Don't forget to check out last week's tips about leading a healthy lifestyle! Remember, a diet will do nothing for you unless you make it a permanent lifestyle and set goals for yourself that YOU want for you... not that someone else wants for you. A majority of my information is taken from my weekly nutrition class at my local gym.
Lifestyle tips of the week:
- Read ingredient labels. Do you really know what's in what you're eating? The only way to know for sure is to read the list of ingredients. The shorter that list the better. All those artificial additives, chemicals and preservatives are BAD for you... none are good and none are harmless. They cause cancer and deteriorate your body from the inside out. One of the top artificial ingredients is artificial sweeteners which are bad news (see next tip for more info). Try to eat foods with pure, natural ingredients left as closely to their natural state as possible. Anything processed is not good for your body. Sugar in general is bad, but not as bad if it's natural. Fat is something people tend to steer away from, but when paired with enough grams of protein your body will metabolize it and burn the fat off. Also read the serving size... you'd be surprised at the amount of food that all of those nutrition facts are referring to. Eating double or triple the serving size without realizing it, means intaking double or triple the calories.
- CUT out the sugar. As stated above, artificial sweeteners are bad. Truvia, splenda, sweet and low, equal, amongst others, are chemical filled substances that actually form formaldehyde when processed in your body. (Don't let Truvia fool you.. they are just as bad as the rest of them despite their "natural" looking packaging). These all turn into triglycerides (fat) increasing the fat that gets directly packed onto unwanted areas of your body, and then can't even be processed by your liver. Other processed sugars include high fructose corn syrup, and granulated sugar. ALL processed sugars feed cancer cells, which feast on these sugars and metabolize quickly. These fake sugars rapidly spike insulin levels (creating diabetes which is actually a lifestyle disease people DO have control over with their diet). With spiked insulin levels, fat is immediately stored instead of burned off. The more you eat sugar (with each meal) the more these insulin levels spike and the more the fat gets packed on. Eating sugar constantly means your body will never get the opportunity to burn fat because it is constantly storing it. Even worse, processed sugars are addicting. Try natural sugars as an alternative, which will not have the same negative effects. In moderation, natural sugars are harmless and will be easily burned off. Natural forms include fructose in fruits, cane sugar (which comes from a plant), stevia extract, in addition to honey and agave nectar which are not "sugar" but make great alternative sweeteners.
- Write it down. You can't keep track of what you eat all day by memory. It's best to write it all down so you can be aware of what your eating habits really entail. By sticking to writing down everything, you will be less likely to cheat on your diet. You may not even need to restrict yourself from anything, but being aware of how much you're eating for each meal or snack can help you develop good portion control which can prevent overeating. Besides calories, write down grams of sugar, fiber, protein, and carbs, which leads back to reading ingredient labels. Keep in mind that every 4g of sugar = 1 teaspoon of sugar, that fiber cancels out sugar (gram for gram), you should consume half of your body weight in grams of protein per day, and less than 84 g of carbs per day to feel good, build muscle and lose body weight. Building muscle doesn't always mean you are trying to get "huge", but that each lb. of muscle is much leaner than a lb. of fat so your goal to get in shape should be to replace fat with muscle to look toned and lean. You'll never be able to keep track of your goals and if and how you are meeting them without physically writing these down. Carry a small notebook or just jot down notes in your phone. Include EVERYTHING you eat.. no matter how small. No cheating, or there's no point at all!
Snack ideas of the week:
(Remember to be eating snacks every 2-3 hours.. or else your body will go into starvation mode and actually store fat!)
-Hard boiled egg. Eggs not only provide 6 grams of protein but are only 70 calories each! Eggwhites are best for you, but the yolk won't hurt you. SUGARS are what raise your cholesterol, not eggs in moderation. You can eat eggs every day and be fine. A hardboiled egg makes a great addition to a salad or makes a good "2 hour" snack on it's own.
-Veggie salad. A huge salad filled with greens and veggies can easily fill you up and give you your daily fiber intake for less than 70 calories. Broccoli is a great addition, in just 1 cup's worth broccoli surprisingly adds 5 g of protein to your meal! Try olive oil, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar or any combo of these 3 as a natural, healthy dressing. (Remember to read the labels on your bottled dressings.. you'd be shocked at how much sugar is in them!) Add a lean meat, hard boiled egg, firm tofu chunks, or grilled salmon on top for added protein.
-Dill pickles. Yum! With virtually no calories, remember that a pickle is just a cucumber flavored with vinegar... if you love em, go ahead and eat as many as you want! Great snack.
- Celery stalks with almond butter. Celery is one of those "negative calorie" foods, being zero calories, and then burning calories with the energy your body uses to metabolize and break down the cellulose. Add some flavor and protein to these calorie free stalks with a smudge of almond butter, all natural and freshly ground.
* Remember that the best snack pairing is done when matching a simple carb/simple sugar (fruits and veggies) with a protein. The protein will help burn off the sugar. Add some fiber as well to fully cancel out all that sugar so you're building and feeding your muscles while fueling your body. LACK of protein will literally cause your body's muscles to deteriorate over time.... never thought you were a cannibal? If you don't get enough protein, your body will leech protein from its own muscles, breaking them down and essentially eating itself! Make sure you get close to 1/2 your body's weight in grams of protein per day, and incorporate light muscle building exercises into your daily routine. Lack of doing so will cause you to lose 1 lb. of muscle every year for the rest of your life.
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