The first step in starting your healthy lifestyle is committing to eating healthier and smarter. Diets don't work, eating right and exercising works, period!!
Avoid Added Sugar:
Added sugars are one of the worst ingredients in your diet. Sucrose and high fructose corn syrup contain a ton of calories and NO essential nutrients. Not to mention is extremely bad for your cholesterol, teeth and liver. Added Sugars also increase your risk of developing Cancer, Heart Disease, Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes. So, chuck the soda, tea, vitamin water, gatorade, etc... and make sure you're consuming no less than 8-10, 8oz glasses of water per day.
Processed Foods:
Avoid Added Sugar:
Added sugars are one of the worst ingredients in your diet. Sucrose and high fructose corn syrup contain a ton of calories and NO essential nutrients. Not to mention is extremely bad for your cholesterol, teeth and liver. Added Sugars also increase your risk of developing Cancer, Heart Disease, Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes. So, chuck the soda, tea, vitamin water, gatorade, etc... and make sure you're consuming no less than 8-10, 8oz glasses of water per day.
Processed Foods:
- AVOID Cans, Boxes, Bags & Bottles: Many processed foods can be identified easily by their packaging. Anything in a can, box, bag, bottle, or package that contains more than 5 ingredients is processed to some extent, probably highly processed.
- AVOID Deep Fried Foods, or Fast Foods.
- AVOID Refined Sweeteners, Oils & Grains, such as white flour and white rice.
- AVOID Pre-flavored Packaged Products, like yogurt and oatmeal.
- AVOID Low-fat and Fat-free products, they are far more processed.
- AVOID Imitation Foods, like margarine, processed cheese products, imitation crab meat, pancake 'syrup' and lemonade 'powder'.
- READ the Ingredients Label: Fat grams, sugar content and calories are important, but when looking for the best sign of how processed a food is, look at the ingredients list. If what you are buying contains more than 5 ingredients that are unpronounceable, reconsider.
- AVOID Artificial Ingredients, like synthetic dyes (for example: Blue no 1 & Red no 4) and artificial sweeteners (for example: saccharin, aspartame & sucralose).
- AVOID High-fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) & Artificial Ingredients: If the first three ingredients consist of some sort of sweetener, put it down, it's a good sign that the product has been highly processed.
- AVOID the Kid's Menu: The items that most restaurants have on their children's menus are highly processed, like pre-made nuggets and fries. Even the pasta on most menus is made with white flour, among other things. Instead, check out the side dishes and pick some things your tyke will eat and add their protein by sharing some of your meal.
Here's the Good Stuff!!
A General Guide To Finding 'Real Food' at the Grocery
Whole Foods are key and more a product of nature than a product of industry. You want to consume as many fruits and vegetables as you can!
A General Guide To Finding 'Real Food' at the Grocery
Whole Foods are key and more a product of nature than a product of industry. You want to consume as many fruits and vegetables as you can!
- Visit Your Local Farmers’ Market: You will find food that is in season, a selection of pesticide-free produce and truly organic meat products. You will be supporting your community, your nutrition, and your environment.
- You can find better quality bread from your local bakery. Local bakeries grind their own wheat, even Honey-Whole Wheat bread contains only a few ingredients – whole-wheat flour, water, yeast, salt and honey.
- When selecting foods like pastas, cereals, rice, and crackers always go for the whole-grain option. However, don’t believe the 'healthy' claims on the outside of the box!! Read the ingredients to make sure the product is truly made with only 100% whole grains – not a combination of whole grains and refined grains which is unfortunately the case with a lot of 'whole grain' products. The white flour or other refined grain alternative is simply high in calories and low in nutrition.
- When selecting Seafood, wild caught is the best choice over farm-raised. Try to find locally raised meats such as pork, beef, and chicken (preferably in moderation).
- Limit your beverages to water, milk, all natural juices, naturally sweetened coffee & tea, and, to help the adults keep their sanity, wine and beer (preferably in moderation)!
- Snacks should include dried fruit, seeds, nuts and popcorn.
- Some all natural sweeteners are honey, 100% maple syrup, and fruit juice concentrates are all acceptable in moderation.
Iron:
You should approximately 10mg - 15mg of Iron per day.
Heme Iron-Rich Foods, with 3.5 milligrams or more per serving, include:
You should approximately 10mg - 15mg of Iron per day.
Heme Iron-Rich Foods, with 3.5 milligrams or more per serving, include:
- 3 ounces of Beef or Chicken Liver
- 3 ounces of Clams, Mollusks, or Mussels
- 3 ounces of Oysters
- 3 ounces of Cooked Beef
- 3 ounces of Canned Sardines, Canned in Oil
- 3 ounces of Cooked Turkey
- 3 ounces of Chicken
- 3 ounces of Halibut, Haddock, Perch, Salmon, or Tuna
- 3 ounces of Ham
- 3 ounces of Veal
Potassium:
Women need approximately 4,700 mg per day, every day!! Some great food sources of potassium are fresh fruits, vegetables, red meat, chicken, fish, milk, yogurt, nuts, coconut water, Almond milk and soy products. Here's a list of some of the foods highest in Potassium:
Women need approximately 4,700 mg per day, every day!! Some great food sources of potassium are fresh fruits, vegetables, red meat, chicken, fish, milk, yogurt, nuts, coconut water, Almond milk and soy products. Here's a list of some of the foods highest in Potassium:
- 1 medium baked potato with skin: 844 mg
- 1 medium baked sweet potato: 694 mg
- 1/2 cup cooked beet greens: 654 mg
- 1 medium baked potato without skin: 610 mg
- 1/2 cup canned white beans: 595 mg
- 8 ounces plain nonfat yogurt: 579 mg
- 1/2 cup tomato puree: 549 mg
- 3 ounces canned clams: 534 mg
- 3/4 cup prune juice: 530 mg
- 3/4 cup carrot juice: 517 mg
- 1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses: 498 mg
- 3 ounces halibut: 490 mg
- 1/2 cup cooked green soybeans: 485 mg
- 1/2 cup cooked lima beans: 484 mg
- 3 ounces Coho salmon: 454 mg
- 1/2 cup cooked winter squash: 448 mg
- 1/2 cup mature cooked soybeans: 443 mg
- 3 ounces Pacific cod: 439 mg
- 1 medium banana: 422 mg
- 1/2 cup cooked spinach: 419 mg
- 3/4 cup tomato juice: 417 mg
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce: 405 mg
- 1/4 cup dried peaches: 398 mg
- 1/2 cup refried beans: 398 mg
- 1/2 cup stewed prunes: 398 mg
- 1 cup nonfat milk: 382 mg
- 3 ounces center loin pork chop: 382 mg
- 1/4 cup dried apricots: 378 mg
- 3 ounces farmed rainbow trout: 375 mg
- 3 ounces lean pork loin: 371 mg
- 1/2 cup cooked lentils: 365 mg
- 1/2 cup cooked kidney beans: 358 mg
- 3/4 cup orange juice: 355 mg
- 1/2 cup cooked split peas: 355 mg
- 1/2 cup cantaloupe balls: 236 mg
Magnesium:
Women need 310 mg - 400 mg per day, every day!! According to USDA food charts (see a complete chart of magnesium rich foods), the foods with the highest magnesium per typical serving are:
Women need 310 mg - 400 mg per day, every day!! According to USDA food charts (see a complete chart of magnesium rich foods), the foods with the highest magnesium per typical serving are:
- Beans and nuts
- Whole grains such as brown rice and whole wheat bread
- Green leafy vegetables
- Halibut
- Mackerel
- Boiled spinach
- Cocoa
- Bran breakfast cereal
- Almonds
- Cashews
- Pumpkin seeds
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Fiber:
Women should get 25 mg - 30 mg per day, every day!! Great Food sources of Fiber: Legumes, Nuts and Seeds:
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Add Protein - Women Need 46 g Per Day, Every Day
If you want a faster metabolism, think protein. Here’s why: Your body burns twice as many calories by digesting proteins than it does when digesting carbs. Add more protein to your diet with two fish-based meals per week. Packed with protein, fish, such as halibut or salmon, also contains omega-3 fatty acids, which increase fat-burning enzymes in the body and protect against heart disease. Plants such as beans and nuts are a particularly wise choice for protein since so many Americans also fall short on fiber. Both beans and nuts are rich in fiber and plant-based phytochemicals that may help lower heart disease and cancer risk. When choosing red meat, the healthiest choice is a lean meat, low in saturated fat.
Check & Maintain Your Metabolism:
- To begin, you need to figure out your metabolic rate based on your age, height, weight and activity level. This data will help determine how may calories your body can consume before you actually start putting on weight. Then you’ll learn how to adjust that number so you can boost your metabolism and start losing pounds. Click here for a Metabolism Calculator.
- Eat Every 3 Hours: Here’s a surprising fact about metabolism: If you eat more often, you’ll speed it up. Make sure to eat regularly, which means three meals a day, plus two healthy snacks. And remember to eat within an hour of waking up to keep your body from going into hunger overdrive. To keep your metabolism humming, adhere to this schedule:
- 6-8 a.m.: Breakfast
- 10 a.m.: Snack
- 12-2 p.m.: Lunch
- 3-5 p.m.: Snack
- 5-7 p.m.: Dinner
- Don’t eat after 8 p.m.
- Don’t skip your snacks: Research has shown that people who snack on 250 calories three times per day eat less at regular meals and have higher metabolic rates. Click here to learn about the best time of day to fight fat.
- Drink 3 Iced Drinks a Day: Iced Coffee, Green Tea or Water
- Coffee and green tea contain caffeine, a substance that naturally steps up metabolism. Add ice and you’ll boost it even more. Iced drinks force your body to work to warm up, which burns more energy.
- Take Zinc: Zinc reduces hunger by increasing your level of leptin, a key hormone that alerts the body when you’re full so you won’t keep eating when you’re no longer hungry. You can buy zinc in 15 mg packets or simply get it from your multivitamin, which usually contains about 12 mg of this essential mineral.
- Exercise in Short Bursts, Often: When you exercise in short bursts, you wake up your muscles, causing them to immediately demand more calories and then burn them fast. A short dance or walking up a sudden hill are examples of such sudden bursts that can give your metabolism a boost.
- Do-It-Anytime Metabolism-boosting Exercise:
- Start by sitting in a chair. Stand up but don’t use your arms. Instead use your quads and your glutes to get up. Repeat a few times for a burst that’ll build muscle and burn fat.
- Do-It-Anytime Metabolism-boosting Exercise: