Eat Your Way To Health
"When you nourish your body with pure energy, you transform from the inside out."
The reason fad diets become so popular is that they take all the guess work out of nutrition. Face it, if we visit a nutritionist they give us a sheet of all the good foods and all the bad foods, then they say how much of each "good" thing we are supposed to eat every day. How do I know how much I'm eating? Sure at home I can use a food scale, or if I go to the local steak house it tells the ounces of each steak -- but other than that I am left to guesswork. Isn't it easier if we go on things like the 3-day diet, the grapefruit diet, or the cabbage soup diet where they tell you exactly what to eat and how much for every meal?
The good news is, it doesn't have to be complicated. Once you discover the right method of feeding your body, you'll never have to relearn it. Quality nutrition is just as important as proper exercise technique (Exercise is the spark. Nutrition is the fuel. Without both, there can be no flame -- no results). To get in shape you have to exercise, to properly exercise you have to eat correctly.
One of the most crucial errors people make when they try to lose fat and improve their health is severely restricting food intake. That doesn't work. To get the best results, you need to work with your body, not against it. When you severely reduce food intake, the body decreases the rate at which it burns fat. You also will begin to lose muscle tissue, feel tired, weak and irritable. Your immune system will suffer. And you'll develop nutrient deficiencies that will cause literally thousands of your body's natural metabolic processes to misfire - this will lead to improper cravings as the body attempts to restore itself.
Even though crash diets cause you to lose body weight, half of the pounds lost come from muscle tissue. Remember, muscle is the body's metabolic furnace; muscle uses energy, even while you're sleeping.
So, how often should you eat? The answer is more often than you do now. To transform your body -- to look better, feel better, and improve your health, you must develop the pattern of feeding your body frequently throughout the day. You should not go more than a few awake hours without eating. Why, you may ask? Eating helps keep the body's "food alarm" in check -- it helps convince your body and mind that there is not a famine around the next corner. Studies show eating often helps accelerate the matabolism, so you burn more calories. And when you graze -- when you eat six nutritious, smaller meals a day -- the food is more efficiently absorbed and processed by your body than the "three squares" most people eat each day.
So, now we know how to eat...what do we eat? Since this pilgrimage includes a serious exercise program we need a very balanced food plan. I hate to sound like a salesman for Body For Life, but it is the roadmap I'm using. In the Body For Life program, they make things real easy. For each of the six meals you pick one serving from the "Protein" category, one serving from the "Carbohydrates" category, and for at least two of the meals choose one serving from the "Vegetables" category. A "serving", or portion size, is roughly the size of the palm of your hand. Here is a recommended list of foods for each of the categories:
PROTEINS: Chicken Breast, Turkey Breast, Lean Ground Turkey, Swordfish, Orange Roughy, Haddock, Salmon, Tuna, Crab, Lobster, Shrimp, Top Round Steak, Top Sirloin Steak, Lean Ground Beef, Buffalo, Lean Ham, Egg Whites or Substitutes, Low-Fat Cottage Cheese
CARBOHYDRATES: Baked Potato, Sweet Potato, Yam, Squash, Pumpkin, Steamed Brown Rice, Steamed Wild Rice, Pasta, Oatmeal, Barley, Beans, Corn, Strawberries, Melon, Apple, Orange, Fat-Free Yogurt, Whole-Wheat Bread
VEGETABLES: Broccoli, Asparagus, Lettus, Carrots, Cauliflower, Green Beans, Green Peppers, Mushrooms, Spinach, Tomato, Peas, Brussels Sprouts, Artichoke, Cabbage, Celery, Zucchini, Cucumber, Onion
A Free Day!!!
Six days a week, you need to follow the eating guidelines. And then, on the seventh day? Forget about them. Eat whatever you want. If you want to have blueberry pancakes with syrup for breakfast or a cinammon roll with coffee or milk, that's fine. If you want a Big Mac or two for lunch, go for it. If you want a thick pizza with everything on it for dinner, be my guest. If you want apple pie and ice cream for dessert, that's okay too!
While this may sound strange, there is actually a physiological reason to purposely overeat once a week -- it may help convince your body that it is not starving. Also, if you step into a program that says, "Ok, no more spaghetti and meatballs, no more pizza, no french fries, no ice cream, no candy, no soda, etc, etc" we often feel one of our perceived rights has been taken away. We then spend the entire time on the "program" thinking about all the things we can't have and often run the risk of sneaking those things. By allowing yourself one day of indulgence a week you counteract that. For one thing, you are not being deprived of the things you love so much, rather you are setting aside a special time to partake. Also, when you are in the other six days and feel a craving for something that is unauthorized you simply remind yourself you can have it on the seventh day. That brings a tremendous amount of freedom.
When should you have your free day, that's up to you. Some set aside every Sunday to eat whatever they want. Other times, you might want to go with the flow, adjusting your day to the circumstances of that week. Let's say you have a special occasion coming up and you know you're going to be eating in a social environment and don't want to worry about the rules. That's fine. Plan ahead and make that your free day for the week.
Again, if you want more information about this method of eating with good advice, suggestions, and explanations check out the Body For Life book.
I hope this information has been helpful. I realize it can be a lot to take in at first, but if we want to have long, healthy, happy life there will be some changes required.
But if we journey this road together, we can keep each other strong and come out the other side better for having taken the journey.
Your fellow pilgrim,
Larry
The reason fad diets become so popular is that they take all the guess work out of nutrition. Face it, if we visit a nutritionist they give us a sheet of all the good foods and all the bad foods, then they say how much of each "good" thing we are supposed to eat every day. How do I know how much I'm eating? Sure at home I can use a food scale, or if I go to the local steak house it tells the ounces of each steak -- but other than that I am left to guesswork. Isn't it easier if we go on things like the 3-day diet, the grapefruit diet, or the cabbage soup diet where they tell you exactly what to eat and how much for every meal?
The good news is, it doesn't have to be complicated. Once you discover the right method of feeding your body, you'll never have to relearn it. Quality nutrition is just as important as proper exercise technique (Exercise is the spark. Nutrition is the fuel. Without both, there can be no flame -- no results). To get in shape you have to exercise, to properly exercise you have to eat correctly.
One of the most crucial errors people make when they try to lose fat and improve their health is severely restricting food intake. That doesn't work. To get the best results, you need to work with your body, not against it. When you severely reduce food intake, the body decreases the rate at which it burns fat. You also will begin to lose muscle tissue, feel tired, weak and irritable. Your immune system will suffer. And you'll develop nutrient deficiencies that will cause literally thousands of your body's natural metabolic processes to misfire - this will lead to improper cravings as the body attempts to restore itself.
Even though crash diets cause you to lose body weight, half of the pounds lost come from muscle tissue. Remember, muscle is the body's metabolic furnace; muscle uses energy, even while you're sleeping.
So, how often should you eat? The answer is more often than you do now. To transform your body -- to look better, feel better, and improve your health, you must develop the pattern of feeding your body frequently throughout the day. You should not go more than a few awake hours without eating. Why, you may ask? Eating helps keep the body's "food alarm" in check -- it helps convince your body and mind that there is not a famine around the next corner. Studies show eating often helps accelerate the matabolism, so you burn more calories. And when you graze -- when you eat six nutritious, smaller meals a day -- the food is more efficiently absorbed and processed by your body than the "three squares" most people eat each day.
So, now we know how to eat...what do we eat? Since this pilgrimage includes a serious exercise program we need a very balanced food plan. I hate to sound like a salesman for Body For Life, but it is the roadmap I'm using. In the Body For Life program, they make things real easy. For each of the six meals you pick one serving from the "Protein" category, one serving from the "Carbohydrates" category, and for at least two of the meals choose one serving from the "Vegetables" category. A "serving", or portion size, is roughly the size of the palm of your hand. Here is a recommended list of foods for each of the categories:
PROTEINS: Chicken Breast, Turkey Breast, Lean Ground Turkey, Swordfish, Orange Roughy, Haddock, Salmon, Tuna, Crab, Lobster, Shrimp, Top Round Steak, Top Sirloin Steak, Lean Ground Beef, Buffalo, Lean Ham, Egg Whites or Substitutes, Low-Fat Cottage Cheese
CARBOHYDRATES: Baked Potato, Sweet Potato, Yam, Squash, Pumpkin, Steamed Brown Rice, Steamed Wild Rice, Pasta, Oatmeal, Barley, Beans, Corn, Strawberries, Melon, Apple, Orange, Fat-Free Yogurt, Whole-Wheat Bread
VEGETABLES: Broccoli, Asparagus, Lettus, Carrots, Cauliflower, Green Beans, Green Peppers, Mushrooms, Spinach, Tomato, Peas, Brussels Sprouts, Artichoke, Cabbage, Celery, Zucchini, Cucumber, Onion
A Free Day!!!
Six days a week, you need to follow the eating guidelines. And then, on the seventh day? Forget about them. Eat whatever you want. If you want to have blueberry pancakes with syrup for breakfast or a cinammon roll with coffee or milk, that's fine. If you want a Big Mac or two for lunch, go for it. If you want a thick pizza with everything on it for dinner, be my guest. If you want apple pie and ice cream for dessert, that's okay too!
While this may sound strange, there is actually a physiological reason to purposely overeat once a week -- it may help convince your body that it is not starving. Also, if you step into a program that says, "Ok, no more spaghetti and meatballs, no more pizza, no french fries, no ice cream, no candy, no soda, etc, etc" we often feel one of our perceived rights has been taken away. We then spend the entire time on the "program" thinking about all the things we can't have and often run the risk of sneaking those things. By allowing yourself one day of indulgence a week you counteract that. For one thing, you are not being deprived of the things you love so much, rather you are setting aside a special time to partake. Also, when you are in the other six days and feel a craving for something that is unauthorized you simply remind yourself you can have it on the seventh day. That brings a tremendous amount of freedom.
When should you have your free day, that's up to you. Some set aside every Sunday to eat whatever they want. Other times, you might want to go with the flow, adjusting your day to the circumstances of that week. Let's say you have a special occasion coming up and you know you're going to be eating in a social environment and don't want to worry about the rules. That's fine. Plan ahead and make that your free day for the week.
Again, if you want more information about this method of eating with good advice, suggestions, and explanations check out the Body For Life book.
I hope this information has been helpful. I realize it can be a lot to take in at first, but if we want to have long, healthy, happy life there will be some changes required.
But if we journey this road together, we can keep each other strong and come out the other side better for having taken the journey.
Your fellow pilgrim,
Larry
