No one way of eating will work for everyone, but there is a program of general principles and suggestions, not rigid rules. This approach has the flexibility available to fit with each individual needs, recognizing that no two people are alike and no two people have the same food preferences.
It has been proven that drastic, sudden shifts are difficult to maintain because they force people to repress their food cravings and imbedded eating habits. The more habits are repressed, the more powerful they become, leading to internal stress that builds until people fall off the wagon and the diet fails. It is with this thought in mind that we recognize that basic changes allow people to create a larger shift without much effort or pain.
Just by following some simple steps will bring about significant changes. Most diet books recommend that you completely alter your current way of eating and follow their strict rules. A better plan would be to start with the things that you most want to do and leave the hardest ones for later. As you start doing the easier ones, your body's energy will kick in and you will pick up momentum. Eventually, you will find yourself doing the hardest things with greater ease because you are not starting from ground zero. Let's outline a few steps that will get you on the road to a successful nutrition plan.
Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate!
We are always reminded to drink more water. Because the body is 75% water, this makes sense that water should be constantly replenished. You might say that water is crucial to our survival.
Many of us are confused by how much water we should be drinking; we are always told to drink more. So, how much is more? What is the correct amount for your body? Much depends on your size. A smaller person will need proportionately less water than a larger person. It also depends on your level of physical activity, the climate in which you live and your diet.
Another consideration is the type of water you need to consume. Bottled water has become one of the most popular beverages in our country. We tend to drink water flown in from foreign countries, thinking that this water must be better than our own. It has been shown that tap water is actually better than bottled water in most cases. Because most tap water contains chlorine, fluoride, and sometimes lead it is recommended that it be filtered.
Finally, timing is important in water consumption. After waking up in the morning, it's a good idea to drink one or two glasses of water immediately to hydrate the body. Because we do not want to wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, it is recommended that a large amount of water should not be consumed just before bedtime.
Remember to look at your whole day's intake when deciding how much water you need. Certain foods are more water-dense than others.This ebook is very good . For example, cooked grains are two parts water, one part grain. Vegetables also have high water content. Steaming or boiling vegetables, as opposed to frying or baking them, further increases their water content.
Most people spend a great deal of their time in a state of dehydration. This leads to needlessly suffering from low energy, cravings and other symptoms. Fortunately, they could feel much better by merely drinking more water!
Cook More; Eat Out Less
Spending more time learning to cook and plan simple meals will help you get all the nutrients you need as well as release you from dependency on restaurant food, fast food and other processed foods. You will eat differently when you are feeding yourself than when you are out and about. We all know restaurant food is usually very salty and highly flavored, as it is designed to be a taste sensation. The portions are usually very large, more than enough for the average person. By buying and preparing you own food, you eat in accordance with you body's actual needs and you are less likely to overeat or consume excess salt and flavoring.
Cooking delicious, satisfying meals in a brief period of time is a skill worth learning. It is not difficult, but you must be willing to take the time and practice. For many people the task of cooking seems overwhelming. They are at first confused as to how to plan this task around a busy schedule. Once you have learned, though, you will be making meals in less time than ordering out.
Start With Increasing Whole Grains
Whole grains have been a central part of the human diet since the dawn of civilization, when we stopped hunting and gathering and we settled into agrarian communities. Until recently, people living in these communities had lean, strong bodies. For generations, very few people eating grain-based diets were overweight.
People today are gaining weight because they eat too much chemicalized, artificial junk food, and consume too much caffeine, sugar, nicotine and alcohol. If we were to start eating more cooked whole grains and vegetables every day instead of processed junk food, we would not be getting fat. Whole grains are some of the best sources of nutritional support, containing high levels of dietary fiber and B vitamins. Because the body absorbs them slowly, grains provide long-lasting energy.
Whole grains can help with one of our most basic health problems, an inability to maintain a steady level of blood sugar. Whole grains release sugar into the bloodstream slowly, in contrast to the sudden rush and energy crash caused by refined sugar foods and sodas.
Vegetables, How Sweet You Are!
Almost all of us, at some time, crave sweets. Instead of depending on processed sugar, you can add more naturally sweet flavor to you daily diet and dramatically reduce sweet cravings. Certain vegetables have a deep, sweet flavor when cooked; like corn, carrots, onions, beets, winter squash (butternut, buttercup, hubbard and kabocha), sweet potatoes and yams. There are also some other vegetables, though not sweet themselves provide the same benefits. These include red radishes, green cabbage, red cabbage, and burdock. They sooth the internal organs of the body and energize the mind. Because many of these vegetables are root vegetables, they are energetically grounding, helping to balance out the spacey feeling you may experience after eating other sweets.
Another way to incorporate sweet vegetables into your daily diet includes eating raw carrots, baking sweet potato fries roasting squash, making soup with corn and onions or boiling beets to put on top of your salad.
Don't Ignore Your Leafy Vegetables
If vegetables are the scarcest food in some diets, the leafy vegetables are lacking most of all. Learning to cook and eat greens is essential for creating lasting health. Greens help build our internal rain forest and strengthen our circulatory and respiratory systems. The color green is associated with spring, a time of renewal, refreshment and vital energy.
Some of the benefits gained from eating dark leafy greens are:
· Blood purification
· Cancer prevention
· Improved circulation
· Subtle, light and flexible energy
· Lifted spirit, elimination of depression
· Promotion of healthy intestinal flora
· Improved liver, gallbladder and kidney function
· Clearing of congestion, especially in lungs and reduction of mucus.
It has been proven that drastic, sudden shifts are difficult to maintain because they force people to repress their food cravings and imbedded eating habits. The more habits are repressed, the more powerful they become, leading to internal stress that builds until people fall off the wagon and the diet fails. It is with this thought in mind that we recognize that basic changes allow people to create a larger shift without much effort or pain.
Just by following some simple steps will bring about significant changes. Most diet books recommend that you completely alter your current way of eating and follow their strict rules. A better plan would be to start with the things that you most want to do and leave the hardest ones for later. As you start doing the easier ones, your body's energy will kick in and you will pick up momentum. Eventually, you will find yourself doing the hardest things with greater ease because you are not starting from ground zero. Let's outline a few steps that will get you on the road to a successful nutrition plan.
Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate!
We are always reminded to drink more water. Because the body is 75% water, this makes sense that water should be constantly replenished. You might say that water is crucial to our survival.
Many of us are confused by how much water we should be drinking; we are always told to drink more. So, how much is more? What is the correct amount for your body? Much depends on your size. A smaller person will need proportionately less water than a larger person. It also depends on your level of physical activity, the climate in which you live and your diet.
Another consideration is the type of water you need to consume. Bottled water has become one of the most popular beverages in our country. We tend to drink water flown in from foreign countries, thinking that this water must be better than our own. It has been shown that tap water is actually better than bottled water in most cases. Because most tap water contains chlorine, fluoride, and sometimes lead it is recommended that it be filtered.
Finally, timing is important in water consumption. After waking up in the morning, it's a good idea to drink one or two glasses of water immediately to hydrate the body. Because we do not want to wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, it is recommended that a large amount of water should not be consumed just before bedtime.
Remember to look at your whole day's intake when deciding how much water you need. Certain foods are more water-dense than others.This ebook is very good . For example, cooked grains are two parts water, one part grain. Vegetables also have high water content. Steaming or boiling vegetables, as opposed to frying or baking them, further increases their water content.
Most people spend a great deal of their time in a state of dehydration. This leads to needlessly suffering from low energy, cravings and other symptoms. Fortunately, they could feel much better by merely drinking more water!
Cook More; Eat Out Less
Spending more time learning to cook and plan simple meals will help you get all the nutrients you need as well as release you from dependency on restaurant food, fast food and other processed foods. You will eat differently when you are feeding yourself than when you are out and about. We all know restaurant food is usually very salty and highly flavored, as it is designed to be a taste sensation. The portions are usually very large, more than enough for the average person. By buying and preparing you own food, you eat in accordance with you body's actual needs and you are less likely to overeat or consume excess salt and flavoring.
Cooking delicious, satisfying meals in a brief period of time is a skill worth learning. It is not difficult, but you must be willing to take the time and practice. For many people the task of cooking seems overwhelming. They are at first confused as to how to plan this task around a busy schedule. Once you have learned, though, you will be making meals in less time than ordering out.
Start With Increasing Whole Grains
Whole grains have been a central part of the human diet since the dawn of civilization, when we stopped hunting and gathering and we settled into agrarian communities. Until recently, people living in these communities had lean, strong bodies. For generations, very few people eating grain-based diets were overweight.
People today are gaining weight because they eat too much chemicalized, artificial junk food, and consume too much caffeine, sugar, nicotine and alcohol. If we were to start eating more cooked whole grains and vegetables every day instead of processed junk food, we would not be getting fat. Whole grains are some of the best sources of nutritional support, containing high levels of dietary fiber and B vitamins. Because the body absorbs them slowly, grains provide long-lasting energy.
Whole grains can help with one of our most basic health problems, an inability to maintain a steady level of blood sugar. Whole grains release sugar into the bloodstream slowly, in contrast to the sudden rush and energy crash caused by refined sugar foods and sodas.
Vegetables, How Sweet You Are!
Almost all of us, at some time, crave sweets. Instead of depending on processed sugar, you can add more naturally sweet flavor to you daily diet and dramatically reduce sweet cravings. Certain vegetables have a deep, sweet flavor when cooked; like corn, carrots, onions, beets, winter squash (butternut, buttercup, hubbard and kabocha), sweet potatoes and yams. There are also some other vegetables, though not sweet themselves provide the same benefits. These include red radishes, green cabbage, red cabbage, and burdock. They sooth the internal organs of the body and energize the mind. Because many of these vegetables are root vegetables, they are energetically grounding, helping to balance out the spacey feeling you may experience after eating other sweets.
Another way to incorporate sweet vegetables into your daily diet includes eating raw carrots, baking sweet potato fries roasting squash, making soup with corn and onions or boiling beets to put on top of your salad.
Don't Ignore Your Leafy Vegetables
If vegetables are the scarcest food in some diets, the leafy vegetables are lacking most of all. Learning to cook and eat greens is essential for creating lasting health. Greens help build our internal rain forest and strengthen our circulatory and respiratory systems. The color green is associated with spring, a time of renewal, refreshment and vital energy.
Some of the benefits gained from eating dark leafy greens are:
· Blood purification
· Cancer prevention
· Improved circulation
· Subtle, light and flexible energy
· Lifted spirit, elimination of depression
· Promotion of healthy intestinal flora
· Improved liver, gallbladder and kidney function
· Clearing of congestion, especially in lungs and reduction of mucus.