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Nutrition
If it never crawled, swam, flew or ran, and you can’t pick it from a bush, tree or vine, and your ancestors didn’t have access to it 1000 years ago… then DON’T EAT IT! We are constantly surrounded by “Franken-food” that was engineered in a laboratory instead of grown in a real garden… and it’s wreaking havoc on our bodies. Eat what nature intended and look and feel better than you have in ages!
The old “drink 8 glasses a day” advice is a bit outdated. It makes sense that a 200 lb male athlete would need more water than a 100 lb woman with a desk job, right? So how much is enough? A good place to start is with half your body weight in ounces of water. For example, if you weigh 150 lbs, then 75 ounces is a good place to start and more is even better if you can manage (up to 1x your body weight in ounces is acceptable). And remember, if you are engaged in physical activity, then you may need to be consuming even more than that. Use your body as a gauge. If you are thirsty, you are already dehydrated! But don’t drink so much that you feel water-logged! You should also build up to drinking more water slowly. Add an extra 8 oz glass or two a day until you are at your recommended amount. And if plain water is hard to get down, try “marinating” some cucumber slices or some cinnamon sticks in a pitcher of water overnight for an interesting twist to your water. You could also squeeze a slice of lemon, lime or orange into your drink to spice it up a bit. Bottoms up!
If it never crawled, swam, flew or ran, and you can’t pick it from a bush, tree or vine, and your ancestors didn’t have access to it 1000 years ago… then DON’T EAT IT! We are constantly surrounded by “Franken-food” that was engineered in a laboratory instead of grown in a real garden… and it’s wreaking havoc on our bodies. Eat what nature intended and look and feel better than you have in ages!
Research suggests that eating a diet higher in protein will benefit you in several ways. First, protein is very satisfying and filling. This will help prevent you from wanting to overeat other foods. Second, it helps keep your blood sugar more stable, preventing the spikes and crashes that exhaust you and make your crave sweets. Third, it has a higher TEF (thermic effect of feeding) than other foods. Basically, you spend more calories digesting protein than you do carbs or fat. It may not be a significant amount, but it adds up over time. And lastly, eating more protein helps you build lean muscle mass which will in turn, boost your metabolism and help you shed excess body fat. Try to vary your protein sources throughout the day. This will help prevent boredom and will also ensure that your body gets all of the amino acids you need to stay healthy. Try eggs or Greek yogurt for breakfast, chicken or turkey for lunch, and steak, salmon or even bison for dinner. In between meals you can snack on hard boiled eggs, tuna fish, cottage cheese or nuts. You can also find preservative and additive-free beef or turkey jerky at your local health food store. Shoot for at least 1 gram of protein per lb of body weight if you are female, and 1-1.5 per lb of body weight if you are a male.
This is a tip that you have probably heard a lot recently, and with good reason. The more often you eat, the more satisfied you feel, the more stable your blood sugar will stay and the more energy you should have throughout the day (assuming you are including protein with every meal like mentioned above). I know, I know… the thought of preparing 6 full meals every day seems exhausting and time consuming… but it’s not necessary! You can structure your eating throughout the day however is most convenient for you… 3 meals and 2 snacks, 5 small meals a day, 2 big meals and 2 snacks… whatever! Just make sure you are eating something every 3-4 hours. It also helps to prepare your food ahead of time. I like to cook several things in bulk on Sunday and Wednesday nights. It takes about an hour each time, but it saves me several hours throughout the week. I like to grill several chicken breasts or steaks, bake a few sweet potatoes or cook some brown rice and wash and chop tons of fruits and vegetables. I may also make a big batch of bison chili or homemade chicken and vegetable soup to have throughout the week. Once your food is cooked, portion it out and put it in several containers in the fridge and then you can just grab and go! You can also stick some of it in the freezer and the move it to the fridge the night before you are going to use it. I promise, if you plan ahead, then eating more often is a breeze.
And no, I don’t mean eat more Skittles (while they are very yummy, that would defeat the purpose of what we are trying to do here… improve our performance and body composition) By “taste the rainbow” I mean include more colorful fruits and vegetables in your diet. There are several color categories for fruits and veggies and the wider a variety of foods you get from these different categories, the healthier you will be and the more energy your will have. Here are just a few examples of fruits and vegetables in each of the categories:
As you can see, each of the color categories contains yummy foods that will spice up any dish! AND, most of these foods are very filling for very few calories, so they can help you lose weight! It’s a win-win! So taste the rainbow! Your body (and your performance) will thank you!
Fish oil is another “healthy trend” you may have heard about recently… but this is no fad! Fish oil is an amazing supplement that does everything from making your skin and hair beautiful to preventing heart disease and lowering cholesterol. AND…. Here is the kicker. Fish oil has been proven to inhibit lipogenesis (fat creation) and promote lipolysis (fat burning)! It is literally a supplement that helps prevent the creation and storage of fat, and helps promote the burning of fat! How great is that? If you still have your doubts about the benefits of fish oil, go to www.Google.com and type in ANY disease you can think of, as well as the words “fish oil” next to it and I can pretty much guarantee that you will come up with a recent study showing how fish oil can help. It’s pretty miraculous. Try taking 4-5 grams a day to reap all of the wonderful benefits. Oh yeah, make sure you are purchasing a high-quality fish oil that says it’s “mercury-free” to prevent any issues with heavy metal toxicity.
As most of you know, fat was given a bad rap in the 80’s and 90’s and everyone starting going crazy about “low-fat health foods.” The thing we didn’t realize however is that they were replacing the fat with sugar and chemicals so that the food would still taste good. Yikes! What we are realizing now is that fat is not the evil dietary demon we once believed… it can actually help prevent heart disease, diabetes and cholesterol, as well as help use maintain optimal hormone levels within the body. Pretty cool, huh? And don’t believe the hype that all saturated fat is bad for you either… you actually NEED some saturated fat in your diet to stay healthy! A balance ratio of polyunsaturated, monounsaturated and saturated fats will benefit you the most. Just stay away from man-made trans fats! And don’t worry… I don’t expect you to count all of your fat grams, break them down by category and try to figure out what ratio you are getting… simply including fat from a wide variety of sources should keep your covered. Eat plenty of nuts, seeds, avocados, grass-fed beef and bison, organic whole eggs, wild caught salmon, olive and sunflower seed oils, coconut oil and fish oil and you will be all set!
Low carb, no carb, good carb, bad carb, low glycemic, high glycemic… It’s enough to make you CRAZY! While low carb diets can be very effective for fat loss and enhanced performance, they can be difficult for many people to follow. One of the best ways to keep carb intake in check without leaving you feeling deprived is to make your carbs work FOR you! If you time them properly then they can give you energy while helping you maintain a fit, lean physique. The best time for most people to consume carbs is in the morning shortly after they wake up and after a workout. These are the times when your body will use them most effectively either for energy or to repair muscles after a workout. Some great carb sources to choose from are: sweet potatoes, rolled oats, quinoa, brown rice and berries. They are all chock-full of nutrients and will help you get your “carb-fix” without throwing a wrench in your diet. So you can truly enjoy your carbs in the morning or after your workouts knowing that they are being put to good use!
You probably know that eating fiber is important for your health… but did you know that it can help prevent cancer, diabetes, heart disease AND help you lose weight? Fiber helps stabilize your blood sugar, helps you feel fuller longer and has positive effects on your cholesterol and triglyceride levels. But… you have to make sure you eat enough to get these benefits. The recommended daily amount of fiber for the average person is approximately 25-30 grams and the average American only gets about 10 grams a day! That is crazy considering that some of the most delicious foods on the planet are super-rich in fiber and will help you meet your daily quota in no time! In fact, a cup of raspberries has only 65 calories but a whopping 8 grams of fiber! That’s almost 1/3 of your recommended daily amount! Some other great fiber-rich foods include blackberries, broccoli, almonds, avocado, bran cereal and beans. Many other fruits and vegetables (like the ones mentioned above) contain high amounts of fiber as well, and you can ensure your intake is high enough by including a variety of these foods
Refined, white sugar is one of the main causes of obesity and disease in America today. It is literally POISON to your body. It increases body fat levels, suppresses the immune system and just wreaks havoc on your body. Avoid it at all costs! ‘Nuff said!
While I realize that eating organic can be expensive, it is more than worth it! By doing this, you help yourself avoid all of the chemicals, antibiotics, hormones, toxins and pesticides that make their way into our conventional food supply. Some of the side effects of these things are whacked out hormones levels, fatigue, suppressed immune systems, thyroid problems, and resistance to antibiotics among other things. If you must pick and choose, the most important things to buy organic are meat and dairy products, and thin-skinned fruits and vegetables like berries or asparagus.
It is estimated that over half of the American population has at least a mild allergy to dairy products. While dairy does contain many things that are good for us, like Calcium, Vitamin D and Protein, it can also cause gas, bloating and intestinal issues for many people. It is also difficult on your immune system if you consistently consume food to which you are allergic (even if you have no symptoms). So try cutting out as many dairy products as possible over the next several weeks and see how you feel. There is a good chance you will feel less gassy and bloated and that your stomach will feel (and look) better than it has in a while. If you don’t notice any positive effects after removing dairy, then you may not have any problems. Just try to stick with organic products that are either raw, or pasteurized at a low heat. If you DO decide to avoid dairy, just make sure you are eating plenty of other calcium-rich foods like salmon, spinach, broccoli, brussel sprouts and almonds.
Regular sodas are chock-full of refined sugar and empty calories! They spike your blood sugar and then crash it, often leaving you fatigued, hungry and craving more sweets. They can also erode tooth enamel and inhibit proper digestion. Diet sodas might be even worse since they are often made with artificial sweeteners like aspartame which is a neurotoxin that was once on the Pentagon list of biowarfare chemicals submitted to Congress! If you MUST get a soda fix, try something like Zevia which is a diet soda sweetened with the stevia plant. It is all natural and contains 0 calories and they have several flavors. You can find it at www.zevia.com.
This is probably once of the most overlooked aspects of nutrition. We are all in such a hurry these days that we don’t chew our food properly. Chewing your food well actually activates your digestive juices in your stomach to prepare your body to digest your food well. This will help optimize the amount of nutrients you can get from your food, and prevent you from developing allergies to foods you eat often. You see, when you don’t chew your food well, large, undigested particles of food can actually seep through holes in your gut and into your bloodstream. Your body then views these foods at the enemy, and begins building a defense against these foods, and you can develop an allergy to this food. So in order to get the most out of what you are eating and help prevent food allergies, pay attention and chew your food well before swallowing.
