Sometimes attention is misplaced. Perhaps you are you familiar with the “invisible gorilla” experiment which was a study that examined attention and awareness. Viewers were told to count the number of passes a group of people makes to each other while moving around. Most viewers were not able to spot the person dressed as a gorilla from the back and who walked into the frame. On second viewing, it became evident after the viewer was asked if he spotted the peculiarity in the video.
If you are only looking at what you are told to look at, you are going to miss essential details: this can be applied to many health scenarios with a twist. If you are also not questioning what you are told, and the direction being suggested to you, you are more than likely going to miss something crucial.
How often have you heard carbohydrates are bad or harmful and you should remove them from your diet? Perhaps you have taken these claims literally, and the same day swore to stop eating them or leave carbs for the weekends. Maybe, you have taken the advice sensibly and reduced your carbohydrate intake. Now that would be beneficial for most people. However, to drastically reduce your carbs is something to be careful about. What would be the core of your diet then – fats? It is doubtful you eat enough protein for it to be the primary nutrient in your diet. Fats are another issue and topic entirely.
With all nutrients, you need to look at the big picture. They are all essential – what is important is how and what you consume. Don’t let your attention be misdirected, and don’t allow yourself to overlook the real issue beneath the surface.
If you are dealing with blood sugar problems or are having a hard time losing weight, perhaps it is not so much the carbohydrates as it is the snacking. Snacking by definition is a small portion of food or drink or a light meal eaten between regular meals. Why would eating snacks be necessary for your day-to-day life?
- it is all right if you do it once in a while, like during the weekend when you are watching a movie.
- it is warranted when you are on a trip, spending your day walking around a city or hiking in the countryside.
However, day-to-day, it is a big no-no!
Quitting snacking on its own would likely make a big difference. Do this first, and maintain your new approach to nutrition for at least a few weeks. Measure your progress in whatever metric you have determined you need results. Then, question your carbohydrates. As long as your diet is not entirely off track, you will not need to look at this at first, so you should begin with looking at your habits.