Some Basic Nutritional Guidelines

When you're trying to decide what to eat, or better yet planning your meals for the next day, try to follow these simple guidelines:

1) Balance Isn't Just for Yoga. Each meal should consist of approximately 60% Carbohydrates*, 30% Lean Protein**, and 10% Healthy Fats***.

2) Think FIBER. Fiber does a lot for us, it keeps our bad cholesterol down, keeps our colon clean, and keeps us satisfied longer (so we're less likely to over-indulge).

3) Be Creative! You don't need a ton of salt and butter to make something taste good. Try crushed red pepper flakes, jalapenos, garlic, or other spices. Salt and butter are not only hard on your body, but they also mask the TRUE tastes of your food.

4) Your Body is a Fireplace. If you throw a log on a fire every couple of hours it keeps burning. If you wait too long before throwing on a new log the fire burns out and all that's left is a pile of logs. Your body works the same way. Feed your body every 2-3 hours to keep your "fire" (metabolism) burning. If you wait until the work day is over and scarf down a big dinner you're just throwing a bunch of logs in a pile (see waistline for details).

5) Gas up Before Starting Your Trip. If you leave for a trip in a car with an empty gas tank you're not going to get very far. Your metabolism is the same way. If you're waiting to eat breakfast longer than about 45 minutes after you wake up, your metabolism (like your car) is going to slow to a stop. Again, refer to your waistline to see what happens when your metabolism stops burning.

Hopefully these five simple guidelines will help you achieve your fitness goals and by the way, this is NOT just for people who need to lose weight. You're overall health and ability to perform will benefit from adding these to your daily routine.


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*Carbohydrates: vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes, and whole grains.

**Lean Proteins: chicken & turkey (white meat), some pork, lean ground beef, eggs and fish.

***Healthy Fats: avocado, fish oil, ground flaxseed oil, fish, nuts, legumes.