Sunday, February 12, 2012

This entry comes from an email I sent a woman who needed a reminder why eating is so important to reach fitness and health goals...

Hi _____,

How are you? I don't know what your fitness goals are, but I want to stress to you-- based on your food journal-- a few  things...

Many people underestimate the importance of eating, but  nutrition is 75-85% of your desired goals. You need to eat to have enough energy that sustains you through out your day and give your body the nutrition needed to perform at its best.

When you don't eat, your body goes on starvation mode --  it thinks it's going to die, so it better hold on to the fat it has and it stops burning it -- your metabolism slows down!

 

Eating processed, junk and fast-foods are high in saturated fat, sugar, simple and refined carbohydrates will not help you reach your goals because these they contain low or almost no nutritional value (a.k.a "empty calories"). They do not fuel your body with anything other than with extra energy that gets stored as fat.

Your calories should be from quality sources each day:
  • vegetables (unlimited)
  • fruits (3-4 servings)
  • whole grains (3-8 servings)
  • protein (about 50g  - you don't need much)
  • healthy fats - don't be afraid of them, they are good for you! (one serving at each meal)
Food from these food groups will give you the energy, vitamins and mineral, fiber, antioxidants, and other great stuff your beautiful body needs to survive and always be burning fat. You need the right amount of calories--never go less than 1000 calories a day.

Here is a list I always follow and would advice anyone to follow as well....

My DO List:
  1. Always eat breakfast.
  2. Eat more than 5 servings of veggies and fruits.
  3. Drink water--1/2 your body weight in ounces (Ex. Someone who weighs 135 lbs. should drink [135/2 = 67.5] about 68 oz. of water or a little bit more than 8 glasses of water a day).
  4. Pack your OWN lunch. 
  5. Sleep 7-9 hours a day. 
  6. Do any form of physical activity as much as possible.
  7. Have portion control. 
  8. Plan ahead to get all these things done. Have an actual food journal (or any notebook) and write everything down.
Personally, I follow the list below religiously because I know how bad these things really for my health and physique. You will not catch me doing any of these and I would advice anyone to follow it as well....

My DO NOT DO List:
  1. Do not eat fast-food. It is loaded with BAD, BAD stuff!!!!
  2. Do not drink soda or other sweetened beverages. It is loaded with sugar, sugar, sugar!
  3. Avoid or limit eating processed foods. It's loaded with saturated fat, sugar, simple and refined carbohydrates
  4. Do not go too many hours without eating. Always have a snack with you. Fruit is perfect.
  5. Do not eat out more than 2 times a week. 
I know this sounds easier said than done, but you must try! My experience: I lost more than 25 lbs. and reached my ideal weight, fitness and got healthy by doing many things. The most important of them was eating right.

Love,

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