Complete Guide to Begin Eating Healthy!

@ellaolsson

From the time I decided to create a blog, I knew I was going to be focused on sharing healthy recipes as well as day-to-day living tips and suggestions for staying fit.

Along with this, I believe that one of the core responsibilities of being a trainer is to provide you with as much knowledge as possible! I have been getting many requests on the topic of nutrition – the foundational building block of overall health.

What is Nutrition?

The simply put definition of nutrition is the process of providing the food necessary for health and growth. However, it is a bit more complex that JUST that!

In more complex terms, nutrition is focused on the metabolism and metabolic pathways through which substances, once consumed, are transformed from one form to another and convert “food” into energy.

Overall, nutrition is an extremely important building block that purely allows your body to function!

@brookelark

Why Is Good Nutrition Important?

As stated above, proper nutrition is what allows your body to function at its best.

When you eat a balanced range of MACROS (protein, fat, carbs) as well as enough vitamins and minerals, this is considered good nutrition! Your body uses nutrients for growth and repair, which is extremely vital when you are active.

The key to eating well is enjoying a variety of foods that are nutritionally dense. The main food groups are the place to start!!

Food Groups Include:

Vegetables & Legumes/beans

Fruit

Grains (mostly wholegrain/ high fiber

Lean Meats & Poultry, Fish, Eggs, Tofu, Nuts/Seeds

Milk, Yogurt, Cheese (reduced fat)

Healthy Fats

Mistakes You’re Probably Making:

• Assuming the choices you’re making are better than they are.

Between breakfast muffins, “7 Grain Bread” fruit juice, and canned veggie soup – it’s easy to believe you are choosing nutritious foods.

The Solution: Before tossing anything into your cart, check the label! This will give you the truth about what you are consuming! If the first ingredient isn’t specific to the item and is longer than a few ingredients, then you should probably find another option.

• Making Carbs The “Bad Guy”

There has become this fascination that low carb “diets” are the way to go. But before you reconstruct your food intake, you should be aware of some FACTS:

There are such thing as good and bad carbs. Either way, your brain as well as your body needs SOME amount of carbs every day.

Complex carbs (rich in whole grains/ fiber) are foods that help keep you feeling full for longer periods of time, which in turn help you eat less and lose more!

The mistake that many people make when choosing to go the low carb route, is that they also believe that foods with 0-low carb counts also have 0-low calories and are the healthier option. THIS IS NOT TRUE!

Never cut any food group out of your diet! This leads to deprivation and sometimes bingeing.

The Solution: The key is to learn which carbohydrates have the highest nutritional content. Fresh fruits and veggies are a great place to start!

• Not Eating Enough or Often Enough/ Eating Too Much

“But I’m not hungry”. I hear this more frequently than not, and it’s extremely confusing to me as I feel I could constantly eat an entire house!!

Along with overeating, you can also under eat. I know this seems contradicting, but they are 100% related.

If you aren’t eating at regular intervals throughout your day (every 3-4 hours), you risk the possibility of spiking your blood sugar and insulin levels which can promote fat storage and destroying your metabolism.

Eating too much is also a common issue. Many people believe that if a food is considered “healthy”, they can eat as much of it as they’d like.

The Solution: The key here is to remain conscious of portion sizes. You are not trying to feel “stuffed” after your meal, but more so satisfied.