein – it’s carbohydrate.

We get our carbs from a wide range of foods – but clearly some of them are healthier for us than others. That’s why you sometimes hear people refer to different carbs as being ‘good’ or ‘bad’. What they’re trying to say is that the “good” carbohydrates are those that are the least processed – foods like whole fruits, vegetables, dairy products, beans and whole grains. Dairy products also fall in this category because foods like lowfat milk, yogurt and cottage cheese deliver carbohydrate to the body in the form of naturally-occurring sugars.

The other reason these carbs are “good” is that they provide more than just energy to the body. There’s also vitamins and minerals tagging along – and in the case of fruits, vegetables, beans and grains, we also pick up some fiber and antioxidants, too.

On the other hand, the highly processed refined “bad” carbs – foods like sugars, pastries, white rice, and white flour breads, cereals, pasta and crackers – have little to offer the body beyond just calories. That’s why it’s best to steer towards the whole fruits, veggies, whole grains and beans to meet your carbohydrate needs.

How much carbohydrate do you need?

Sometimes people ask me how much carbohydrate they should eat every day. It’s not a simple question to answer. That’s because the amount of carbohydrate you need to eat depends, in large part, on how many calories you burn every day – but it also depends on how active you are. Generally speaking, it’s suggested that you aim to eat roughly half your calories from carbohydrate. But, if you do a lot of extensive exercise, you might need a bit more. Some people try a very low carb approach to weight loss, but it often backfires. When you cut your intake too far, you may not provide your body with enough carbohydrate to fuel your active lifestyle.

You can estimate your carbohydrate needs fairly simply. If you eat 1600 calories a day, about half of your calories should come from carbohydrate – which, in this case, would be about 800 calories a day from carbohydrate. Since every gram of carbohydrate has 4 calories, you’d divide your suggested carbohydrate calories by 4 to figure out how many grams you should eat per day. In this case, 800 calories of carbohydrate is 200 grams.

But keep in mind that you could eat through your carb budget pretty quickly if most of your carbs are supplied by less healthy foods like desserts, sodas, white bread, crackers and potato chips. So keep your eye on the carbohydrate prize – fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans and dairy products should be the major sources of carbohydrate in your diet.

Here’s a guide to the amount of carbohydrate you should aim for daily, along with a list of some “healthy” carbohydrate foods with their carbohydrate content. Remember, though, that needs vary from person to person. If, for example, you do a lot of endurance exercise most days of the week, you may need a higher percentage of your daily calories from carbohydrate in order to get enough fuel for such a high level of activity.

Learn your personal carb needs

Daily calorie needs             Suggested daily carbohydrate intake (50% of calories)

1200                                                    150 grams

1400                                                    175 grams

1600                                                    200 grams

1800                                                    225 grams

2000                                                    250 grams

2200                                                    275 grams

2400                                                    300 grams

Essential guide to carb levels in common foods

Written by Susan Bowerman, MS, RD, CSSD. Susan is a paid consultant for Herbalife. 

A well-planned vegetarian diet can meet all your nutritional needs, but there’s more to being vegetarian than simply eliminating animal foods from your diet.

Planning a vegetarian diet isn’t really thatmuch different from planning a diet that includes animal foods. Like any other well-balanced plan, a healthy vegetarian diet includes plenty of veggies, along with fruits and whole grains – the main difference is that vegetarians get their protein from plant-based sources rather than animals. And as long as it’s well thought-out, a vegetarian diet can easily provide what your body needs. Let’s explore the options.

Different types of vegetarian diets

Generally speaking, a vegetarian diet excludes animal flesh – so vegetarians as a whole don’t eat meat, fish or poultry. In its strictest form, the vegan diet, even animal products – like milk, eggs or honey – are also excluded. But there are plenty of variations on the vegetarian theme. There are lacto-vegetarians who eat dairy products (but no eggs), ovo-vegetarians who do just the opposite (eggs, no dairy) and the pescetarians who eat a plant-based diet – but they also eat fish.

Getting enough protein on a vegetarian diet

One of the biggest dietary challenges – especially for strict vegans – is getting adequate protein from plant sources. Proteins are made up of small units called amino acids, which your body uses to manufacture body proteins like hormones, enzymes and muscle tissue. Your body can make some amino acids, but others are called essential – because your body can’t make them, so they have to come from the diet.

All animal products – from meat, poultry and fish to milk and eggs – are called completeproteins because they contain all the essential amino acids, and in the right proportions. The challenge for vegetarians is that – with the exception of soybeans – most plant foods lack one or more essential amino acid, so they’re considered incomplete.

Fortunately, there’s a fairly easy work-around – and that’s to combine plant sources in such a way as to provide all the building blocks that the body needs. The essential amino acid that is lacking in beans, peas or lentils, for example, is abundant in grains – and, conveniently, what grains lack, beans can provide. So, when you pair black beans with rice, or a bowl of lentil soup with whole grain bread, you can provide your body with all the essential amino acids it needs.

One of the most common mistakes that many of my clients make when they decide to “veg out” is to simply eat everything that used to be on their plates – minus the ‘flesh’. That might be okay if you’re already eating plenty of plant foods and are getting adequate protein from plant sources. But I see lots of people who start out with a pretty bad diet, but don’t do anything other than to cut out all the animal foods. In the end, they just wind up with the poorly-balanced diet they started with – only now they’re not getting enough protein, either. In short, they’re paying too much attention to what they’re cutting out and not enough attention than what they needed to add in. A diet made up of little more than pancakes and French fries might qualify as vegetarian…but it’s hardly healthy.

Planning a vegetarian diet

A healthy diet – vegetarian or not – consists of a balance of important food groups – fruits, vegetables, proteins and grains. Here are a few basics to get you started:

Have a fruit or veggie at every meal and snack

That’s good advice for everyone. I generally recommend that people strive for at least 3 fruits a day, and then two servings of vegetables at lunch and another two servings at dinner. As calories allow, you can increase these numbers.

Whole grains contribute to protein needs

Whole grains provide some (although not all) essential amino acids, which makes them an important component of a vegetarian plan. The amount you need to eat each day will depend on your calorie and protein needs, but you’ll need a minimum of two daily servings.

Beans, peas and lentils help complete your protein needs

The amino acids found in beans, peas and lentils (and products made from them like tofu, tempeh or protein powders made with soy or pea protein) complement those found in grain foods, which is why these foods are so important. You don’t necessarily have to eat beans and grains at the same meal, but you should make a point to have some of each throughout the day. Again, the amount you need will depend on your calorie and protein needs, but as with any other plan, you should aim to have some protein at each meal and snack to meet needs and help with hunger control.

Dairy and eggs are great protein sources for lacto-ovos

It’s somewhat easier to meet protein needs if you’re vegetarian (not vegan) and include dairy products and eggs in diet. These foods provide high quality protein at a relatively low calorie cost.

Protein powders can help meet protein targets

Protein powders made from plant proteins – like soy, or rice and pea – are great for vegetarians and vegans alike, since they help boost your protein intake at a relatively low calorie cost. They’re easy to add to foods like protein shakes, cooked oatmeal and even soups to boost protein– and, you can tailor the amount you use to your individual needs.

Protein content in vegetarian foods

Note: Pay attention to the calorie cost of some of these foods. Nut butters, for example, do provide some protein, but the calorie cost is relatively high. Also, I included rice, hemp and almond milk on the list because many people use them as alternatives to dairy milk, but notice that they are quite low in protein. Also, I’ve included information on eggs, egg whites and milk-based products for the lacto-ovo vegetarians.

 Written by Susan Bowerman, MS, RD, CSSD. Susan is a paid consultant for Herbalife.

If you think that just because summer is over, it’s time to pack on some winter padding…think again! Follow my fall workout tips to keep your summer body all year round.

Just because the weather is cooling down and you’re wearing additional clothing doesn’t mean that you should abandon your summer bikini body. Exercise should be done year-round because true health and fitness is achieved with a consistent plan.

Give my fall workout a try to add some fitness to your colder days and nights. It’s great for toning your arms, core and legs. This fall workout routine is also great for building strength and burning calories.

It should take you about 30 minutes to complete and can be done in the comfort of your own home. If you don’t have enough time to complete the entire workout, just do a few moves or one set to fit exercise to your day.

What you’ll need:

• A chair
• A set of hand weights
• A mat

It is important to prepare your body for exercise! Spend at least 10 minutes warming up your body with cardio exercise. For example, you can jog for 5 minutes, followed by jumping jacks or jump rope.

Fall workout move 1: Arm and shoulder combination using weights
Stand with your feet shoulder width apart while holding weights down by your sides. Curl the weight up to work the bicep muscle; then rotate the wrist so palms are facing each other and press the weight overhead at shoulder height to effectively work the shoulder muscles.

Fall workout move 2: Plie squat with arm pull
This move works the legs, glutes, inner thighs and trapezius muscles. Stand with feet slightly wider than shoulder width apart with toes pointed out. Hold the weights with palms facing the body. slowly lower into a squat as if you are sliding down a wall keeping your back straight. As you come up to standing, pull the weights toward your chest leading with your elbows and repeat.

Fall workout move 3: Chair dip
This move works the triceps at the back of your arms. Sit in the chair and place your hands on the chair next to you. Place your feet out in front of you keeping your thighs parallel to the floor. Lower out of the chair, and as you bend your arms your elbows should go behind you, supporting your body weight. Finish this move by pushing back up to the starting position.

Fall workout move 4: Hands and knees balance
This total body move works your abdominal core muscles, arms and legs. Get onto the floor on your hands and knees. Position yourself so that your wrists are directly underneath your shoulders and hips over the knees while keeping your back flat. Then lift up one leg behind you and also lift the opposite arm out in front of you. You can hold this pose or crunch bringing your knee to chest and elbow to knee. Once you’ve done one side, repeat on the other side.

Fall workout move 5: Curtsey lunge with leg lift
This move works your inner and outer thighs as well as your glutes. Stand tall and place your hands on a chair for balance. Take a backward lunge step with your left leg, taking your back foot just past the mid line of your body. The knee on your front leg (right leg) should not pass the line of your toe as you lower your body. Keep your core muscles tight and back straight. Return to standing, keeping a flexed foot take your leg out to side.

Fall workout move 6: Bridge pose with chest press
This move will work your chest muscles, core and glutes. Start by lying on your back practicing the bridge pose. Squeeze your glutes and raise your hips up off the floor to make a straight line from the shoulder to the knees. Once you are able to hold this position, you can add in the chest press. Hold weights palms facing forward and in line with your chest. Press the weights up, hold for a second, then return to the starting position.

Do 10-12 repetitions of each exercise in this fall workout and then try to repeat the exercises for three sets. I hope you enjoyed this fall workout routine. Remember that fitness is not just for the summer it’s for life!

Written by Samantha Clayton, AFAA, ISSA. Samantha is Director of Fitness Education at Herbalife.