Nutrition 101

So Josh and I attended a nutrition class the other day.. I am blown away with some information that I learned (and below I explain some of what we learned and even add some prior knowledge I somehow acquired from somewhere...). People don't realize how important it is to develop healthy eating habits, that can in fact lengthen or even save your life. Cancer is flourishing in everyone we love and care about, diabetes is so common that you're bound to know someone who has it, and a lot of young children are developing horrible and disgusting eating habits and unhealthy lifestyles, causing their parents to outlive them. Something's gotta give, and awareness of changes YOU can make in your eating habits can really benefit you in the long run. Here's some tips for leading a more healthy lifestyle. I challenge you to change one of these things in your life this week. If you succeed, add a new goal for the following week, and so on.



If you want to lead a healthy lifestyle, here are the new eating rules:

1. Eat OFTEN. People think that by fasting throughout the day or skipping meals you will loose weight. FALSE. When your body goes more than 3 hours without eating, it may start storing up fat, thinking it is in a "starvation mode". The best thing you can do is eat every 2-2.5 hours to keep your metabolism going throughout the day. Small snacks will keep your blood sugar levels even throughout the day, keeping you alert, and preventing fatigue and lightheadedness. Try to keep snacks around 100-150 calories, and by eating throughout the day, you'll find yourself eating less during bigger meals. Binge-eating and starving yourself often results in overeating when you allow yourself to a meal. If you can incorporate low-carb, low-sugar and high-protein snacks into your day, even better (some great examples; cheese, protein bar, smoothie, nuts, peanut butter sandwich, yogurt, etc.). A woman in the class said she tried this for 1 week and lost 5 pounds without changing her lifestyle or level of activity. She actually said it was also a week she wasn't able to make it to the gym.. but she lost more weight than she normally did. All because she ate more frequently. You may find yourself getting hungry throughout the day if you train your body to expect food this often, but that is good! Keep your metabolism running, and as a result, everything you eat will keep burning off. Plan your schedule around snacking, and store food in your purse, desk, car, or pocket. Oh, and most importantly, eat breakfast! You should eat something within 1 hour of waking up in the morning. Something to get your metabolism in gear and ready to start burning. If not, your body will use your first hours of consciousness storing up fat until you give it the nourishment it needs. Some of my favorite healthy breakfasts include: oatmeal (plain oats- NOT the prepped oatmeal packages), add vanilla protein powder, fresh fruit, chia seeds, flax seeds, and honey or agave for protein and flavor. Oats already have some protein in them to begin with. Eggs. If you're in a rush, make a quick egg on the stove (took me 3 minutes to make one this morning) or nuke it in the microwave in a bowl. Smoothies are great, but require more prep time, however once you pour it into a cup you can take it on the go with you. Yogurt, fruit, and protein bars are all fast and easy alternatives to breakfast as well. The healthier the better, but the most important thing is to just eat something first thing in the morning.

2. NO PROCESSED SUGARS. Refined sugars = bad. This includes high fructose corn syrup and granulated sugar. Other processed sugars include Splenda, Equal, Sweet & Low and even Truvia. These are ALL artificial, all bad for you, no matter what the companies try to make you think. Processed sugar is bad for many reasons, including feeding the growth of cancer cells which metabolize them quickly and easily, rapidly spiking insulin levels, and increasing your body fat by inhibiting your body's ability to burn it off. Too many Americans have diabetes these days and it is NOT all because of genes, it is often because of lifestyle and eating habits. These sugars mess with your insulin levels, which has resulted in even young children developing diabetes because of how much sugar and how often they eat it. Try to cut these foods out of your diet. Your body is designed to use and break down just 2 tablespoons of these sugars. That is ALL it needs for fuel. Any excess gets converted to fat and goes right onto unwanted areas of your body. Want to stop accumulating belly fat? Then CUT SUGAR OUT! Safer alternatives include NATURAL sugars, which your body is able to break down properly and will not cause the same insulin spikes. These include the natural fructose in fruits, natural CANE sugar (ungranulated), agave nectar, honey, and Stevia. Try to substitute these natural sweeteners into your coffee, tea, baking and so on. Processed sugar is addicting, and that is why it may be hard to make the switch. But just do it.. your life and health are depending on it.

3. READ INGREDIENTS. You'd be surprised at how many foods have high fructose corn syrup hidden in them. I've been eating Yoplait "lite" yogurts as what I thought were "healthy" snack and desserts for who knows how long before noticing that HFCS was one of the top ingredients! Peanut butter is another good example- a great snack because of the high protein, but what do companies really put in it. Salt? Sugar? Vegetable oils? WHY!! What is supposed to be in there? Peanuts! That's all you need! Try natural almond butter or peanut butter that is just ground from the nut, and isn't processed. If you start reading what is really in the food you are eating, you can consciously make healthier choices, and see where a lot of those extra sugars, fats and carbs have been coming from. But read carefully, because "natural", "healthy", "low-fat", "fat-free", etc. doesn't necessarily mean that the ingredients in them are ones you should be putting into your body.

4. PACK ON THE PROTEIN. Protein + weight lifting are a must for everyone. I don't care if you're 12 years old or 90 years old. If you want to be independent, feel great, and replace that flabbiness with some lean muscle then this is what you need to do to be healthy, and these habits should start at a young age, and continue until you're ancient. Make it a habit and you'll look great and feel great (plus, muscle burns more calories than fat just by existing in your body, so the higher amount of muscle in your body the larger number of calories you can intake each day!) Lift weights 2x a week (or do some kind of muscle building activity... often every day physical activity can count). Weights can be 3 lbs. 10 lbs. or 50 lbs. if weight lifting is the muscle building activity you choose. I don't care, just get your muscles growing. Kids can play sports, play games.. anything active and forcing them to use their muscles and gain a bit of strength. Make your kids carry in the groceries, vacuum, or push the shopping cart in the store. Kids these days don't get much physical activity and you can see by their physical shape.... and it's so sad. Let's change this for us, and for our kids. Teach them to be healthy and set a good example, be active together. Eat a LOT of protein. If you're working out especially, you can't build muscle without protein. Without protein your body will start sucking nutrients out of the muscle you already have which isn't good. It's hard to intake too much protein, so keep eating as much of it as you can. You should be intaking up to 1/2 your weight in grams of protein per day. Easy protein sources besides meat, include yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese, natural cheese, eggs, tofu, beans, nuts, hummus, figs, avocados and whey or other types of powdered protein. Yogurt, cottage cheese, protein powder and silken tofu are excellent smoothie additives without even leaving a trace of flavor (except for flavored protein powder.. which comes in vanilla or chocolate, yum!). Try making it a habit to make a healthy protein smoothie every day to get some of the protein you need, and this can also be in the place of a meal because it's so filling. Adding fruits and veggies will help you get your vitamins and nutrients. Cheese is one of my favorite snacks. The world has led us to believe cheese is bad for us; fat and cellulite- OH NO! But the truth is, in moderation, some cheese (natural, not those fake chemicals and preservative filled substances like Velveeta) are very beneficial and healthy. It is better to eat a few slices of cheese than a portion of processed junk food with the same amount of fat. Being healthy- whatever that means to you, whether it's losing weight, getting toned, having more energy, staying active, enlarging your muscles; it doesn't matter, because protein is vital for life and getting enough is crucial for developing a healthy lifestyle, no matter what you want your lifestyle to be.

5. BOOST YOUR SELF-ESTEEM! What do people most commonly do when they are depressed, sad, lonely, angry, etc.? Eat of course. And when this happens, they usually don't even realize how much they are eating- and it's usually enough to lead to obesity quite quickly. Low self-esteem is often caused by external sources, whether a person put you down, or a tragic or unfortunate life event has brought you down. But YOU are the only one who can change you. No one else can make you feel good, if you can't make you feel good. Set goals for yourself, and reward yourself for them. Want to lose 20 lbs? Tell yourself that when you do it, you'll buy a whole new wardrobe (or as much of one that you can afford). Stick to your promise- but only when you reach your goal.  Plan a weekend trip or a vacation cruise when you achieve something you've been working towards. Put yourself first. Before everyone. Because even those you love and those who rely on you, won't be taken care of if you don't take care of yourself first. Just like on a plane, they tell you to wear your oxygen mask first before assisting others. Without oxygen for yourself, you'll pass out and children and elders who needed your help will die as that plane goes down. This is every day life. Set a good example for those that look up to you. Taking care of yourself isn't just about life's necessities but what makes your life more enjoyable and worth living to you. Put in the extra time it takes to prep a meal  for dinner that is healthy, delicious, and filling. The extra time is worth it. Bake something (but without processed sugars!). Take the time in the morning to apply makeup, do your hair, or make an appointment to get your nails done. If you look in the mirror and feel good about what you see, then you'll feel good about you, and be more pleasant to be around if you are confident in yourself. Get out and do what you love to do. Lifestyle changes are crucial to boost your self-esteem, and leave old eating habits behind. If you're easily stressed, get the junk food OUT of your house. REPLACE the pantry and fridge with healthy snacks, such as fruits, veggies, cheese sticks, nuts, yogurt, smoothie ingredients, etc. Remember to eat in moderation; small portions, but often. If your self esteem is low, your eating habits probably show this, so stop the bad habit at the source and make some changes!

6. Drink water. LOTS OF IT! Water is crucial to rinse out the poisons and toxins that accumulate in our bodies. It helps rid your body of sodium which causes you to feel and look bloated, and also makes you weigh more. You should be drinking 1/2 your weight in ounces of water each day. Each glass of water is approx. 8 oz. So even if you are only a 100 lb. person, you still need at least 50 oz. per day. That is almost 7 glasses. Realistically, we don't drink that much (and most of us weigh more than 100 lbs... meaning we have to drink much more). We are busy, forgetful, always on the go and don't want to stop to pee, or don't want to (or forget) to carry a water bottle. Change these things. Buy yourself a nice water bottle if you don't have one already. Make sure if it's plastic, it is BPA-free. This is especially cheap in the long run and kind to the environment if your tap water is drinkable (and you like the taste). If not, try a britta filter on the faucet. To get the adequate water your body really needs, you would have to drink a lot of bottled waters each day to get enough. What a waste. Deck out your reusable bottle with stickers or sharpie designs to make it more enticing and less easy to leave places. Make it bright. Even write your contact information on it, if you're prone to losing it and love it enough. If your water bottle is unique, you can catch a thief who tries to steal it if you leave it somewhere. Yes it's happened to me, and I was able to approach the thief and ask for it back without them denying it was mine. Strap it on your bag, stick it in your pocket, leave it in your car (except in hot weather when heat can break down the plastic releasing harmful chemicals, or just heat the water making it undesirable to drink), whatever! Just keep it with you and force yourself to drink often as a new habit. If you have to, draw lines to divide up portions of the water inside, and challenge yourself to drink up to each line per hour. Challenge yourself to have to refill you bottle a certain amount of times at work each day. Keep a glass of water with you around the house. Drink 1-2 glasses immediately after waking up, and 1-2 glasses with each meal. The more the better. Bathroom breaks are annoying, but dealing with an unhealthy, gross and decrepit old body one day because you didn't take care of it now is even more annoying. If you have to pee often, try holding it as long as possible each day, training your bladder to signal to you less often. Trying to loose weight? Add lemon juice to your water, which in addition to many other health benefits helps boost metabolism and clean out your intestines, increasing proper absorption of nutrients. It helps make you feel fuller as well, decreasing the likelihood for over-eating.

7. Write it down. Annoying it sounds.. but it's not really. Keep a small journal with you or use the notes app in your phone. Just make a note of each thing you eat throughout the day and keep track of calories. You'd be surprised how often you eat without even thinking about it. By keeping track, sometimes you may not even bother eating that junk food when you know how much your calorie count will suffer.. and by not writing it down you'll feel too guilty (this will happen at least once you make this a regular ritual..). By actually keeping track of what you are eating it is easier to prevent over-eating. I did this a while back and lost 20 lbs. in one month, by changing my diet and counting calories only. During this month I did not work-out at all or change my activity level. One new eating habit can make a tremendous difference. Also write down goals for yourself and the steps which you plan to take to achieve these goals. Check off and put a date next to each step once you've taken it. Consider WHY you want to change, WHAT you want to accomplish, and HOW you're going to do it. Write it all down as a constant reminder and follow through. It's easier to follow through when it's written in front of you. If you fail to write it down,  you'll forget it. Like they say, "out of sight out of mind."

8. Avoid chemical filled and cancer causing foods.

- Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO's) are bad for you. I used to think biotechnology was fascinating.. thank goodness I wasn't smart enough to pursue such a field because it's contributed to a lot of chemical filled and cancer causing foods. Chemicals are needed to grow many GMO's. Stick to certified organic, natural locally grown foods, and anything with a label that says "No GMO's". I'm big on tofu and soy, but unfortunately soybeans, along with corn and canola are often genetically modified. Check the label to be safe. My GMO tofu and Silk soymilk are my absolute faves. I say no to GMOs.

- Processed meats. Yuck, don't get me started on why I don't eat meat in general, but "fake" meats, like hot-dogs, lunch meat, bacon and sausage are just filled with chemical preservatives. Sodium Nitrate and Nitrite are bad for you and are linked to cancer. Stick to uncured meats, especially grass-fed which is healthier. Local meats from small farms are often more expensive, but you KNOW where they came from, they are natural and often organic, and there is usually better welfare and treatment of the animals than in factory farms.

- Microwave popcorn. I used to love this stuff. But did you realize that nasty chemicals line the bags (AKA perfluorooctanoic acid)? The EPA recognizes this chemical as "likely" carcinogenic, and studies show that the chemical causes tumors. No thanks. Pop your kernels from a fresh and natural source instead, or buy natural popped corn, with no added chemicals.

- Soda. Never been a fan (thankfully) because this stuff is horrible for you. As mentioned earlier in the processed sugar section, not only is soda loaded with cancer causing sugar, but food chemicals and artificial colors are acidic and feed hungry cancer cells. Plus, the stuff can literally eat away at your car paint. I'll pass on putting that in my body, thanks.

- "Diet" and "sugar-free" stuff. Diet beverages and foods often contain aspartame, an artificial sweetener that causes cancer and birth defects.  Back to the processed sugar argument, this stuff just spikes your insulin, while insulin is released your body can't burn fat, so it stores in instead. Then you become fat. Not much of a diet, huh? It's better to just stick to the natural sugars, and not-diet option, which will not inhibit your body's ability to burn fat. But then again, most food items that come in a "diet" option, are overly-processed, fake, and chemical-filled already so if you're eating it already I guess it doesn't really matter which option you choose, they are both bad for you.

-Refined white flour. Refined carbs can increase the chance of breast cancer in women. This stuff is extremely processed, and super filled with carbs. High-glycemic foods spike those insulin levels while increasing body fat. Stick to whole-wheat which isn't as processed, or better yet skip bread all together. Make the sandwich a wrap, use lettuce instead of a bun, or eat it as a platter instead.

-"Dirty" fruits. Fruits that are not organic or not labeled as "pesticide-free" are considered "dirty" because the pesticide chemicals contaminate the fruit. 98 percent of all conventional produce is dirty. My advice; buy organic, or soak your fruit in vinegar/water mixture to remove chemicals, bacteria and dirt, and also prevent the fruit from molding. Annoying problem, fixed :). Just NEVER eat your dirty fruit without cleaning it. You are most likely eating pesticides too.

-Farmed salmon. Farmed salmon is often contaminated with pesticides, carcinogenic chemicals, polychlorinated biphenyls, flame retardants and antibiotics. I love fish, but try to stick to wild caught, because farming is not only unhealthy to you, but bad for the environment. If you're big on seafood, download the free Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch App. You can type in any type of seafood and it will tell you the best alternatives for your health and the environment. It will also tell you what seafoods to stay away from.

-Hydrogenated oils. Also known as trans fat, these oils are often used to preserve processed foods. The structure of the substance will also alter and affect the structure and flexibility of cell membranes in your body, causing cancer. Bad news.

Cancer causing foods source: http://www.undergroundhealth.com/cancer-foods/


So I'm done my rant. I hope that if you read this and care about keeping your body healthy, you'll challenge yourself to make at least some of these changes. To make developing a new lifestyle manageable, start with one new habit at a time, and make sure with each new habit, you are also ridding your life an old bad habit.

Good luck!