Master Your Nutrition – Melting Fat Is Simple – Cravings Are Rough
Thursday, February 2nd, 2012Many people begin the day either not having breakfast or making bad choices high in fat with no balance with their meal. Then at lunch they have a burger and fries, sandwich and chips, or try to be good with soup and/or salad, not understanding they just ingested close to 1000 calories due to heavy dressing and thick, non brothy soup. At supper they consume lots of carbs, eat a large piece of meat and have very little if any vegetables. Many people only have 4-5 servings of fruit and/or vegetables per week, and I am guessing on the high side. Not eating often enough, and eating too much when we finally get to eat can have horible results on our waistline and health.
I’m trying to make this easy…just read and follow along.
Let’s make this very simple. I’m not going to get into the details of every food you eat. Think about this: If it comes in a plastic bag, you probably don’t need it. Make eating simple. Get very creative with recipes and try to keep them healthy. So, here is our strategy. Divide a plate into 4 sections. Fill 2 sections of that plate with fruit and/or vegetable, one section of protein (about the size of the palm of your hand/4-6 ounces), and one section of carbohydrate. You should usually not have any complex carbohydrates (pasta, potatoes, rice, etc.) after 3pm unless it’s right before a workout.
I would venture to say that there are not many people who don’t at least know that we are supposed to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables per day. This is one simple rule…eat 6-8 servings of fruits and/or vegetables per day. Can’t we follow just one rule? This one rule could change our digestive health immensely by adding fiber to our diet and greatly improve our gut motility. Even if we changed nothing else, we should see some change for the better. Do NOT add fat when cooking your vegetables!
Why don’t we make some more changes and add a few more rules. Think of protein to be just as important as the vegetables. Many people, especially in the United States, aren’t having trouble meeting their daily protein needs. The dilemma here is choosing the wrong, fatty options rather than something clean and lean. Understand the fat content in the foods you are buying and make better choices. Choose your ground beef at 93% lean or better. This helps to be leaner than most ground turkey or chicken(People seem to think of these as healthier choices than ground beef).
How about fish? Wild salmon is my favorite option. Have this every day of the week if you want. Salmon is strong with Omega 3 fats that are great for the entire body’s health, specifically the brain and nervous system. Salmon is also low in mercury. To keep with our simple theme, eat any other fish a maximum of once per week.
Complex carbohydrates are craving monsters. Hunger calls for a bag of chips. Mashed potatoes are delicious with butter… especially with gravy. Spaghetti and pizza are popular and will make the meal 80-90% carbs. The complication here is… once we have them, we crave more. If you can have discipline with your serving size and eat them at the right time of day, your cravings will get under control much better. Many people do their best by eliminating them completely. My rule as I said previously, is to stop any carb intake after 3pm. If you do have them in the evening, use portion control… no more than a cup. This should not be the staple or main course in our daily diet.
Finally, don’t forget the calories with your liquid intake. You should be drinking half your body weight in ounces of water per day. If you are no where near this level, work your way up to these levels by adding 20 ounces per week until you reach your proper amount per day. Don’t do this all at once. Urinating more often as you get used to the higher intake is normal and good to clean out your pipes. Most people today are walking around dehydrated which can send mixed signals of hunger. We sleep through the night, and when we awaken, the first liquid ingested is coffee, which is a dehydrator. Diet drinks are no better. Not only is the aspartame horrible for you, it triggers a high insulin response with nothing to digest creating cravings for food ( usually carbs ) shortly after intake. If you think you are hungry…drink an 8 ounce glass of water. You will be surprised. WATER, WATER, WATER!!
Well this is basic diet 101. This is how I begin care with many of my patients. It seems so easy, everybody should be doing it. I can go into so much more detail, and will in future articles. Each topic here can be separate articles by themselves. Following these simple rules will become very easy and you will be ready for the next level. This is the path to a leaner you. So, divide your plate into quarter, put proper portion sizes on it (hint: all the vegetables you want), and meet the healthier you sooner than you think.
Discover the disguised codes to burning fat in only 49 days by clicking the blue words.