Fitness Fatloss Muscle Network

Fitness for Home Business Owners - 7 Strategies for Eating Healthy

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"Just tell me what to eat" is a phrase I've heard from many clients during my 12 years as a fitness professional. They, like many of you, don't have time to think about what to eat. You've got fitness goals in mind that you'd like to achieve, but not a lot of time to waste on experimenting with what works and what doesn't. With 80% of your results coming from a commitment to good nutrition, you'll definitely need to be eating the right things.

What's one of the first things we turn to when beginning a health and fitness program? That's right, a diet. The easiest kind is just to cut out whole food groups (like carbohydrates) or eliminate entire meals altogether. However, this is a very short-term solution that is neither healthy nor long lasting.

Instead of going on a diet next time, try using the following seven strategies for not only eating healthy, but for accelerated fat loss, increased energy and overall wellness.

1. Cut Out Carbonation If you drink soda pop or other carbonated beverages, you can see and feel definite improvements by changing just this one habit. The problems with it include high amounts of sugar, artificial flavorings and caffeine. Even though these all compromise your health, the largest problem is what it does to your digestion. Carbonated drinks are quite acidic which changes the acid level (pH) in the digestive system and causes your food to not be digested as well. Drink more water instead of carbonated drinks.

2. Get Familiar with Labels Knowing how to read labels can save you from making the mistake of eating something that should have been left on the grocery store shelf. The list of ingredients will give you a snapshot of the overall quality of the food. Generally, the shorter the list, the healthier it is for you because it's closer to its natural state.

3. Eat More Raw Foods A food that has not been cooked or processed will be healthier for you because it contains a full range of nutrients and is easier to digest. Heating food destroys many of its nutrients like vitamins, minerals and enzymes plus places the full burden of digestion on the body. This is why a food that is raw (like an apple) will rot. It's a living food that contains enzymes to help break it down. When we eat an apple the digestive system has very little work to do except absorb the nutrients.

4. Reduce Sugars Eating foods with too much sugar causes the body to release an excess amount of insulin, which has a greater tendency to be converted to fat. In addition to having an increased appetite, food cravings, irritability and mood swings. Also be careful of foods that have had sugar added to them, like ketchup. Natural sweeteners such as raw honey or stevia do not have these negative effects and will instead keep blood sugar levels more stabilized.

5. Eat Small, Frequent Meals This helps to keep hunger and food cravings in check while making it easier on the digestive system. The standard three meals a day often puts too many hours in between so hunger levels can get elevated by the time you're ready for the next meal. This means it becomes easier to over eat and fall victim to the super size syndrome. Eating more frequently will also help elevate the metabolism and keep your energy levels high.

6. Increase the Intake of Healthy Fats When it comes to fat, your goal should be to become knowledgeable about the differences between the good fats (which you need more of) and bad fats (which you should drastically reduce). The target amount you should aim for is about 20% of your total calories coming from fat. Just make as many as possible come from the healthy fats like cold pressed oils, raw nuts and seeds or avocados.

7. Avoid White Flour During the refining process, many of the nutrients in wheat are removed and discarded. Sure, a few are added back through enriching or fortifying, but the bulk of the nutrients are still missing like the wheat germ and wheat bran. When choosing flour or any other food, remember to choose foods that are as close to nature as possible. Doing so will give your body more nutrients and better health.

Michael Cordon NSCA-CPT

Michael invites you to receive his FREE e-zine that gives "how to" tips on becoming Healthy, Fit and Lean. A Free Report and Newsletter subscription to move you to action can be found at MakeYourBodyLean.com. Learn how to lose body fat, gain strength, eat right and look great by following natural, principle based fitness programs.

Copyright Michael Cordon 2005. You have free reprint rights to this article. Feel free to post it on your website, emails, etc. as long as the resource box is included with all active links and do not edit the article in any way.