How To Eat Better
Healthy eating is not about going on a strict diet, or depriving yourself of the foods you love. It is about having more energy, a stronger immune system, feeling better, and improving overall health. So, lets take a look at 7 simple ways to eat better.
1. Make changes gradually. Many people want changes to happen fast, so they dive in head first eating nothing but healthy foods, and they can keep this up for a while, but as time goes on, willpower will eventually decline, inevitably leading them back to where they started. You have to give yourself ample time, this way you can slowly make the transition, you have to learn to walk before you learn to run.
2. Understand serving sizes. Over eating is a major issue for many people. Having an understanding of what a serving size actually is will keep you from over consuming food, which can help against weight gain.
3. When you start out, make sure you get 1 serving of fruit, and 1 serving of veggies per day. The idea is to get your brain to start thinking about fruits and veggies on a daily basis. As time goes on, increase these servings.
4. Have some protein with all meals. Protein has many important functions in the body, and it also takes longer to digest, making you feel fuller. You can even have high protein snacks such as nuts or seeds to curb your hunger throughout the day.
5. Think before you eat. Take a minute before you decide what to eat, and evaluate. Does this meal I am about to eat have some fruit, veggies, and protein. Are the portion sizes not too large, and am I actually going to enjoy this meal, or just force it down. You have to eat foods you actually like the taste of. Thinking before you eat goes a long way.
6. Eat junk food. Yes, you heard me, eat junk food. Just do it in moderation, and slowly decrease the amount of junk food your eating over time. It is almost impossible to completely eliminate eating a food that you love, and you shouldn’t have to. Lets say you love sweets, say cupcakes, rather than gulping down a whole cupcake at one time, eat half of it now, and the other half later in the day. This way you have satisfied your sweet cravings twice in one day, with one sweet rather than 2.
7. When eating out share, or wrap up half of the meal to go. Restaurant portions are gigantic. And most restaurant foods are loaded with unhealthy fats, large amounts of sodium, or large amounts of sugar. By sharing or wrapping half of the meal, you are not overeating, and you are at least limiting the amount of unhealthy food you are putting in your body at one time.
8. Be prepared when you are eating around others. Many people encourage their unhealthy eating habits onto others. Don’t let others push you into unhealthy choices.
9. Failure is ok. It is ok to fail. If you have a few days, or even a week where everything you eat is garbage, its ok. Don’t let that completely derail you from your ultimate goal of eating healthier. Eating healthier is about changing your life and your lifestyle. Change is really hard to do. its not if you fall, its do you get back up.
10. Drink better fluids. Cut back on, or eliminate sugary or artificially flavored drinks. Choosing water or freshly squeezed juices are a great substitute.
These are only a few of the ways to eat healthier, the most important thing to do is to change your mindset towards food. Many people, myself included, eat foods based simply on taste, not on nutrition. Increasing your awareness is key. Before you eat ask yourself 2 questions, am I going to enjoy the taste of this food, and is this food going to nourish my body and improve my health.
what is fat in the nutritional world? Well, it is one of the macronutrients, along with carbs and protein. It is an essential part of our diet and nutrition, and we cannot live without it. Fats are found in most foods, some foods have a high fat content, and some have just trace amounts.
The Functions of fats
The 1st function of fat is energy. 1 gram of fat provides 9 calories of energy to our bodies, whereas Carbs and protein only provide 4 calories per gram. Through a process called lipolysis, Fat is used as a source of backup energy in cases when carbs are not available.
2nd, fat insulates the body. There is a thin fat layer underneath the skin that keeps heat inside the body, maintaining proper temperature. This layer also protects the inner core from extreme temp changes.
3rd, there is a layer of fat that surrounds major organs and acts like a cushion, adsorbing shock from a sudden impact.
4th, fats help with satiety control. Because fat stays in the stomach longer than other energy nutrients, it makes people feel fuller longer.
5th, Fat is needed to absorb certain vitamins. Vitamins a,d,e and k are fat soluble, which means, without fat they could not be absorbed into the body.
So, what are the functions of protein? First, lets define what proteins are…
Proteins are made up of smaller molecules called amino acids that are strung together…cmon dude, get in your place….cmon dude, quit messing around. That a boy. Sorry about that folks,…So, proteins are made up of smaller molecules called amino acids that are strung together by chemical bonds like beads on a chain. So, now that we have a general understanding of what proteins are, what are their major functions?
The 1st function of proteins is to help make some of our hormones. Hormones are chemical messengers that travel throughout the body coordinating complex processes that often involve the interaction of several organs.
The next function is to build and maintain tissue. This is why the protein requirement is higher for growing children and athletes.
The 3rd function of protein is to make enzymes. Enzymes function as catalysts, which means that they speed up the rate at which metabolic processes and reactions occur.
The next function is transportation. Transport proteins enable nutrients to go to the right tissues.
The next function of protein is as a source of energy. If you consume more protein than you need for body tissue maintenance and other necessary functions, your body can use it for energy.
These are just a few of the functions of protein, but as you can see Protein has a very important role bodily activities.
The full term is actually macronutrients. Macronutrients are nutrients that provide calories or energy. The 3 macros are, carbs, fats and protein. They are considered energy nutrients because they all provide carbon, which can be burned for energy production.
Carbs provide 4 calories per gram, protein provide 4 calories per gram as well, and fats provide 9 calories per gram. So, if we looked at a nutrition label and it said 14g fat, 22g carb, and 6g protein per serving, we could calculate the total calories per serving, using some basic math.
The caloric equation is…Total calories = (9*Fat grams) + (4*carb grams) + (4*protein grams). So, from our example we find the amount of total calories in this item.
While macros do provide us with fuel, they also have many other important functions, such as energy storage, making hormones and enzymes, preserving lean muscle mass, maintaining cell membranes, and absorbing certain vitamins, to list just a few.
Although macronutrients are very important they are not the only things that we need for survival.
Our bodies also need water and micronutrients. Micronutrients are nutrients that our bodies need in smaller amounts, and include vitamins and minerals.
Bottom line…all macros can provide energy if needed, but, they all have equally important other functions in the body as well. Remember, whole or minimally processed foods, moderation, and variety.
