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Monday, December 13, 2010

Monday Nutrition Tip of the Week

If you hang out on the Beachbody website or do any Beachbody programs, it won't be long before you come across Michi's Ladder. Michi isn't a who, but a what. Michi is a Japanese word for path or "The Way," and the nutrition experts at Beachbody came up with the ladder as a guide for people trying to lose weight.

The ladder has five tiers, with the top of the ladder being the best foods you can eat, while the bottom is the not-so-good stuff like fast-food hamburgers.

Here's what Beachbody fitness guru Steve Edwards says about Michi's Ladder:
"First, it's just a food substitution guide for people trying to LOSE WEIGHT. Depending upon your situation you may find it necessary to eat more on a lower tier, especially for athletics. Performance nutrition is different from weight loss nutrition. For performance, dense calories are often important. For weight loss, they almost always want to be avoided. So Michi's focuses on low-density foods from a caloric standpoint that have a high density nutrient ratio. Therefore, tier 1 is filled with many veggies, which are loaded with nutrients per calorie as well as no calorie fiber. For people trying to fill their stomachs with as many nutrients and as few calories as possible, this is the primary aim of your diet.

Secondly, it's not a diet! A diet consists of an eating plan. You still need to adhere to some sort of plan. You could eat out of nothing but tier 1 and still have a poor diet if you don't cover your basic nutritional needs, such as getting plenty of carbs, proteins, and fats. Michi's Ladder was never meant to address this. All it was designed for was to help you make substitutions of similar types of foods."
Zach and I have been contemplating Michi's Ladder pretty heavily in the past week or so, because after the first of the year we plan on doing a food challenge that uses Michi's Ladder as a guide. Our goal is to only eat foods that come out of the top two tiers for seven days.

I can tell right now that the tough things for me to give up will be crackers and cheese, especially since that's what I'm serving up for my daughter 80 percent of the time.

Here's a link to Michi's Ladder in case you want to print it out, and I've pasted it below for quick reference.

http://www.beachbody.com/category/michis_ladder.do


Carb
Fat
Protein

Eat to carve your physique!

Michi's Ladder is a guideline, but we leave it to you to decide. If you only ate from Tiers 1 & 2, you would have a near-perfect diet!


Tier 1: The Pious Tier
Apples, with skin Carb
Artichokes Carb Protein
Arugula Carb
Asparagus Carb
Avocados Fat
Beans Carb Fat Protein
Beets Carb
Bok choy Carb
Boysenberries Carb
Bran Carb
Broccoli Carb Protein
Broccoli sprouts Carb Protein
Brussels sprouts Carb
Cabbage Carb
Carrots Carb
Cauliflower Carb Protein
Celery Carb
Cereal, whole grain Carb Fat Protein
Chard Carb Protein
Cherries Carb
Citrus fruits Carb
Collard greens Carb Protein
Cottage cheese, nonfat Protein
Cucumbers Carb
Egg whites Protein
Endive Carb
Fish, cold water (salmon, mackerel, sardines) Fat Protein
Fish, freshwater Fat Protein
Flaxseed Fat
Garlic, fresh Carb
Granola, raw,
no sugar Carb Fat Protein
Hemp seed Fat
Kale Carb Protein
Lettuce, romaine, green or red leaf Carb
Milk, nonfat Carb Protein
Milk, soy Carb Fat Protein
Muesli, raw,
no sugar Carb Fat Protein
Mushrooms Carb
Mustard Carb
Nectarines Carb
Oatmeal Carb Fat Protein
Olive oil Fat
Olives Fat
Onions Carb
Pears, with skin Carb
Peas Carb Protein
Peppers Carb
Plantains Carb
Prunes Carb
Radishes Carb
Raspberries Carb
Refried beans, nonfat Carb Protein
Rice, brown Carb
Salsa, natural, no sugar Carb
Seitan Carb Protein
Spinach Carb Protein
Squash Carb Protein
Strawberries Carb
Sweet potatoes Carb 
Tea, green or black
Tempeh Carb Protein
Tofu Carb Protein
Tomato sauce, no sugar Carb
Tomatoes Carb
Vinegar
Water
Yams Carb
Yogurt, nonfat,
no sugar Carb Protein
Tier 2: The Happy Tier
Apples, skinless Carb
Bananas Carb
Blueberries Carb
Bread, whole grain Carb
Cantaloupe Carb
Cheese, nonfat Protein
Chicken, skinless white meat Protein
Coffee, black or cappuccino with nonfat milk Carb Protein
Corn Carb
Cottage cheese,
low-fat Fat Protein
Cream cheese, nonfat Protein
Duck, free-range Fat Protein
Eggplant Carb
Fish, farmed Protein
Granola or energy bar Carb
Grapes Carb
Hummus Carb Fat Protein
Juice, fresh-squeezed with pulp, no sugar Carb
Kiwifruit Carb
Mangoes Carb
Meal replacement
bar Carb Fat Protein
Melon, honeydew Carb
Milk, 1% Carb Fat Protein
Nuts, raw Carb Fat Protein
Ostrich Fat Protein
Pancakes, buckwheat Carb Protein
Papayas Carb
Peaches Carb
Pineapple Carb
Plums Carb
Raisins Carb
Ricotta cheese, nonfat Protein
Soy nuts Carb Fat Protein
Soy sauce Carb
Squid Protein
String beans Carb Protein
Sunflower seeds Carb Fat Protein
Tortillas,
whole wheat Carb Fat Protein
Turkey breast Protein
Vegetable juice Carb Protein
Veggie burger Carb Fat Protein
Venison, free-range Fat Protein
Watermelon Carb
Yogurt, no sugar Carb Fat Protein
Zucchini Carb
Tier 3: The Swiss Tier
A1 Steak Sauce Carb
Angel food cake Carb
Applesauce Carb
Bagels Carb
Beef, eye of round Fat Protein
Beef, London Fat Protein
Beef, top round Fat Protein
Canola oil Fat
Cheese, low-fat Fat Protein
Chicken, dark meat Fat Protein
Chicken sandwich,
broiled Carb Fat Protein
Chicken taco,
baked Carb Fat Protein
Clams Protein
Coffee, cappuccino with whole milk Carb FatProtein
Crab Protein
Cream cheese,
low-fat Fat Protein
Eggs, whole Fat Protein
French fries, baked Carb
Fruit, dried Carb
Graham crackers Carb
Granola Carb Fat
Honey Carb
Jam or marmalade Carb
Jerky, turkey Protein
Juice, from concentrate Carb
Ketchup Carb
Lamb, lean Fat Protein
Lettuce, iceberg Carb
Lobster Protein
Mayonnaise Fat
Milk, 2% Carb Fat Protein
Muesli Carb Fat
Oatmeal, flavored Carb
Oysters Protein
Pancakes Carb
Pasta, plain Carb
Peanut butter, raw Fat Protein
Popcorn, plain Carb
Pork tenderloin Fat Protein
Potatoes, baked
or boiled Carb
Pretzels Carb
Refried beans,
low-fat Carb Fat Protein
Rice cakes Carb
Rice, white Carb
Sauerkraut Carb
Soup, canned broth Carb Fat
Steak, lean Fat Protein
Sweet-and-sour
sauce Carb Fat
Veal cutlet Fat Protein
Wine, red Carb
Yogurt, frozen,
nonfat Carb Protein
Tier 4: The Dodgy Tier
Animal crackers Carb
Beef, filet mignon Fat Protein
Beef, lean ground Fat Protein
Beef, sirloin Fat Protein
Beef Stroganoff Fat Protein
Beer Carb
Bread, refined flour Carb
Buffalo Fat Protein
Butter Fat
Caesar salad, with chicken Carb Fat Protein
Canadian bacon Fat Protein
Cheese (including bleu and goat) Fat
Chili Carb Fat Protein
Chinese food Carb Fat Protein
Chips, low-fat, baked Carb
Coconut Fat
Coffee, iced mocha latte with nonfat milk Carb Protein
Coffee, latte with whole milk Carb Fat Protein
Coffee cake Carb Fat
Crackers Carb
Grilled cheese
sandwich Carb Fat
Ham Fat Protein
Hot dogs, turkey Fat Protein
Ice cream, sugar-free or fat-free Carb
Jell-O Carb
Juice, sweetened Carb
Lamb chops Fat Protein
Lasagna, with meat Fat Protein
Macaroni and cheese Carb Fat
Margarine Fat
Meat loaf Fat Protein
Mexican food Carb Fat Protein
Milk, whole Carb Fat Protein
Muffins Carb Fat
Nuts, salted or roasted Fat
Peanut butter,
not raw Carb Fat
Pepper, stuffed Fat
Pizza, meatless or Hawaiian style Carb Fat Protein
Popcorn, with salt and butter Carb Fat
Pork chop Fat Protein
Potato salad or
macaroni salad Carb Fat
Pudding, with
low-fat milk Carb Fat
Reuben sandwich Fat Protein
Sherbet Carb
Shrimp Protein
Sloppy Joe, lean beef
or turkey Fat Protein
Soft drinks, diet
Soup, canned creamy Carb Fat
Spaghetti,
with meatballs Carb Fat Protein
Sub sandwich Carb Fat Protein
Taco salad,
with chicken Carb Fat Protein
Tortilla, refined flour
or corn Carb Fat
Tuna salad or
chicken salad Fat Protein
Vegetable oil Fat
Wine, white Carb
Yogurt, frozen Carb Fat Protein
Tier 5: The Newburg Tier
Alcohol, hard liquor
Bacon Fat Protein
Baked beans Carb Fat Protein
Beef, ground, regular Fat Protein
Beef taco, fried Fat Protein
Breakfast sandwich,
fast food Fat Protein
Cakes Carb Fat
Candy Carb
Cereal, sugared Carb
Chicken a la King Fat Protein
Chicken, buffalo wings
or nuggets Fat Protein
Chicken or fish
sandwich, fried Fat Protein 
Chips, potato or corn Carb Fat
Chocolate Carb Fat
Cinnamon bun Carb Fat
Coffee, mocha, macchiato, ice blended, frappé, triple caramel vanilla buzz bomb, etc. Carb Fat
Cookies Carb Fat
Cream cheese Fat
Creamed veggies Carb Fat
Creamer, nondairy Fat
Doughnuts Carb Fat
French fries Carb Fat
Gravy Fat
Hamburger, fast food Fat Protein
Hot dogs Fat Protein
Ice cream Carb Fat
Jerky, beef, pork,
or venison Protein
Juice, sugar added Carb
Lobster Newburg Fat Protein
Nachos Carb Fat
Onion rings Carb Fat
Pastries Carb Fat
Pies Carb Fat
Potato skins, fried Carb Fat
Potatoes, fried Carb Fat
Potpie Fat Protein
Refried beans,
with lard Carb Fat Protein 
Salad dressing, creamy Fat
Sausage Fat Protein
Soft drinks, sugared Carb
Tater tots Carb Fat
Toaster pastries Carb Fat

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