Your body’s best insurance policy

9/30/09 Posted in Cover Story Featured Grinnell Training System  |  0 Comments

I often get asked if I ever eat pizza, drink a beer, or have some ice cream, and I say absolutely! Many people’s perception of a person that is into health and wellness is that they are perfect and never miss or workout or eat bad. Well, I can tell you that it is far from the truth. No one is perfect, and it is all about focusing on what you want. And for me I focus each day on wanting to feel good. If I don’t put some healthy practices into my daily goals I end up having low energy and having less motivation. Here are daily goals that I personally do each day to insure good health, and help you develop your own list!

Don’t Skip Breakfast!

Many people either start their day off with no breakfast, or a poor quality breakfast. Try to make sure you get a balanced, high quality meal each morning as soon as you can. This meal should be your most calorically dense meal of the day. You want to feed your body more in the beginning of the day, and eat fewer calories in your snacks and meals as the day goes on. This will keep your metabolism up, and fat burning hormones in check. According to the American Dietetics Association (ADA) people who eat breakfast are less likely to become overweight, and are more likely to exercise at some point throughout the day.

Invest in Some Greenfood

I know very few people who eat enough vegetables, and I am not one of them. I constantly struggle to get enough veggies in, especially the green ones. That’s why I make sure I use a whole food based multi-vitamin/mineral food supplement, wheat grass cube, and or a powdered green super food drink. This is the best way to make sure that your body is getting enough whole food based vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and other phyonutrients that are high in antioxidants. You should make sure that the product you buy is high quality, and you get what you pay for. This is the best investment for your body.

Eat Loads of Healthy Fat

If there is one macronutrient that I focus on getting in each day is healthy fat. As Americans we just don’t eat enough healthy fats, and consume far too much unhealthy fats such as hydrogenated oil, and other poor quality oils. Every morning with my greefood supplement I take either 5 capsules or 1 teaspoon of Lemon Flavored Cod Liver Oil. In the second meal of the day with my oatmeal I also have 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseeds. And for snacks I always have some almonds, walnuts, or trail mix throughout the day. These are my favorite snacks because they are easy, nutrient dense, and a quick form of energy!

Keep Your Body Alkaline

Our bodies go through a lot stress throughout the day. Your body is exposed to a lot of toxins as well. Overtime that will make your bodies PH level to high and you will be more acidic. Exposing your body to acidic foods such as too much coffee, soda, and processed foods also causes your body to work harder to stay alkaline. Too much acidity in the body can lead to acid reflux, cellular damage, mineral loss, and low energy. So each day I make sure to consume water in an environmentally safe plastic, and at night I have 10-16 ounces of mineral water. While both sources are alkaline and help rid the body of toxins, mineral water is higher in mineral content, thus more alkaline.

End the Day in Control

Eating too much later in the day, especially late at night will cause a metabolic pitfall. If you are really hungry at night and end up eating way too much, then that is a sign of not getting enough nutrients in throughout the day. Not consuming enough healthy fats, protein, eating every few hours, lack of water, and not having a high quality breakfast will cause you to eat way to much at night, and will push you too make poor food choices. Limit your carbohydrates in your last meal of the day as well. We tend to overeat foods high in starchy carbs such as breads, pastas and potatoes, and the calories add up fast! To control portions stick to healthy fats, lean protein choices, and tons of veggies. My dinner usually consists of a piece of chicken or fish, roasted broccoli or asparagus in extra virgin olive oil, and a salad with various greens and vegetables. “Eat like a key in the morning and a peasant at night”.

Here is your daily checklist:

High Quality Breakfast: Begin the day well
5 capsules or 1 teaspoon Cod Liver Oil
2 tablespoons ground golden flaxseeds
Trail Mix
Almonds or Walnuts
Wheatgrass cubes/ green food drink
Whole Food Based multi vitamin/mineral

Justin Grinnell B.S., CSCS is a Certified Personal Trainer by NASM and NSCA, and is a Senior Personal Trainer at The Michigan Athletic Club