Eating right not only helps with weight loss, but it also improves your overall functionality in daily living and exercise. Food is your body’s fuel, and just like a vehicle, if you put the wrong kind of fuel in, performance is greatly inhibited! In many cultures today, the busyness of life takes over the time we often need to slow down and choose nutritionally sound foods. Choosing to eat well and making healthy food choices is crucial to #optimalhealth.
Here are six simple steps you can do to work on improving your nutritional health. Remember, the effort in choosing the food you put INTO your body will be the effort you can expect OUT of your body!
Six Steps for Nutritional Health
- Figure out how many calories you need
- This is different for each person! If you remember our talk on genomics, we learned that every individual is different in this respect, and every individual metabolizes the calories they eat differently. If you’d like a personal consultation with Dr. Life to discuss this, contact his office today!
- Not all calories are created equal. Make sure the calories you choose to eat are nutritionally dense!
- Eat more often!
- If this sounds counter-productive, which it may to some, know that studies show eating less quantity and more often helps your body metabolize at a more efficient rate! Make sure to try and have your last meal about 3 hours before you to go bed.
- Trick your mind
- Especially when we are trying to make changes, old habits flare up and seem impossible to overcome. Try a few “tricks” to get your mind on board for these changes such as drinking 1-2 glasses of water before meals and switching to a smaller plate size (salad plate vs. dinner plate) for portion control.
- Eat “skinny” fats
- Fats are the parts of foods that make us satisfied. They’re sometimes the hardest thing to give up! Good news: your body needs fat! Bad news: most types of fat we consume are NOT healthy! Choose fat-burning fats such as fish and unsaturated fats which are more likely to help your body use up stored fat instead of storing more.
- Read labels!
- There are so many things “hidden” in products we pull off the shelves. Even things labeled “natural” or “low fat” may hide other sneaky ingredients that sabotage our nutrition. Learn about what is in your food, choose the least processed foods available to you, and make substitutions when you can.
- Make little changes
- Sometimes it’s not a matter of cutting out or completely rearranging your meal plan. Choose lowfat milk and yogurt vs. full fat, tuna packed in water vs. oil, canned fruits in water or 100% juice vs. syrup. Making those little choices will really add up as you work towards your #optimalhealth.
Don’t forget to stop by the website and learn more about Dr. Life’s telephone consultation services! Follow on Twitter and Facebook as well to get in on the #healthyliving discussions!