10 tips for Healthy Eating!
Now is a great time to focus your attention on the importance of making smart food choices by practicing healthy eating habits. Not only will you reach your weight goals, you will also have a healthier digestive system, increased energy levels, better moods, clearer and younger looking skin, increased metabolism, increased ability to fight off colds and the flu, decreased risk of many health related disease and feel amazing!
Here are 10 tips to guide you in healthy eating! The quicker you implement these guidelines, the quicker you will see amazing results!!! Post them on your fridge to remind you of some good choices to attain and maintain an ideal healthy weight!
1. Eat breakfast everyday!!! This is hands down the most important tip I can share with you! By eating a healthy and balanced breakfast you will give yourself the fuel you need to start your day off right with energy, mental focus and the elimination of starvation mode. What is starvation mode you ask? It kicks in when you have a long period of time that goes by and you don't get any caloric energy in the form of food. Your body is smart and was designed to survive (not to be beautiful…lol), so it sends a signal to store extra fat in case there is another long period of time that goes by without eating so you have fuel reserves for energy in the form of fat. From the time you go to bed until the time you wake up is generally the longest period of time with no food intake. Breakfast simply means to BREAK the FAST!
2. It's ALIVE!!! Make sure you focus on eating foods that are alive. Foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables have enzyme activity and are nutritionally rich which adds life to your body! Foods that are biologically dead, such as processed snacks with high sugar content, do not provide any nutritional benefits other than extra calories and actually steal valuable chromium and B-Complex vitamins to metabolize them. I advise you to shop at local food markets that purchase locally grown products which contain more nutrients and fewer pesticides than produce which is purchased from foreign countries. Plus, it contributes to a greener environment by saving on transportation fuels and supports you community!
3. Consume high-fibre foods daily: In order to maintain digestive wellness, it is essential to eat foods that have a source of fibre. This includes whole grains (oats, spelt, barley, rye, buckwheat, millet, whole wheat, brown rice), legumes (beans, lentils, split peas) fruits and vegetables. Fibre rich whole grains work to increase your metabolism, because they take longer to digest and absorb, plus they contribute to a feeling of fullness. Personally, I throw a couple of teaspoons of Psyllium Seed Husk into my protein shakes for added fibre and digestion.
4. Diet starts with DIE! Generally speaking dieting is deprivation. Many people view diets as there last chance to lose weight or a quick fix and instant solution. This is the trap that sooooooo many fad diet programs prey on emotional potential weight loss clients with. Be AWARE! Do your research on long term effects. They destroy your metabolism! Focus instead on a healthy personalized nutrition plan which guides you in losing no more than 2-3 lbs per week. This will increase your metabolism and keep the weight off providing you stick to the plan and learn how to eat properly. Eventually in will become second nature and habitual. Slow and steady wins the race!!!
5. Make H2O your best friend: Water is the most important ingredient in healthy eating and any serious weight loss plan! It is vitally important to good health and wellness because it makes up about 80% of your blood and brain. By consuming a minimum of 2 litres per day, you will stay hydrated, think better, speed up the process of losing weight, detoxify, clear up your skin, look younger and curb food cravings which lead to overeating. I suggest for you to take a sip or 2 of water every 20-30 minutes, instead of chugging a large amount and this will prevent you from constantly visiting the can!
6. Don't fear the fat: It is vitally important to eat an adequate supply of healthy dietary good fats! Throughout all of the cell membranes in your entire body, fat is one of the main components. If you eat a sufficient amount of healthy natural fats, your cellular processes will function normally. If you do not, your cellular process will be severely impaired and your body will need to work harder to operate correctly or form degenerative diseases. This is also especially true if you are consuming large amounts of heavily processed, man-made, chemically altered fats which are found in most processed foods. BONUS: Healthy dietary fats are excellent for optimal hormonal production, muscle building and fat burning processes!!!
7. Are vitamins and supplements necessary? To be honest with you, most of these products are a complete waste of money, do not contribute to optimal health and just contribute to expensive urine. Having a healthy and balanced nutrition plan consisting of a large variety of unprocessed foods (fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy, grains, nuts, seeds) will provide you all of the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants we need for perfect health. Of course if you don't have the discipline to eat well, then maybe they are better than nothing.
8. Eat after you train: The other most important meal of the day is right after any resistance or cardiovascular activity or work outs! This is when your body is in a catabolic state where your muscle glycogen is depleted and elevated cortisol levels are beginning to break down muscle tissues. The solution is choosing a meal with quickly digestible carbs to replenish muscle glycogen and quickly digestible protein to provide amino acids for muscle repair.
9. Eat 3 meals and 2-3 snacks: By spacing your meals by about 3-4 hours apart you will provide your body with the nutrients and caloric energy it needs to thrive every day! This will also contribute to the decrease in the starvation mode signal to store fat which was aforementioned earlier. A suggestion is to have the meals balanced with 40% carbohydrates, 30% protein and 30% good fats in order to maintain a healthy body weight.
10. Fast-Food for thought: Many clients ask me what they should do when they are going out for fast or convenience food. Obviously, I would suggest not to do it at all, focus on making your own healthy meals and bring them with you if you can, however I must admit I enjoy the occasional burger too. In the case you are forced into one of these fast-food establishments, I would strongly suggest to stay away from soda, fries, hash browns, breaded fish or chicken sandwiches, nuggets or anything absolutely soaked in DEADLY trans fats from industrial hydrogenated vegetable oil!
I challenge you all to make a commitment to attaining a healthy weight and stick to it! Personally, I didn't get incredible results until I focused on my nutrition plan. This is when I finally began to see some serious definition and a killer six pack! You can do it too! With drive, passion, persistence and believing in oneself you can become successful at anything in life!
Yours in Opportunity, Abundance and Joy!!!
James Erdt
Joyzone Inc.
Founder / President
www.joyzone.com
10 tips for Healthy Eating!
