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Nutrition Tips for Healthy Living

Five Principles for a Leaner Body

1. Eat every 2-3 hours. NO JOKE!

Now, you don’t need to eat a full meal every 2-3 hours - every few hours you should be getting a dose of good food that follow the other rules below.

That may seem like a lot, but understand a) that each meal will be smaller than the ones most people eat, and b) that eating this way can drastically reduce your body’s inclination to store the calories you eat as body fat.

2. Include lean protein in each meal.

Complete, lean protein generally is food that, well, was an animal or comes from an animal. Things like organic chicken, beef, fish, eggs, and the like.

“Lean” means low fat. So you want food high in protein but low in fat.

Are you getting protein in each meal? If not, make the change.

Note: If you’re a vegetarian, this rule still applies.

3. Include vegetables in each meal.

One of the best and easiest things you can do to improve your health is to include veggies in each meal or snack you eat – every 2-3 hours, right? Do it!

Psychologically, that’s a big change for most people. But it makes such a difference physically that it’s well worth it.

4. Save carb-heavy meals for after exercise.

This includes things like things rice, pasta, potatoes, etc. You can eat them all – but wait until after you’ve exercised. Plenty of research shows that the body is better able to process carbohydrates in the 3 hour period following a bout of intense exercise.

It’s true that starches, grains and sugars are dietary staples in North America, but remember that heart disease, diabetes and cancer are medical staples in North America – and there’s a relationship between the two!

To stop heading down the heart disease highway, reward yourself for a good workout with a good carbohydrate meal right after. For the rest of the day, stick to lean protein and a delicious selection of fruits and veggies.

5. Include a good balance of healthy fat in your diet. *See “Don’t Pass on the Fat”

For a long time, dietary fat was vilified in the media. The truth is that dietary fat is absolutely essential! There are 3 types of fat: saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated. Eating all three kinds in a healthy balance can dramatically improve your health, and actually help you lose fat.

Your saturated fat will probably already be covered. Most foods containing lean protein also contain some saturated fat, and that’s okay. You can even toss in some butter or coconut oil for cooking.

Your monounsaturated fat should come from mixed nuts, olives, and olive oil.

Your polyunsaturated fat should from flax seed oil, fish oil, and mixed nuts.

Working healthy fat into your meals is easy.