10 Steps To Improve Your Nutrition Today Continued
Here are steps 6 through 10 to accompany last weeks steps 1 through 5 on how to improve your nutrition today.
- Don’t Finish Your Plate Just Because Mom and Dad said So
Everyone has probably heard this saying over a hundred times from their mom, dad, or a grandparent. “Don’t waste your food, clean your plate!” And I totally agree on not wasting food, but unfortunately our plates are piled way to high to begin with! We live in a country of such mass quantities when it comes to food. We always opt to supersize our meals or go for second helpings. That is one of the major reasons that we have an obesity epidemic in our society. We eat way too much! Next time you are full or satisfied when eating, save that extra food on your plate, or just throw it away! I know it’s not always good to waste food, but we live in a country with such a high abundance of food. Our country can afford to waste some food. We have a bigger issue with overweight and obese people, and all the harmful health issues that come along with it.
- Don’t Be Afraid of Carbohydrates. They Can Be Your Friend!
In that past 7 years or so carbohydrates have gotten a bad wrap. I do believe that some people consume too many carbohydrates, as compared to healthy fats and quality proteins, but carbohydrates are essential. The human body requires a daily dose of carbohydrates of about 100 grams a day depending on the person’s individual needs. If you have ever tried a low carb diet you know first hand that you get tired, hungry, and grouchy! Many foods that are comprised mainly of carbohydrates contain other vital nutrients for overall health. Foods such as WHOLE grains, sprouted grains, fruits and vegetables contain nutrients such as fiber, vitamins, mineral, and anti-oxidants just to name a few. Just be cautious when you choose to eat carbohydrates. If it is white you should probably stay away from it. And if it wasn’t found in nature (fruits, veggies) then don’t eat it.
- Don’t count calories, focus on quality
Too many times I hear people talking about how many calories they are eating instead of focusing on the quality of the food that they are consuming. Don’t get me wrong, portion control is a big part of losing weight and maintaining good health as I mentioned above, but it is not everything. Let me give you an example. Take 100 calories worth of broccoli and 100 calories worth of sugar in the form of candy. What food do you think your body will like better and will utilize more efficiently? The broccoli of course? I have client’s eating 2,500-3,000 calories of high quality food spread throughout the day and they are losing weight! Where I also have clients consuming 1,200 calories and they are just maintaining or even gaining weight because they don’t eat frequently enough and are eating poor quality foods. Pick quality over quantity, and see your body and health reap the benefits.
- Learn How To Read Labels
With so much mis-information about so called “diet” or “low-fat, low–carb” foods comes a lot of junk food. Just because it says that the food is low in something, or is in the “diet” category doesn’t mean that it is good for you. Most of the time those so called health foods are the worst for you. They added in a bunch of unwanted crap such as high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, and sugar alcohols to save calories, carbohydrates, and fat. Make sure you can pronounce just about everything on the ingredient list, and more importantly look for foods with the smallest ingredient list.
- Don’t Stress!
With such a high pace, high demanding lifestyle comes high stress levels. High stress levels lead to high cortisol levels, low testosterone and growth hormone levels, and poor eating habits. These all lead to poor energy and belly fat. Focus on deep breathing methods to reduce stress and get some more sleep! 7-9 hours a day will keep the cortisol levels down and the fat burning, muscle to get your engine going!
Slowly try to implement these 10 steps into your lifestyle and watch the weight fly off and you energy levels go through the roof!
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