First, let’s get one thing straight: This is NOT a diet. When you hear diet, it invokes the imagery of missing your favorite foods in exchange for bun-less burgers or fruit juice with red pepper in it. This IS a guide for eating healthily and enjoyable for the rest of your life.

Lean Meats

If you didn’t know, meats are an excellent source of protein. Protein has taken the spot lightly lately, and for good reason.

1. It digests lowly, meaning that it takes more effort (calories) to turn it into a useable form.
2. Once it’s in that useable form it aides in muscle development. As muscles become more developed, the body burns more calories maintaining those muscles!

Eggs, interestingly enough contain the most useable protein! Make turkey, chicken, and fish your go to sources because they contain the least amount of fat. Beans (except for refried) are excellent sources and can even be occasional meat replacements!

Low fat milk and low fat dairy

Across the globe research is showing that calcium actually aides in the prevention of weight gain! (And you thought it was just good for bones) Milk is not only a great source of calcium, but also has volume which fills up your stomach and makes you feel fuller. Not only that, it’s also a good source of vitamins A and B, but sprinkle in some chocolate powder and you’ll curb your sweet cravings!

Vegetables

It’s time to put away your inner 8 year-old and do what your mother told you. These guys contain loads of vitamins protecting you from heart disease, cancers, and strokes! Typically, darker the green, the better, romaine lettuce, spinach, arugula, and broccoli should all be your go to foods. If you really can’t stand this stuff, blend them up and trying mixing them in with other foods. It will hide the taste and make it easier to absorb into your body.

Fruits

Not only will the sweetness help keep your sweet tooth in check, fruits have natural fiber that cleans your system and helps you feel full! Berries (any kind) are perfect prepackaged sources of antioxidants and flavonoids!  Different fruits have different strengths, but all are good for you so pick your favorites and enjoy! Grab a piece/slice when you feel and sugar urge coming, the natural sugars will put it to bed.

Grains

Grains = Carbs, right? Carbs = Bad, right? Wrong. Your body needs carbohydrates! It’s a fact of nature. What your body doesn’t need is bleached or enriched flours, containing empty carbs which can cause insulin spikes and other nasty problems like fast conversion to fats. Stick with whole wheat and whole grain products which are great sources of fiber and vitamins. Avoid plain “wheat” which commonly is white bread colored with molasses.

At no time have I told you how many calories you should be eating. That’s because you shouldn’t be very concerned with your exact number. 2000 to 2500 calories daily with regular exercise will have you melting pounds fast. I do want you to look at is how much a serving is. Don’t assume that 1serving =1package. Look at the product label and use a food scale to get a good sense of what a proper serving of each is. As much as possible, get 2-3 servings of each group daily.

One more quick thing, stay hydrated! Not only will it help you stay feeling full (70% of the time you feel hungry your body is actually dehydrated) but it will also help rebuild muscle, improve how you look and feel, and help fight disease. Water is the true elixir of life; accept no substitutes like Gatorade (loaded with sodium) or sodas (scary amounts of sugar).

This entry was posted on July 23, 2009 at 7:00 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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