The aim of renovating your diet isn’t to count calories or eliminate food groups, but to enjoy the freshest foods with the greatest nutritional value! #HealthyLifestyle , not a diet!
Learning to eat optimally brings awareness to where our food comes from, and is a commitment to eating foods with the shortest pathway to your plates!
Here are some basic rules to get your started.
Shop Optimally
Renovating your diet beings at the hardware store… aka your grocery store, farmers market or farm stand. The first step is to become familiar with which foods are sourced locally and what produce is in season.
Start by asking your grocers or paying attention to signs in the produce section about how far your fruits, veggies, meat and fish had to travel to reach you.
To get in the habit of reading nutrition labels. Eliminate products with more than five ingredients or any ingredients you can’t pronounce out loud.
Cook Optimally
Get comfortable in your kitchen and start cooking more of your own meals.
Benefits from eating at home,
Saves calories
Reduces salt intake
Wallet-friendly
Void high-fat cooking methods (deep-frying)
Preserve nutritional value
Eat Optimally
EAT MORE VEG
Fact - diets rich in vegetables and fruits have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity and certain cancers.
Aim for a minimum of 2 ½ - 3 Cups of low-calorie, nutrient rich fruits and vegetables!
The optimum cooking method varies by vegetable, with some veggies getting nutritional boost by cooking and others best when eaten raw.
Tip – when cooking, safe bets are steaming, baking, or sautéing to preserve the nutritional value. To boost your veggie intake, replace pasta with zucchini or spaghetti squash spirals.
EAT WHOLE GRAINS
Why are whole grains more optimal then refined?
Products with “whole” in the name still contain bran and germ, while refined products are more processed and are often stripped of their healthy fiber and vitamins.
Choose delicious gluten free options such as quinoa, buckwheat, millet, amaranth, brown rice and oats!
EAT NATURAL
Eating optimally means eating foods in their most natural form!
Processed foods with lots of added sugar are not a part of the equation.
Skip candy, soda, sweets and prepackaged foods all together.
Fact - 4 grams of sugar on a food label equals 1 teaspoon of sugar, therefore 16 grams of sugar is like dumping 4 scoops of sugar in your food!
Tip – read food labels carefully, and pay close attention to foods that contain sneaky sugars, like granola bars, cereal, oatmeal, canned fruit, spaghetti sauce, BBQ sauce, salad dressings, frozen desserts, fruit juice, lemonade, sports drinks and bottled Teas!
EAT LESS MEAT
Eating optimally doesn’t mean eliminating food groups, but eating less meat can help eliminate extra saturated fat from your diet!
Starting a habit of eating smaller portions of meat (a serving size is the size of a deck of cards), and filling up on vegetables, whole grains and beans.
Important – look for locally sourced, organic, free-range, grass fed animal meat.
DRINK MORE
Fact – The adult body is made up of 60-70% water.
Fact – 43& of adults drink less than 4 cups of water per day, sipping on coffee instead or forgoing liquids all together.
Fuelling up with H20 throughout the day is essential and some reasons that are not always obvious as you might expect.
Drinking water can give you a productivity boost
Prevent aching joints and muscles
Improve digestion
Promote physical activity
Sleep better
Boosts your metabolism
Tip – Find a water bottle you LOVE. Try to sip on water in-between your main meals, when you are driving, when you are watching your favourite show and well, when you are bored and having nothing to do. JUST DRINK :)
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