After getting through the holidays, January often brings with it a day of nutritional reckoning, and resolutions for more healthful eating and taking better care of yourself and family.
Unfortunately, many people find their efforts at healthful living to be no fun at all, and soon enough these plans fall by the wayside like so many other prior great intentions.What I find most helpful in planning a program is to consider five basic points: the quality of food you choose, the quantity of food, when you eat, how you think about food, and what exercise and movement you can incorporate. Once you master these steps, the rest falls into place.The first step is having real food available and choosing mostly food that has either been directly caught or picked. That means minimally processed foods and eating balanced meals consisting of lean protein, healthy fat, and complex carbohydrates, such as fruits, vegetables or whole grains. Being prepared, and not having junk in the house is the first step. Don't worry if you can't eat like this all of the time. If you eat healthy 80% of the time, you should eat without guilt 20% of the time.My recommended food pyramid has activity at the base and then whole grain foods two to three times a day; a small amount of healthy fats with each meal; vegetables in abundance; fruit two to three times a day; nuts and legumes one to three times; fish, poultry, eggs two times; dairy one to two times a day. On top is red meat, butter, and white (flour) foods. Finally, drink at least eight glasses of water a day, and consider 3-4 cups of green tea to boost your metabolism. If you're dehydrated, you might think you're hungry.The second step has to do with portion control. I suggest using a 12-inch plate and dividing it into quarters. Each quarter holds a protein, starch, vegetable, and salad. That way you can't over eat the starch or protein.It is also really important to eat at regular intervals so you are not totally famished when you eat. That is a common problem for people who end up binge eating and eating more calories late in the day when they are easily stored as fat due to your metabolism slowing down. Of course starting with a healthy balanced breakfast and eating every 3-4 hours is best to keep your metabolism working for you.How you think about food is as important as what selections you make. Most people use a good food and bad food mentality which leads to either dieting or binging. If you follow the other recommendations and eat healthy most of the time and not worry about it the rest of the time you are following a balanced plan for life, which is not a diet, and is livable in the long run.Incorporating some kind of daily movement and stress relief is also very important for ensuring ongoing success with your overall health as well as your metabolism. It is important to choose some activities that you enjoy and do them at least 30 minutes daily. This can be walking, biking, stretching, yoga, tai chi, gardening, hiking, etc. The key is to include it into your daily schedule and not look at it as a chore.Remember that variety is the spice of life and just as restrictive diets that eliminate food groups are sure to fail, eating the same foods over and over and doing the same exercise week in and week out is sure to get repetitive and cause you to loose interest. Use culinary herbs to enhance your foods flavor, and try new activities each week to keep things exciting. If motivation is a problem, get a buddy to exercise or go to a fitness class with. [EXTRACT] After getting through the holidays in January often brings a day of reckoning nutrition, and resolutions to eat healthier and take better care of you and your family. Unfortunately, many people find their efforts for a healthy life no fun, and soon these plans fall by the wayside like so many others before intentions.What great that I find most useful in program planning is to consider five points: the quality of the foods you choose, the amount of food when you eat, how they think about food, and exercise and movement can be incorporated. Once you master these steps, the rest falls on the first step is to have real food place.the available and the choice of the majority of food that has either been captured or collected directly. This means minimally processed foods and eat balanced meals consisting of lean protein, healthy fats and complex carbohydrates such as fruits, vegetables or whole grains. Be prepared, and not have junk around the house is the first step. Do not worry if you can not eat like this all the time. If you eat healthy 80% of cases, you should eat no fault of 20% of the food pyramid recommends time.My is active in the base and whole grain foods two or three times a day, a small amount of healthy fats between food, plenty of vegetables, fruit two or three times a day, nuts and legumes one to three times, fish, poultry, eggs twice, dairy products once or twice a day. At the top is red meat, butter, and white foods (flour). Finally, drink at least eight glasses of water a day, and consider 3-4 cups of green tea to boost your metabolism. If you are dehydrated, you might think is hungry.The second step is about portion control. I suggest using a 12-inch plate and divide it into four parts. Each room has a protein, starch, vegetables and salads. That way you can not eat more than starch or protein. It is also very important to eat at regular intervals, so you are not completely starving when you eat. That is a common problem for people who binge and end up eating more calories for the day when they are easily stored as fat because your metabolism will slow. Of course, starting with a healthy, balanced breakfast and eat every 3-4 hours is better to keep your metabolism working to you.How to think the food is as important as what choices you make. Most people use a good food and bad food mentality that leads to any diet or eating compulsively. If you follow the recommendations of others and eat healthier time and not worry about it the rest of the time you are following a balanced life, which is not a diet, and living in a time run.Incorporating type of movement and relief from daily stress is also very important to ensure the continued success of your overall health and metabolism. It is important to choose some activities that you enjoy and that at least 30 minutes daily. This can be walking, biking, stretching, yoga, tai chi, gardening, hiking, etc. The key is included in your daily schedule and not see it as a chore. Remember that variety is the spice of life and as restrictive diets that eliminate food groups is sure to fail, eat the same foods over and over again and do the same exercise week after week is sure to get repetitive and make lose interest. Use culinary herbs to improve food taste and try new activities each week to keep things exciting. If motivation is a problem, get a buddy to exercise or go to a gymnastics class.