Don't DIET!

Dieting DOES NOT Work and IS NOT Healthy

How many of us fall into the trap of the “diet” game? When we set a goal regarding our weight or overall health we decide we must “diet”. Think about it. Most of us associate the word diet with the deprivation of foods we enjoy and going hungry in order to lose weight. Wrong, wrong, wrong!

When creating a nutrition plan, focus on the foods you should eat and when you should be eating them. Focusing on the positive and not on the things you shouldn’t eat will turn your eating habits into a daily nutritional plan that’s easy to follow, instead of dread.

To encourage your body to keep muscle while reducing body fat, you must eat several meals a day. Ideally you should be eating at least five or six meals daily. When you take in calories more often, though the total number of calories will be the same, you encourage your body to use them more efficiently. Rather than storing them as fat you are providing your body with all it needs for muscle maintenence or growth, depending on your goal.

The most difficult aspect of daily nutrition is getting the right balance of macronutrients and calories for your personal goals. This can be even more challenging for women who have a propensity to store fat. Here are the five most critical “to do” daily nutrition tips.

• Eat proteins. Consume the appropriate amount of protein necessary for your bodyweight each day. Whether you weigh 105 or 220, you need to feed your body the protein it requires in order to most efficiently achieve your weight management goals. Spread your protein intake out over five, six or even more meals throughout the day. Choose from sources such as lean red meat, chicken breast, turkey, fish, eggs and protein drinks

• Eat complex carbs. Contrary to so many of the “fad” diets out there, you need to consume carbohydrates, although which and when are in fact, important. Consume the right amount of complex carbs for your body and lifestyle, but consume most of them early in the day, spread over your first three meals. The easier you store body fat the lower your complex carb intake should be. Oatmeal and whole grains are an excellent source of complex carbs.

• Take in healthy fats. Add a tablespoon of healthy oils, such as olive, canola, flaxseed, or sesame to your salads or cooked vegetables (for the latter, add the oil after cooking rather than during sautéing healthy oils break down in extreme heat). Include foods such as salmon, olives, nuts and avocados, in moderation, because they also contain these fats.

• Eat vegetables. Raw and steamed vegetables are basically free calories so use them as an excellent to for rounding out your meals, without worry about calorie consumption. The benefits they give your body more than compensate for the calories and carbohydrates you’re adding to your daily nutrition. Vegetables contain vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and fiber, which your body needs. Eat them with abandon — they won’t make you fat.

• Drink water. There’s no better natural way to reduce water retention than to drink plenty of water. For women, retention occurs cyclically, so it often feels as if you’re taking a step backward once a month. If you give your body a constant supply of water, you send the message that water is plentiful and that your body doesn’t need to retain it.

Staying away from “dieting” and sticking to a well designed daily nutrition plan will give help you achieve your goals while creating a healthy habit for a lifetime.

By now, everyone should know the importance of physical fitness and fitness training programs, but not very many of us recognize the true value of healthy meal plans as well. Irrelevant of the types of fitness training you use, be sure you have a balanced healthy diet to go with it.

For those that need a little extra assistance, direction or motivation, visit eFitness for Life now and see how our fitness training plans and weekly diet meal plans can help you make the most of your investment, in the shortest possible time, with the greatest return. Our goal is to teach you the values of physical fitness and how to create healthy meal plans for a lifetime! All done online! All done with certified coaches! Truly, the Future of Fitness! Stop by today and we will be happy to build your starter programs to ensure you learn to live longer, healthier lives.