Book 1
Nutrition
Understanding The Basics
By
Nicholas Bjorn
Book 2
Fitness Nutrition
The Ultimate Fitness Guide
By
Nicholas Bjorn
Book 1
Nutrition
Understanding the Basics:
Nutrition 101, Healthy Eating, and
Weight Loss
Lose Weight, and Feel Great!
4th Edition
By
Nicholas Bjorn
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: The Basics of Nutrition
Vegetables
Protein
Grains
Fruits
Dairy
Oils
Chapter 2: Dietary Guidelines
Control Calorie Intake
On the Subject of Sugar
The Role of the Food Industries
It All Starts with the Kids
So Where Do We Go From Here?
Choose Macro-Nutrients
Go Easy on Sodium
It's Okay to Eat Fat
It's Okay to Have a Cheat Day
Don't Starve Yourself
Know More about the Glycemic Index
Read Nutrition Labels
Chapter 3: Reading Nutrition Labels
Number of Servings and Serving Sizes
Pay Attention to the Number of Calories
The %Dv is Your Friend
Look for Products that are Rich in Calcium, Iron, and Vitamins A and C
Choose Good Fats
Check the Sodium Content
Weight Management
Go for Healthy Carbohydrates
Protein May Be Essential, But You Should Still Go for Low-Fat
Look at the List of Ingredients
Chapter 4: The Right Vitamins and Minerals
Vitamin A
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B12
Vitamin C
Vitamin D
Vitamin E
Vitamin K
Calcium
Iron
Potassium
Fiber
Zinc
Chapter 5: Understanding Malnutrition
Types of Malnutrition
Signs and Symptoms of Malnutrition
Treatment and Prevention of Malnutrition
Statistics and Facts about Malnutrition
Chapter 6: Diseases Caused by Poor Diet
Diabetes
Anemia
Rickets (Osteomalacia)
Beriberi
Scurvy
Pellagra
Night blindness (xerophthalmia)
Goiter
Kwashiorkor
Depression
Osteoporosis
Cancer
Chapter 7: Obesity – An Issue for more than 35% of American Adults
Obesity and Lack of Micronutrients
Obesity and Vitamins
Obesity and Diabetes
Chapter 8: The Best Fat-Burning Foods
Walnuts
Water
Oatmeal
Ginger
Avocado
Soybeans
Salmon
Grapefruit
Flax Seeds
Peanut Butter
Honey
Broccoli
Chili Pepper Flakes
Eggs
Olive Oil
Berries
Low-Fat Dairy Products
Whey Protein
Green Tea
Chapter 9: Getting Started
Being Mindful of What We Eat
Don’t Beat Yourself Up
Chapter 10: Some Tips on Shopping and Recipes
Cutting Down Food Waste
Putting It into Practice
Breakfast Recipes
Easy Work Lunches
Dinner
Desserts
The Sensitive Subject of Snacks
Chapter 11: The Importance of Water
Tea and Coffee
Chapter 12: Healthy Living
Chapter 13: Final Eating Tips
Conclusion
Works Cited
Introduction
I want to thank you and congratulate you for downloading “Nutrition:
Understanding the Basics: Nutrition 101, Healthy Eating, and Weight
Loss – Lose Weight and Feel Great!”
This book contains proven steps and strategies on how to lose weight and
keep it off. You will learn what the basics of nutrition are and what you need
to do to ensure that you are in peak health at all times. You can definitely
lose weight naturally and quickly by eating what's right for you!
With the help of this book, you will learn the importance of reading food
labels and making sure that you get the right amount of nutrients during each
meal. This will ensure that you not only lose weight, but also keep the
weight off while preventing disease, thus leading to a happier, healthier life.
Lose weight and feel great the right way!
Thanks again for downloading this book, and I hope you enjoy it!
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Chapter 1: The Basics of Nutrition
With the rise in obesity levels in most of the Western world and with the
increasing prevalence of this condition across many under-developed
countries, there have been hundreds of diets that have been promoted, both
to reduce weight and to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The problem is that
while most of them are great and offer impressive results initially, their longterm effects may not be so beneficial. Whether you want to reduce weight or
simply eat a healthier diet, the solution does not lie in the latest fad eating
regime. Instead, what you need is a system of eating that is both healthy and
sustainable over the long term.
Well, the solution to that problem may not be as complicated as you think.
Many modern health problems – or the lack thereof – stem from changes in
eating habits made over the last 50 years. Prior to World War II, the average
male in London consumed over 3000 calories per day, and yet, obesity was
not the problem that it now is. Sure, there was, by necessity, more exercise
being done, but jogging and aerobics were not around then. Exercise tended
to be moderate and performed within the course of general daily routine,
such as riding or walking to work or using a push mower rather than a driveon one. If that is the case, what changes have been made to our modern
lifestyles that facilitate the increase in weight among such a large proportion
of our population?
To enable ease of access to a healthy diet, the government developed a
system known as the food plate. We will start by taking a broad look at this
system, and from there, we will look at some easy ways to change eating
habits for the better in more detail. These habits are not only healthier but, in
many cases, they are cheaper, too. The fact is that much of the obesity
explosion we have been witnessing has taken place in the poorer
communities of our society, and any changes made need to be accessible to
both rich and poor alike.
If you want to live a healthy and well-balanced life, it is important that you
maintain a well-balanced diet. The problem is that not all people know how
to make sure that their meals are balanced and that they are eating the right
kinds of foods to get all the nutrients that their bodies need. It is also
important to know how much of these foods you should be eating.
In 2011, the Food Plate replaced the Food Pyramid as an easier means of
showing people what they should eat for every meal. It's a way of zoning
your plate and making sure that you fill your plate up with the right food
choices. This Food Plate is known as “MyPlate” and is the current nutritional
guide published by the United States Department of Agriculture.
Basically, a food plate should consist of at least 75% vegetables, and then the
remaining 25% should be partitioned between protein, grains, and fruits. A
small saucer of dairy can also be included. Oils are also important to eat
because they contain important nutrients, but they are not a real food group.
They, however, will still be mentioned within this chapter. The notes below
will help you understand the partitions of the Food Plate better.
Vegetables
In the early nineties, the World Health Organization came up with the five-aday fruit and veg plan that most people are familiar with. A significant
amount of servings have been added since then, and most health
organizations now recommend between seven and thirteen cups of fruits or
vegetables per day, with vegetables making up the majority.
The problem is that even on the five-a-day system, only 30% of the
population achieved the WHO target. The importance of vegetables in a diet
cannot be overstressed. Vegetables are four times healthier than fruit, and
with the exception of those high in starch, they can be eaten without limit
and are thus great and healthy snacks to grab when you are feeling hungry.
Many of the dark green vegetables are known as superfoods. These include
spinach, kale, broccoli, and Brussel sprouts. These superfoods have a lot of
benefits that many people don’t know about. The biggest benefit provided by
these foods is the high amount of nutrients that is present in them. These
foods are more nutrient dense than any other vegetables on the list. Spinach
is especially good, with plenty of vitamin K, which helps promote bone
health and has lots of antioxidants and plenty of anti-inflammatories. It’s no
wonder spinach is often considered one of the best superfoods.
Many of the red and orange vegetables have plenty of nutrients that promote
not only bone health but eye health as well. Nutrients like zeaxanthin play an
important role in the health of your eyes. They help protect your eyes when
they are exposed to UV rays and other harmful high-energy light.
Lycopene is another antioxidant that is incredibly beneficial to your body.
This antioxidant can protect your body from any harm that pesticides can
induce. Pesticides are full of harmful chemicals that people digest on a daily
basis. Lycopene is a great way to help stop any damage in its tracks.
Starchy vegetables are a great source of fiber. Fiber is one of the nutrients
that some people don’t consume enough of. It aids in digestion and helps
keep your blood sugar levels stable, thus making fiber an incredibly
important nutrient.
B-vitamins are also prominent in starchy vegetables. Many scientists agree
that these vitamins can reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. They also
aid in promoting positive moods. They interact with the dopamine and
serotonin levels in the brain, guarding against memory loss. Most adults do
not eat the recommended amount of starchy vegetables that they should. One
cup of potatoes can go a long way.
There are tons of benefits from beans and peas. Many beans are a significant
source of protein, which is beneficial to those who are vegetarian or vegan.
They are also full of different minerals, including copper, iron, magnesium,
and phosphorus. Copper is very important throughout life, and infants who
are deprived of copper by being given cow’s milk may have many issues as
they get older. Copper is stored in the liver. A deficiency can lead to
osteoporosis, increased risk of infection, impaired neurological growth, and
stunted growth. Adults and adolescents don’t need a significant amount of
copper, only 900 micrograms a day.
Peas, on the other hand, have different benefits. While many of the nutrients
are similar, the top two nutrients in specifically found in green peas are
vitamin K and manganese. Vitamin K is important for bone health and also
plays a huge role in making sure your blood clots correctly. Meanwhile,
manganese also has a ton of benefits for your bones. It’s also used as a coenzyme in the metabolism, thus helping with digestion.
People who eat large quantities of vegetables have a significantly lower risk
of premature death than those who do not. Those with a high intake are also
much less likely to get cancer. Adults should eat at least 2 ½ to 3 cups of
vegetables each day. It’s suggested to eat different kinds of vegetables of
various colors. This variety will let you remain enthusiastic in consuming
your food, aside from offering a wider range of nutrients. Below is a chart
that would enable you to become familiar with the various types of
vegetables.
Dark Green
Vegetables
Romaine Lettuce, Spinach, Collard Greens, Bok
Choy, Broccoli, Spinach, Kale, Dark Green Leafy
Lettuce, Mustard Greens, Turnip Greens
Red and Orange
Vegetables
Butternut Squash, Acorn Squash, Carrots, Red
Peppers, Orange Peppers, Pumpkin, Hubbard
Squash, Tomatoes, Sweet Potatoes
Starchy Vegetables
Corn, Cassava, Green Bananas, Cow peas, Green
Peas, Potatoes, Green Lima Beans, Taro, Water
Chestnuts, Plantains
Beans and Peas
Garbanzos, Black-Eyed Peas, Black Beans, Lentils,
Kidney Beans, Pinto Beans, Navy Beans, Split
Peas, Soy Beans, White Beans
Other Vegetables
Artichokes, Asparagus, Cauliflower, Cabbage,
Beets, Bean Sprouts, Cucumbers, Celery, Eggplant,
Green Peppers, Green Beans, Onions, Okra,
Mushrooms, Iceberg Lettuce, Zucchini, Wax
Beans, Turnips
Protein
The average male should eat at least 56 grams of protein per day, whereas
the average female should eat 46 grams daily. These figures are for the
average sedentary adult, and many active people should be eating more.
Protein is what our bodies use to manufacture things. In short, our bodies are
like small, highly advanced factories that are constantly rebuilding and
repairing themselves. They are forever building muscle, growing hair and
nails, repairing organs, and strengthening bones. The main building block for
all these activities comes from protein, and that is also the reason why it is
quite tricky to determine the exact daily intake needed.
This amount will vary according to how much exercise we do, what age we
are, what our body mass is, etc. Without protein, it would be impossible to
maintain life as we know it. Protein is also highly sating to the appetite and
can therefore be a useful tool for controlling calorie intake.
Most proteins come in the form of animal products, particularly red meat. If
your choice is not to eat red meat, then you can eat seafood in place of meat
to make sure you are including enough protein in your meals.
If you want the most protein in your meat, pork tenderloin, chicken, turkey,
and steak have the most protein per bite. These are great for people who are
working out often and want to build up muscle. Lean meat is definitely the
best when it comes to this, as there is less fat. You’ll be able to eat the meat
without worrying about putting on too much weight.
Chicken is the most widely eaten kind of poultry in the world, and for good
reason. It has a lot of protein while also being beneficial in other ways. It has
an amino acid called tryptophan, which gives you a comforting feeling. This
helps bring your serotonin levels up, making you feel happier.
Chicken is also rich in phosphorus, which promotes teeth and bone health. It
also helps make sure that your kidneys, liver, and central nervous system
function normally. If you want a boost in your metabolism, chicken would be
a good food to eat. Meanwhile, niacin is a B-vitamin that can help guard
against cancer and other types of DNA damaging diseases.
Seafood is a great alternative to other meats. Not only do they have plenty of
protein, but they have a ton of vitamins and minerals, some of which are
harder to find in certain foods. Fish oil, for example, has a multitude of
benefits. It has omega-3s, which decreases the symptoms of depression,
hypertension, ADHD, joint pain, arthritis, and some chronic skin ailments. It
also helps with weight loss, fertility, and pregnancy, as well as increases
energy. Eating some fish every week will help reduce your chances of
suffering from a heart attack by nearly half.
Eggs are a great source of protein. The protein is concentrated in the whites
of the eggs. Some people prefer to eat only egg whites because of the protein
that’s in them. Moreover, eggs have plenty of other nutrients, including
vitamin B-2, selenium, vitamin D, zinc, iron, and copper. Selenium is
important in keeping your immune system healthy.
With weight loss, eggs can be an incredibly good for helping to keep you
feeling full for a lot longer, as well as giving you energy. Biotin is a big thing
in helping with metabolizing fat. This can be a hard thing for your body to
do, so it’s good that there is something that can help with fat metabolism.
Nuts and seeds other protein-filled foods. They can be added to your meals
in many different ways, including on salads, in cereals, or just as a snack
food. These are also filled with healthy mono and polyunsaturated fats,
which are helpful for managing inflammation and the normal structure of
your body.
Fiber is also a big part of nuts and seeds. This is a great nutrient that helps
keep your body feeling fuller for a lot longer, making these a great snack
food.
Beans and peas are some of the foods with protein and are among the best
sources of protein for vegans and vegetarians. Most of the benefits from
these foods are mentioned in the vegetable section.
Processed soy products also are a good source of protein. They also have
plenty of vitamins and minerals, like B-vitamins and iron. These are great for
vegans and vegetarians. An example is tofu.
The benefits of tofu include having eight essential amino acids. It has been
shown to reduce the possibility of having prostate and breast cancer,
cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, type-2 diabetes, age-related brain
diseases, or liver damage. Some scientists have found that people who eat
too many soy products can have issues later in life because of isoflavones,
which can lead to estrogen overload in both men and women and can cause a
lot of problems.
For those who choose not to eat meat at all, there are some plants that are
fairly high in protein as well. Examples of foods that are rich in protein are
the following:
Meat
Ham, Lamb, Beef, Veal, Pork, Bison, Venison,
Giblets, Liver
Poultry
Duck, Chicken, Turkey, Goose, Ground Turkey or
Chicken
Seafood
Cod, Catfish, Haddock, Flounder, Herring, Halibut,
Pollock, Mackerel, Salmon, Porgy, Sea Bass,
Salmon, Swordfish, Snapper, Tuna, Trout, Clams.
Crayfish, Crab, Scallops. Oysters, Mussels,
Lobsters, Shrimp, Octopus, Anchovies, Sardines
Eggs
Chicken Eggs, Quail Eggs
Nuts and Seeds
Cashews, Almonds, Mixed Nuts, Hazelnuts,
Peanuts, Pistachios, Pecans, Sesame Seeds,
Pumpkin Seeds, Walnuts, Sunflower Seeds
Beans and Peas
Black Beans, Bean Burgers, Chick Peas, Black
Eyed Peas, Soy Beans, Split Beans, Pinto Beans,
Navy Beans, Lentils, Lima Beans
Processed Soy
Products
Veggie Burgers, Tofu, Texturized Vegetable
Protein, Tempeh
Grains
It's also important for adults to eat at least 5 to 7 ounces of grains each day. It
would be best to eat whole grains, as they contain the highest amount of
nutrients.
Whole grains have tons of benefits, including having a reduced risk of
stroke, heart attack, and type 2 diabetes. There are tons of nutrients in whole
grains, all of which aid in keeping these things at bay.
Iron is important in producing red blood cells and preventing anemia.
Anemia can cause fatigue and reduce your energy by a lot, so making sure
you have a proper amount of iron in your diet is crucial. Whole wheat pasta
is a great source of fiber, which promotes digestive health and reduces the
chances of developing type 2 diabetes.
Refined grains do lose some of the benefits that whole grains have and don’t
contain any fiber. However, they do have certain B-vitamins and iron, which
are put back into the grains after they are refined. As long as an average
adult still gets a good amount of fiber in his or her diet, consuming some
refined grains is not the end of the world.
Pastas are a great source of carbohydrates. These carbs will give you energy,
helping you stay energized for a longer period of time. Selenium, which is a
mineral that activates antioxidant enzymes to prevent molecular damage in
your cells, is present in all types of pasta. Folate is very prominent in pasta
as well, with about 42% of the required daily folate intake fulfilled by a
serving of pasta.
Breakfast cereals have tons of vitamins and minerals, but the amount
changes depending on the type of breakfast cereal. Many cereals, including
oatmeal and bran cereals, are rich in fiber. Corn flakes are rich in thiamine,
which helps immensely with carbohydrate metabolism and energy
production. While they might not be as high in fiber as some of the other
cereals, they are high in iron. This is important to not only maintain healthy
blood levels, but also to keep the brain alert.
These include brown rice, pasta, oatmeal, and whole wheat cereal. Below is
a grain chart for you with additional options.
Whole Grains
Brown Rice, Amaranth, Millet, Bulgur, Buckwheat,
Triticale, Popcorn, Oatmeal, Quinoa, Whole Grain
Cornmeal, Whole Grain Barley, Whole Wheat
Pasta, Whole Wheat Crackers, Whole Wheat Rolls
and Sandwich Buns, Wild Rice
Refined Grains
Corn Tortillas, Cornbread, Crackers, Couscous,
Grits, Flour Tortillas, Pitas, Noodles, White Bread,
Pretzels, White Rice, White Sandwich Buns and
Rolls
Pastas
Macaroni, Spaghetti
Breakfast Cereals
Muesli, Whole Wheat Cereal Flakes, Corn Flakes
Fruits
Fruits are always delicious and are great to eat as a snack or dessert. Adults
should try to eat around 1 ½ to 2 cups of fruit each day, be it raw fruit or fruit
juice.
When it comes to fruits, some people think that daily consumption should be
high. However, many people forget that there are natural sugars in these
fruits. Vegetables should be more frequently eaten than fruits, but that
doesn’t mean fruits should be forgotten.
Everyone has heard the saying, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away,” and
it is common knowledge that it isn’t entirely an old wives’ tale. Apples are
full of antioxidants, which help fight off diseases and prevent future
diseases. They are among the best fruits to eat, given that they do so many
different things to help with your body.
Berries are a little different. They are best known for their phytochemicals,
which help prevent damage to the cells. The great thing about this is that
berries can be eaten by the handful. Other fruits are generally eaten one at a
time rather than in bunches, making berries a great snack food. This can also
be a great food to help lower your cholesterol. Strawberries, red raspberries,
and bilberries are the best berries for heart health.
Melons are another type of fruit with some surprising benefits. They have
little to no fat or saturated fat but have a lot of vitamins and minerals.
Vitamins C and A are the most abundant vitamins in melons. Vitamin C is
very important in giving you the essentials that you need for maintaining
tissues and healing injuries. Vitamin A is important in keeping your immune
system functioning well, keeping your teeth healthy, and helping your vision.
Moreover, melons have some weight loss benefits, as they are a sweet,
sugary dessert that isn’t at the same unhealthy level that other sugary sweets
are.
Fruit juice isn’t the first choice when it comes to getting your recommended
fruit intake. Juice tends to have more sugars and things that you shouldn’t be
drinking. However, 100% fruit juice is a good choice. This can be freshly
squeezed, which is the best idea when it comes to drinking juice, as it comes
directly from the fruit. Although consuming juice is a good idea, try to limit
how much you drink. You don’t want to consume too much sugar.
Take a look at the fruit chart below for more options.
Commonly Eaten
Fruits
Apricots, Apples, Kiwis, Cherries, Bananas, Grapes,
Nectarines, Mangoes, Limes, Lemon, Plums,
Pineapples, Papaya, Pears, Tangerines, Raisins,
Prunes, Oranges, Peaches
Berries
Raspberries, Strawberries, Blueberries
Melons
Honeydew, Cantaloupe, Watermelon
100% Fruit Juice
Grape, Apple, Orange, Grapefruit
Dairy
Three servings of dairy should be consumed daily. It would be best to choose
fat-free or low-fat dairy to ensure that weight loss is achieved more
effectively.
Everyone knows that milk is a good source of calcium. Calcium, of course,
helps with keeping bones strong and healthy. Right along with that, vitamin
D is important in keeping good levels of calcium and phosphorus. This is
found in milk, so you don’t have to worry about not having enough.
There are many different kinds of cheese, all of which have different kinds
of fat content. Some cheeses, like goat cheese, feta cheese, and blue cheese,
have higher fat content than others. These cheeses have been given a lot of
“fillers,” which add to their flavor but make them much more concentrated
in fat. Other cheeses, such as part-skim mozzarella, parmesan, or grated
Romano, are generally lower in fat. There are also low-fat and fat-free
versions of different cheeses that are available to buy. Outside of the fat
content, you’ll be getting plenty of vitamins and nutrients in any cheese.
Yogurt is rapidly becoming a very popular option as a snack food or
breakfast food. Any grocery store will be overrun with yogurt options in the
dairy section. Yogurt, as it is made from milk, has all of the benefits of milk,
including calcium, potassium, vitamin B-2, and vitamin B-12. Probiotics are
another part of yogurt, which is something people are skeptical about. These
are the good bacteria found in the digestive system. They help fight off
infections by boosting the immune system. Yogurt also plays a role in
reducing the chances of osteoporosis because of the calcium and vitamin D
found in it. These two nutrients keep bones healthy and strong.
Below are further examples of dairy sources.
Milk
Low-Fat, Skim, Reduced Fat, Whole Milk, LactoseReduced, Lactose-Free, Flavored Milk (Strawberry,
Chocolate)
Cheese
Mozzarella, Cheddar, Swiss, Parmesan, Cottage
Cheese, Ricotta, American
Yogurt
Low-Fat, Fat-Free, Whole Milk Yogurt, Reduced
Fat
Soy
Soy Milk, Soy Beverages
Milk-Based
Desserts
Ice Milk, Pudding, Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt
Oils
Again, this isn’t really a food group, but oils do have essential nutrients your
body needs.
Oils of any kind should be consumed in very small amounts; no more than 6
teaspoons of oil should be consumed by anybody.
Many oils are full of monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats while being
low in saturated fats. If the oil is plant based, such as olive oil, then it has no
cholesterol. Some plant-based oils, such as coconut oil, are high in saturated
fats, so be wary of how much oil you use when cooking or eating, as well as
what kind you are using.
There are also foods that are made up of lots of oil or have oil in them, such
as mayonnaise, fish, and nuts. Just be aware of what you are consuming.
Don’t try to have oil tossed and spread over every single thing you eat, and
you’ll be fine.
Below is a list of various oils that you can use and eat.
Vegetable Oils
Canola Oil, Corn Oil, Olive Oil, Soybean Oil,
Sunflower Oil, Peanut Oil, Cottonseed Oil
Salad dressings
Italian, Thousand Island, Vinaigrette, Ranch
Nuts
Peanuts, Mixed Nuts, Cashews, Almonds,
Hazelnuts
Fruits
Avocado, Olives
Chapter 2: Dietary Guidelines
Control Calorie Intake
As a rule of thumb, if you control your calorie intake and burn the same
amount of calories as you consume, your weight will be maintained at the
same level. Although this generally makes good sense, there are several
problems that may quickly be encountered here. In the first place, counting
calories accurately can be complicated. It has been proven in several broadscale studies that people counting their calorie intake are notoriously bad at
getting the figures right. We almost always tend to underestimate the calories
we consume and overestimate the amount we burn. Moreover, not all
calories are created equal.
Some people will be able to develop a regime of balancing their exercise
levels against their calorie intake and then either lose weight or maintain the
weight they are targeting. It is definitely a good thing to have knowledge of
calorific values so that we can have a rough idea of where we stand in terms
of the amount of food we eat. However, it is just as important to reach a
point in which we are eating a healthy diet that provides our daily energy
needs without having to run through a convoluted calculation as to how
much a particular food item weighs and how many calories it is going to
provide.
It would be simpler to ensure that you are eating a healthy, well-cooked diet
of fresh vitamin-packed food rather than having to start with some grand
calculation. Most people our grandparents’ age had no idea what their calorie
intake was or even what it should be on a daily basis. Do you know, for
example, how many calories you will burn in the course of a normal
workday, or how much that figure would change if you were to jog for an
hour?
Hopefully, by the time you finish this book, you will have a clearer idea, but
I am still not promoting constant calorie calculation, even with the help of
modern calorie counting apps and calorie counting books that are currently
available. Instead, I hope that by the time you have finished this book, you
can look at an apple or vegetable and say, “I can eat that,” without worrying
too much about what its calorie content is. At the same time, you ought to be
staying away from that fast food outlet, except for the occasional odd treat.
If weight loss is your goal, you should definitely focus on burning as many
calories as you can to achieve your ideal weight. Take note that it is more
important to eat calories from protein rather than from carbohydrates. Your
body also converts protein into energy, and this allows you to burn fat while
staying energetic. Reducing calorie intake is important, and for your
reference, there are a number of calorie counters online that you can
download or use to keep track of the amount of calories you eat in each meal
or dish.
Also, remember to reduce the amount of calories you consume from added
sugars, as these typically cause weight gain. Added sugars are usually found
in carbonated drinks, energy drinks, sports drinks, desserts, fruit drinks, and
candy.
The best and most accurate way to burn calories is by working out. If you
work out consistently, then you won’t need to worry quite as much about
how many calories you take in. This way, you can stick with just worrying
about eating healthy rather than counting your calories. Of course, just
because you are burning the calories you’re eating doesn’t mean that you can
get away with eating anything that you want. In fact, it’s the opposite. You’ll
need to make sure that you only eat healthier foods if you want a better
chance of losing weight and being healthy.
There’s one more important thing to remember about calories: not only
should you be taking in enough for how much you exercise or move, but you
also have a certain amount you should eat each day depending on how tall
you are, how old you are, and what gender you are. You should also make
sure your target weight is healthy for someone of your particular
demographic. Aiming to be 100 pounds when you are 5’7” or something of
that manner simply isn’t healthy. Just make sure to check out what is best for
you to become healthier.
On the Subject of Sugar
While we are here, it might be a good idea to take a look at some of the bad
guys and how they got us into this mess in the first place. We will also look
into how to avoid them.
Over the next 10 years, we will see the escalation of the war on added sugar,
which is now recognized as a health threat on par with tobacco. The sugar
industry is already starting to put up a fight to defend their business in much
the same way that the tobacco industry did; only this time, they have been
able to learn from the mistakes made by the big tobacco companies.
Experts now believe that sugar can easily become a complete addictive
substance in much the same way as drugs are. In an experiment conducted
by French scientists in Bordeaux, it was discovered that rats chose sugar
rather than cocaine, even when they were addicted to cocaine.
Sugar was first cultivated by man on the island of New Guinea some 10 000
years ago. During that time, it was simply picked and eaten raw. It gradually
spread and is believed to have reached mainland Asia about 1000 B.C. It was
carried by the conquering Arab caliphs, and as their power spread, sugar use
spread, too. Once the British and French discovered it, demand soared, and
the slave trade was born.
The reason I have touched briefly on the history of sugar is to show how
recently it became a part of the human diet. In the 1700s, the average
Englishman consumed four pounds per year. By 1800, that amount soared to
18 pounds, but that was just the start. Come 1870, an English commoner
would have been eating around 47 seven pounds per year, which then leapt
to 100 pounds per year in just 30 years. Today, the average American
consumes 77 pounds of added sugar.
What is the consequence of this colossal sugar addiction of ours? One-third
of adults have high blood pressure, and 347 million suffer from diabetes.
Early nutrition experts who were first to start raising the alarm bell about the
devastating effects of sugar on our health were simply drowned out by those
blaming high cholesterol for the modern afflictions of obesity and heart
disease. Over the last 20 years, fat consumption in the U.S. has gone down,
but obesity levels are going up faster than ever.
American endocrinologist Robert Lustig says, “It has nothing to do with
calories. Sugar is a poison by itself when consumed in high doses.”
Here is the real catch: sugar is really difficult to avoid, especially if you eat
fast food and ready meals, because it is an essential ingredient used by the
food industry to add taste. Taste is even more necessary if the fat levels of
meals have been lowered to persuade people that they are eating something
healthy.
Lustig goes on to say, “An analysis of 175 countries over the past decade
showed that when you look for the cause of type 2 (non-insulin dependent)
diabetes, the total number of calories you consume is irrelevant. It’s the
specific calories that count. When people ate 150 calories every day, the rate
of diabetes went up by 0.1 percent. However, if those calories came from a
can of fizzy drink, the rate went up to 1.1 percent. Added sugar is 11 times
more potent in causing diabetes than general calories.”
There are complicated scientific reasons for this, and the whole of science
will be in dispute for years to come, but reducing sugar intake appears to be
crucial not only for weight loss, but for overall health as well. The average
12-ounce can of soda contains 10 teaspoons of sugar. If you consider that
some people consume two or three such drinks during the course of a day, is
it any wonder that obesity has reached the levels that it has?
When looking at foods to eat, it’s pretty obvious that you should find the
foods that have less sugar. Any foods that have no sugar added are even
better. Anything that you might want to add sugar to should not have any
sugar in the first place. This way, you won’t be eating too much sugar.
The Role of the Food Industries
As previously mentioned, the food industry plays a crucial role in what we
eat. Between 1977 and 2000, sugar intake in the United States doubled, yet
sales of granulated sugar remained the same or even dropped. In short, we
have been getting our sugar somewhere else. Eighty percent of the food
items for sale in the average supermarket contain added sugar. This may
come in one or two different forms, but the most popular is high-fructose
corn syrup.
It is the fructose in sugars that our bodies have a problem processing. When
you eat an apple, it contains high quantities of fructose, but it is accompanied
by fiber, such that it is processed via the stomach. Refined sugars are sent
directly to the liver, which soon becomes overloaded and is forced to store
those sugars as fat – most commonly, belly fat. With sugar estimated to be
eight times more addictive than cocaine, we soon find ourselves in a position
in which our craving for sugar skyrockets, and the vicious cycle begins. Our
bodies store the sugar as fats. We become less energetic and move less, and
as a result, we process the whole food we do eat less efficiently.
The U.S. government has tried to reign in the food industry several times,
but every time this happens, companies immediately cry “nanny state” or
“government attack on our freedom to choose.” These food giants have a
huge amount of clout. They throw huge budgets at advertising campaigns
promoting the health advantages of their products, yet they have firmly
resisted giving clear labels as to how much sugar our supermarket products
contain.
In 1950, the first links to lung cancer were proven, but it took another 50
years of denial on the part of the tobacco industry before we began to see
real change in the way cigarettes were marketed. This will be the first
generation in the United States where children will have a shorter life
expectancy than their parents did. Can we afford to wait another 50 years
before we get a grip on the amount of additives in our food?
It All Starts with the Kids
A significant percentage of the food industry advertising budget is directed
toward our children. After all, if you can hook them and cause them to
become addicted while they are young, then chances are that companies will
have a customer for life. The food that our children are served in school
cafeterias is rarely of the quality that it should be, and the contracts to supply
those cafeterias are normally held by big players in the industry.
The ban on tobacco advertising resulted in a 50% reduction in high school
smokers over 20 years. Is it not time that the advertising of high-sugar foods
to our kids be banned as well? In fact, legislation pertaining to advertising to
children is not as strict as advertising to adults. It is in our children that we
are seeing the fastest rise in obesity levels, particularly in poorer
communities. Several attempts to ban or reduce advertising targeting young
people have been overturned. The lobby groups in the food industry know
where their long-term client base lies.
Type 2 diabetes used to be known as adult-onset diabetes, but that term
became outdated when an increasing number of young children began to
become obese. Doctors understand the methods used to treat diabetes in
adults, but treating this new young and obese generation will take them into
unchartered territory as they now begin treating people over nearly the entire
course of their lives.
As parents, you should make sure to keep your kids as far from those
unhealthy foods as possible. They can have candy every so often and have
other things on occasion, but it should never be every day. Starting when
they are very young, you should aim to have your kids eating healthy foods.
It doesn’t have to be the same five foods over and over again, but it does
need to be foods that they will enjoy.
Give your children a huge variety of foods to try. Also, you should limit their
exposure to ads on TV, especially when they are very young. This will keep
their minds off of food that they might see on TV and only on the foods that
you make for them. They will be less tempted to try something unhealthy
they saw if they never saw it in the first place.
So Where Do We Go From Here?
We may be marketed to very aggressively, but we can still choose to eat
healthy foods if we want to. Most of the salt and sugar we eat come in the
form of real food that is engineered. If we go back to real food, we suddenly
find our sugar and salt levels dropping dramatically, and that is not to say
anything about colorings and preservatives.
The food industry would have us believe that buying real meat and
vegetables is going to hurt our budgets, but considerable research is now
proving that this is simply not true. Where food companies are at an
advantage is that they sell convenience. Real food needs to be cooked or
prepared in some way, whereas much of the prepared food we are sold
simply needs to be popped into a microwave for a few minutes, and a lot of
fast food does not even require that.
The single most powerful thing you can do to improve both your health and
that of your family is to develop a passion for home cooking. Sure, you are
busy, and you have had a hard day at work, but isn’t the health of your
family more important?
During the course of this book, I will show you several ways to make home
cooking easier and more fun. We will also give you some easy, quick-toprepare recipes that are not only healthy, but can also be stored to warm up
on those days when you simply don’t want to spend a long time cooking.
These are only examples, however, and this is not a cookbook. There are
thousands of healthy eating cookbooks on the market, as well as dozens of
programs on television.
Why don’t you try eliminating all processed food from your diet for just one
week and see how much better you feel? Hopefully, after that, you will be on
the road to continuing a healthy lifestyle.
Choose Macro-Nutrients
The literal definition of a macro-nutrient is any substance that a living
organism needs in large quantities. Animals that are carnivores need more
protein, as their diet is primarily meat. For omnivores, they have a plantbased diet. Then, there are omnivores, like humans. They need a mix of both
meat and plants to have a healthy diet. Therefore, the macro-nutrients that an
omnivore needs will be much more than what other species need, given that
they need a mix of plants and meat.
Dogs are another example of an omnivore, as their diet is a mix of plants and
meat. However, they can’t be deprived of meat, even if they are an
omnivore. This can cause many issues in their body, as the food they should
be eating needs to have a balance. Cats, however, are mainly of carnivores.
They can’t go without eating meat, as they need more meat than any other
food to survive.
Simply put, macro-nutrients are a combination of fat, protein, and
carbohydrates. If you are trying to lose weight, it is important that you eat 1
to 1.5 grams of protein, less than a gram of carbohydrates, and around 0.5 to
2.5 grams of fat per pound of your bodyweight per day. As an example,
someone weighing 150 lbs would need to eat 150 to 225 grams of protein,
less than 150 grams of carbohydrates, and between 75 and 375 grams of fat
each day.
Go Easy on Sodium
Salt is another of those additives that are eating way too much of for our own
good, but most of what we do eat does not come from that small quantity we
choose to sprinkle over our meals. It is recommended that we consume no
more than 2.3 milligrams of salt per day. In the US, the average daily intake
is 3.4 milligrams. This excessive intake can lead to high blood pressure,
stroke, osteoporosis, and even asthma.
Sodium, as you might guess, holds more liquid in your body. This, in turn,
causes a lot of strain on your heart, making it possible for you to suffer from
a heart attack. Along with the heart, it can also damage the aorta, which is
the major artery leading to your heart, the kidneys, and also the bones. An
increase in your sodium intake might not make your blood pressure go up,
but that doesn’t mean you’re in the clear. There are many other issues that
can arise from a huge amount of salt intake.
In the United Kingdom alone, it is estimated that 85% of daily salt intake
comes from that added by the food industry. In the United States, similar
figures are showing up. The food industry knows that we like the taste of
salt, and they are out to make sure we don’t lose the taste for it either.
Here are a few common food items that add to the excess salt we are
consuming:
Bread: ½ gram per slice
Biscuits: ½ gram per two biscuits
Canned Soup: 3 grams
Pizza: 2.5 grams
Many processed meats are high in sodium, and those products have now
been found to have strong links to cancer. It is important to read labels to see
how much sodium you are about to buy, but the best choice are those labels
that say sodium-free. You can then add your own salt according to your own
taste and in quantities that you know are healthy.
Our taste buds are conditioned for high quantities of salt, which is why we
like fast food so much. It is possible to wean yourself off of salt; just do it
gradually. To give food a little bit of extra taste, try adding dried herbs, curry,
or ginger.
Some great specific spices or dried herbs to add to your dishes include basil,
thyme, cumin, chili powder, rosemary, red pepper flakes, cinnamon, and
oregano. Basil is more frequently added to pasta sauces. It has a great flavor
that will definitely bring out the Italian taste you might want in your pasta.
Thyme is often seen as a flavoring on fish fillets, but it also is frequently
added to chicken. It has a bit of an earthy taste to it and can really make your
dish stand out. Cumin is used in a lot of different foods, including chicken,
ground meat, and vegetables. If you’re a big chili lover, then you’ve found
the perfect thing to add to your chili dish to make it the best it can be.
Chili powder is frequently paired with cumin in a dish. Of course, you’ll be
putting chili powder in chili. It wouldn’t really be chili without it. It gives
any dish a nice little kick, so if you ever have a dish that you want to have
some heat, sprinkle some chili powder. Rosemary is a great dried herb to use
just before grilling or roasting some meat and potatoes. It is frequently seen
in potatoes, especially roasted ones. Red pepper flakes are in the same vein
as chili powder. If you want a little kick in your dish, you might decide that
red pepper flakes are the way to go. If you get a bite with a red pepper flake
in it, you’ll know. This is also a great spice to add to any spice rub, as long
as you want a little heat. Plus, you don’t need to go overboard to get that
kick you’re looking for.
Cinnamon might seem like a strange choice for some people, but it can be
that little sweetener you’ve been looking for. It doesn’t even need to be
something super exciting. You can add it to yogurt for some flavor,
especially if you have some plain vanilla Greek yogurt. Add some fruit
chunks, and you’ve got a great snack food. Adding cinnamon to a savory
dish is also possible. Maybe you want to make spaghetti that has a little bit
of a sweet side. Sprinkle a little cinnamon in, and notice the change. Finally,
there is oregano, which is another great Italian dish herb. Adding some
oregano to any pasta dish will work out and make it taste even better. Garlic
bread can always use some oregano, and the same goes with some
vegetables, especially if you’re having an Italian-style dinner.
It's Okay to Eat Fat
If there is one food source that has been given a bad rap over the last 30 or
40 years, it has to be fat. Sure, too much of the wrong fats – too much of any
fat for that matter – can be bad for you, but fat is not the big bad guy it has
been made out to be.
We have been fed decades of anti-fat, low-fat, and fat-free propaganda over
the years. Much of that propaganda comes via the food industry, which
discovered a neat little trick. Knock out the fat, add sugar to give the food
some taste, and sell it back to consumers at a higher price as a healthy
alternative.
The fact of the matter is that we need fat in our diet. Fat provides us with
essential fatty acids, helps keep our skin soft, and provides fat-soluble
vitamins. More importantly, fat provides us with energy. Somehow, we have
bought into the notion that eating fat and being fat amount to the same thing.
We cannot function for more than a few days without eating fat.
Humans have been eating fats for a lot longer than they have been eating
carbohydrates, but they have always been lean. It is only the last few decades
that there has been a sudden growth in our waistlines. Until recently, the
argument has been that the massive global weight gains we have seen came
about because of the failure to control our willpower, and the assumption is
that if we simply retake control of that willpower, we will become thin again.
Anyone who has ever tried to diet and then maintain the weight loss will
soon tell you that it is not quite that easy. Something has gone wrong
somewhere with the way we eat, and simple self-control is not the answer.
Let’s take a look at the appestat. The appestat is a part of the human brain
believed to control body weight. In short, this small part of our anatomy
controls appetite, and it does so by regulating food intake. That appestat is
sated by clean healthy fats, but it becomes confused when exposed to fats
and sugars in processed food that provide calories but no nutrients. In short,
it is looking for nutrients, and when it does not find any or does not find
enough, you remain hungry. That is why it is so difficult to eat just one
chocolate cookie or one potato chip.
As long as you’re eating the right kinds of fat, then there's nothing wrong
with it. Mono-saturated and poly-saturated fats are both good fats, and you
should eat foods that are rich in them. Fat is actually an energy source that is
good for your body, especially in the absence or reduction of carbohydrates.
Fats also make up cell membranes and are important in the regeneration or
reproduction of cells, as well as in muscle and joint recovery. The best kinds
of fat include those that are full of Omega-3 and Omega-6 acids, such as
tuna and salmon, because they activate your body's fat-burning genes and
give your body better fat storage.
You should take note that around 10% of your daily calorie intake must
come from fats. This will be easy because full-fat dairy products, peanut
butter, and most animal products all have good fats in them. More examples
of foods rich in good fats can be found on the chart below.
Mono-Saturated
Fats
Canola Oil, Olive Oil, Peanut Oil, Sunflower Oil,
Olives, Avocados, Peanut Butter, Hazelnut,
Cashews, Pecans, Macadamia Nuts, Almonds
Poly-Saturated Fats Corn Oil, Soybean Oil, Walnuts, Safflower Oil,
Flax seed, Tuna, Salmon, Mackerel, Sardines,
Trout, Herring
Meanwhile, some examples of bad fats are shown below.
Saturated Fats
Chicken with skin, High-fat portions of beef,
chicken, or pork, Cheese, Butter, Ice cream, Lard,
Palm oil, Coconut oil
Trans-Fats
Chips, Packaged popcorn, Crackers, Commercially
baked doughnuts, Pastries, Cakes, Muffins, Pizza
dough, Vegetable shortening, Stick margarine,
Candy bars, French fries, Chicken nuggets, Fried
chicken, Breaded fish
It's Okay to Have a Cheat Day
Leptin is something that is produced by your fat cells. When your leptin
levels are sufficient for the amount of energy you need, then your brain will
be signaled, telling you that you don’t need to eat anymore.
It’s a little different when you are dieting. Many diets restrict calories. This
means that every day, you are restricting your body from receiving the leptin
that it needs. Your body won’t think you are getting the energy that you need
for proper survival, so it can cause you to have a day where you eat a lot
more than you should, also known as binging. Even if you’ve been eating a
good amount of food and getting the nutrients you need, your leptin levels
might not be where they should be. However, if you have a cheat day once a
week, then you won’t have to worry about a time in the future where you
will be uncontrollably binging.
If you allow yourself a day of eating burgers, fries, pizza, and chocolate,
you'll be keener on making sure that you eat clean again the following days.
Just be sure you don’t go overboard with the amount of calories you
consume. Having a cheat day will also burn more calories by boosting your
metabolism. This is due to your thyroid hormones. The more that you restrict
calories, the slower your metabolism will go. With a slower metabolism, the
chances of losing weight start to go way down. This cheat day might be
exactly what your body needs to keep going and losing weight. As long as
you are eating clean throughout the week, this increase in calories will
actually burn fat and have you looking forward to the next cheat day again.
Remember to do this only once each week!
Don't Starve Yourself
Skipping meals to lose weight does not work! Some people think that if they
skip meals, then they are helping themselves lose weight faster. The thing is,
if you skip meals or starve yourself, you’re actually slowing down your
metabolism, which means that your body stores fat instead of burning it. If
your body doesn’t know when its next meal is coming, it will hold on to the
fat it has in case energy is needed. Starving yourself has no fat loss benefits
and is not healthy in any way, so just don’t do it.
Doing this a few times might make you think that you’re losing weight, but
you really aren’t. It can lead to anorexia or any other combination of eating
disorders. Moreover, the more that your body doesn’t get the nutrients it
needs, the more likely it might start breaking down the muscle in your body
to give it some energy. Not eating only leads to issues with your body; it
doesn’t help you lose weight in a healthy way.
Know More about the Glycemic Index
The glycemic index is a means of measuring the effect of carbohydrates on
blood sugar levels. It’s important to eat foods with low glycemic index
because they keep your blood sugar levels balanced. Moreover, the body is
able to burn these foods efficiently to give you the right amount of energy.
Meanwhile, foods with high glycemic index cause a spike in your blood
sugar levels, thus forcing your body to go into a fat-storing phase. These are
the foods you want to avoid. Take a look at the chart below, which provides
a sample of commonly eaten foods.
Low GI (less than
55)
Apple, Broccoli, Cherries, Grapefruit, Orange,
Pear, Tomatoes
Medium GI (56 to
69)
Banana, Brown Rice, Oatmeal, Popcorn, Sweet
Potato, White Rice, Whole Wheat Bread
High GI (70 and
up)
Bagel, Doughnuts, Rice Cakes, Pretzels,
Watermelon, White Bread, White Potatoes
Read Nutrition Labels
It’s extremely important to read nutrition labels or “nutrition facts” on food
packages. Understanding what makes up the food that you eat is important.
Knowing if you are eating the right amount of nutrients or if what you’ve
bought is high in calories or high in sodium is extremely helpful. Knowing
how to read nutrition labels will go a long way in helping you reach your
weight loss goals. In the next chapter, you will learn more about reading
nutrition labels.
Chapter 3: Reading Nutrition Labels
Reading nutrition labels is not only good for you and your own needs, but it
is also good when you are cooking for other people. If you know someone
has a gluten-free diet, you’ll need to make sure you get something without
any gluten. The same goes for anyone who might have a food allergy, as
those are stated around the ingredients list just below the nutrition label on
most food packages. This is also helpful when you are looking at food for
your pets. The labels aren’t exactly the same, but knowing how to read a
regular nutrition label can still help.
Here’s what you need to know about reading nutrition labels.
Number of Servings and Serving Sizes
Take note that nutritional facts are mostly based on one serving only. Always
check the serving size to know how many servings you are going to
consume. This means that the bigger the serving, the higher the calories.
Along with that, you need to know how many servings would be you would
approximately be consuming. Take a bag of chips, for example. Usually, at
the top of the label, it will tell you how many chips make up a single serving.
From there, you’ll know just how much sodium you’ll be eating from a
serving size of 11 chips, for example. Most people eat more than 11 chips, of
course, but you can still get a general idea of how much sodium you’ll be
consuming based on how many chips you are eating.
When you are comparing nutrients and calories between two different food
brands, always review the serving sizes to ensure that they are based on the
same measurement. Many brands will have slightly different serving sizes,
but as long as you are comparing two things that are the same, you should
get a good idea of the differences in nutrition.
Pay Attention to the Number of Calories
The “Calories” label under “Amount per Serving” is where you will see the
number of calories the product has per serving. You’ll also see the number of
calories from fat here.
Take note that even if something is fat-free, it doesn’t mean that it’s also free
from calories. Even if a product is low-fat, it may have the same number of
calories as other products, so always check the number of calories in the
label.
One thing to keep in mind is that just because something has a lot of
calories, it doesn’t mean that you are eating badly. You should be more
concerned about how many of those calories come from fat. If a lot of the
calories are from fat, then you might want to steer clear of that product.
Alternatively, you might check whether another brand has that product with
less calories from fat. Then, you’ll still be able to get the food you want, but
it will be a lot better for you.
Calories are not inherently bad. What is bad is consuming too many calories
every day and not burning enough of them off. If you mix that with a lot of
calories from fat, you might notice some weight staying on your body. If,
however, you work out regularly, you can get away with eating things that
have a lot of calories. Of course, you also need to balance that out with
eating healthy things as well, given that you can’t quickly and easily lose
weight by eating junk all the time, no matter how much you work out.
As an example, a product lists that there are 100 calories per 3 candy bars.
This means that when you eat 6 candy bars, you consumed 2 servings, and
thus, you have consumed twice the amount of calories.
The %Dv is Your Friend
%Dv or the percentage of Dietary Value that each nutrient gives is essential
for you to know how much of each nutrient you should consume daily to live
a healthy life. If you want to use this most effectively, you’ll need to make
sure that you record the %Dv of all that you consume each day. If any
nutrients go over 100, then you’ll know you’re consuming more than you
need to. You should try to keep it as close to 100 as possible.
This is also a great way to find out if you’re not consuming enough of any
particular nutrient. Anemia is very common and can be prevented by making
sure you’re taking in enough iron. If you are consistently not consuming
enough every day, you should find ways to add to it. There are plenty of
foods that can help you take in more iron every day. Just to make sure that
you are consuming enough nutrients, be sure to look at the nutrition label!
Look for Products that are Rich in Calcium, Iron, and Vitamins A and
C
Most adults do not get enough of these vitamins and minerals through their
daily food consumption. It would be extremely beneficial if you choose
products that are rich in these vitamins and minerals. The best way to make
sure you are getting enough is by simply finding foods that have a good mix
of these nutrients. There are tons of foods out there that can give you
everything you need, so make sure to look at the nutrition labels.
Choose Good Fats
Again, it’s alright to consume fats just as long as they are the right kinds of
fats. Choose foods that are low in cholesterol, saturated fat, and trans-fat. As
often as possible, replace saturated fats with mono or poly-saturated fats to
lower your blood cholesterol levels.
Some products list trans-fat as having 0%Dv, but it would be best to
consume only a little or truly eliminate them from your diet because trans-fat
lowers the amount of good cholesterol, which makes you susceptible to heart
diseases.
Take note that the %Dv for total fat is the computation of all the kinds of fat
in one product.
Check the Sodium Content
This is definitely an important thing to check. A lot of foods have salt that’s
already been added in, and some foods can have a ton of salt. An average
adult should be consuming no more than 2,300 milligrams a day. Some
packaged foods can have over 1,000 milligrams in them already, especially if
it’s a frozen dinner type of food. Therefore, you should find lower sodium
foods by not only making your own dinners from scratch, but also cutting
out canned and processed foods as much as possible.
Some foods have the sodium content on the front of the package, so you
might not even have to look specifically at the nutrition label to find what
you need. At the same time, it’s always helpful to look at the label anyway.
You might find that it’s not as bad as you originally thought.
Weight Management
It might not come as much of a shock, but knowing how to read nutrition
labels can help you maintain your weight. If you keep track of how much
saturated and trans-fat you are eating every day, this can help you lessen
your fat intake. Moreover, you can find exactly what foods you need to eat in
order to lose weight in the most effective way. Foods that are high in
nutrients and low in fat and calories are great ones to eat.
Even though calorie counting is what most people do when going on a diet,
it really is not very effective. Eating something low in calories doesn’t mean
you are eating healthy. When you think about it, something could have very
few calories, but a lot of those calories are from fat. However, eating a
proper diet that is a mixture of all the good things you need will ensure better
results.
Go for Healthy Carbohydrates
Remember that fiber and sugar are also carbohydrate sources. Fruits,
vegetables, whole grains, and beans are carbohydrates, but they are good in
reducing the risk of heart disease. Moreover, they improve the way your
digestive system works.
You’ll know that something is considered “whole” or is part of the “whole
foods” group if it says so in the ingredient list. Examples include whole oats,
whole wheat rice, and whole wheat bread.
While there is no %Dv for sugar, you can check how much sugar there is in
one product by comparing it with other brands and looking for “sugar
content.”
Try to limit your intake of foods that include added sugars. Examples of
added sugars include corn syrup, fructose, glucose, maple syrup, and
sucrose. All these sugars do is add calories to your diet without adding any
nutritional benefits.
You might notice that there are very few foods now that don’t have corn
syrup in some capacity. High-fructose corn syrup is in many different foods
because it’s cheap to make and is an easy additive to food. However, that
doesn’t mean it’s healthy.
High-fructose corn syrup is a variation of sugar, but it is much sweeter. It is
also in a lot of foods at a higher amount than regular sugar usually is. Look
at any label of a food that has this additive, and you’ll notice that many
times, it is the very first ingredient. Sugar in large amounts is already very
unhealthy, so having something like this is almost worse. Given that it is in
so many different foods, trying to find foods without it is hard. Although it
would be better to go without, a good first step is finding the foods where it
is not the first ingredient but lower down the ingredient list.
Protein May Be Essential, But You Should Still Go for Low-Fat
Always choose products that are lean, fat-free, or low-fat to be able to
maximize protein intake and to ensure that fats are burned or converted into
energy. When you take a piece of chicken, there shouldn’t be very much fat
on the chicken itself if it is low-fat or lean. It’s very easy to tell for chicken,
because the fat is white. If it is a meat where you can easily see the fat, then
you should make sure to look at it before you purchase it.
Steak is a wonderful source of protein, but not all steak cuts are the same.
Some of them will have a lot more fat than others. The leanest cuts include
various round cuts and top sirloin. You can always double check any cut of
steak by seeing if there is a lot of white fat on it. The less there is, the better.
For something like chicken, it’s best to go without the skin. The skin holds a
lot of fat, so it isn’t the best idea to eat chicken skin when you are trying to
lose weight. Even if you can’t buy skinless chicken, you can always take the
skins off before cooking. Moreover, the healthiest part of the chicken is the
breast, so try to get skinless chicken breasts if you can.
Look at the List of Ingredients
Of course, when reading a nutrition label, this is probably very obvious.
However, it can be an easy way to see if the product is healthy to eat or not
right away. If the first ingredient is high-fructose corn syrup or sugar, for
example, then you know that it isn’t a healthy product. Ingredients are
typically listed in order from the main or most used ingredient to the
ingredient with the smallest amount in the product.
Picking a product that has a natural ingredient first will always be the
healthier choice. If you are looking for a bottled tea from the store, as an
example, and the first ingredient is syrup or sugar, that’s not a good brand.
Pick one that has water or brewed tea as the first ingredient. Again, this may
all be obvious, but it’s good to mention because it will save you time at the
grocery store because you won’t have to read so many labels all the way
through! You’d be shocked at how many products don’t have a natural
ingredient listed first.
Keep these things in mind to make better, healthier choices the next time
you visit your grocery store.
Chapter 4: The Right Vitamins and Minerals
Aside from keeping the foods mentioned earlier in mind, take note that in
order to lose weight while still feeling energetic, you need to consume foods
that are rich in the right kinds of vitamins and minerals. Consuming enough
nutrients to fuel your body is incredibly important, as many vitamins and
minerals are a part of major systems within your body.
When you are eating healthier, make sure you are still consuming enough
vitamins and minerals. When you reduce how much food you eat, you have a
higher chance of not getting all the nutrients your body needs.
There are many types of vitamins and minerals that you should be
consuming on a regular basis. In this chapter, you will learn more about
these substances.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is important in helping you maintain normal vision and in keeping
the eyes, teeth, skin, and skeletal system healthy. It also helps regenerate
cells and tissues that will enable you to live a better and healthier life.
Vitamin A is also crucial in keeping your immune system strong and healthy.
It is a regulator of many of the genes that work to fight conditions as simple
as colds and those as complicated as cancer. If you are deficient in vitamin
A, you’ll likely notice that you are sick a lot more often than other people
who are consuming enough of this vitamin.
This can also help reduce the chances of having some food allergies. It is a
natural anti-inflammatory agent – one that specifically affects the
inflammation that occurs during a food allergy. While this can’t reverse the
effects of a food allergy, it might prevent some allergies from occurring. It
has also been found to reduce the chances of acquiring a degenerative
disease, such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s.
Examples of foods rich in vitamin A include:
Baked Eel
Beef Liver
Skimmed Milk
Pickled Herring
Goat Cheese
1 Large Egg
Salmon
Canned Pumpkin
Sweet Potato
Chopped raw Kale
Raw Carrots
Spinach
Butternut Squash
Raw Cantaloupe
Dried Apricots
Cooked Spinach
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B6 is essential in producing enzymes that convert protein into
energy to help you lose weight quickly. It also helps you maintain normal red
and white blood cell levels, as well as reduces the risk of heart disease and
anemia. Vitamin B6 likewise synthesizes neurotransmitters that are
responsible for carrying brain signals from one nerve to the other.
This also acts as a natural pain treatment, specifically for fibroids in the
uterus, which can be incredibly painful. Many B vitamins are useful in
making this pain much more manageable. It can also be used to help boost
your mood. It helps stimulate the production of serotonin and
norepinephrine, which are two hormones that help boost your mood. Finally,
vitamin B6 can also create antibodies, which help fight off many different
illnesses that you might acquire.
You might notice a deficiency if you’ve observed a change in your mood
towards irritability, anxiety, depression, lack of energy, confusion, worsening
PMS symptoms, muscle pains, or confusion. These things won’t happen
instantly, but if you notice many of these things, then you should definitely
see if you are deficient in vitamin B6.
Foods rich in vitamin B6 include:
All-bran Cereal
Yellow Fin Tuna
Soy-based Vegetarian Meat
Canned Tuna
Sunflower Seeds
Chicken or Turkey Liver
Boneless and Skinless Chicken Breast
1 medium Banana
Cooked Venison
Cooked Salmon
Cooked Trout
Cooked Lentils
Baked Potato (Skin Intact)
Chopped Red Bell Pepper
Cooked Chickpeas
Instant Cooked Oatmeal
Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 is also responsible for converting protein and fats into energy,
which can be used in ensuring that the skin, eyes, and teeth are healthy. It is
also essential in ensuring the health of nerve cells and in producing genetic
material, such as DNA. It is used as a protective cover on the nerves,
keeping them from harm as much as possible.
Vitamin B12 is also important in digestion and heart health. The amino acid
homocysteine is regulated by how much vitamin B12 is in your system. This
amino acid, when levels are elevated, can be dangerous, so keeping it in
check with vitamin B12 is important.
Vitamin B12 is also important in making sure a pregnancy is healthy and
goes without any issues. Given that it is a building block for DNA, it makes
sense that a deficiency in vitamin B12 can cause a pregnancy not to work
properly.
Foods rich in vitamin B12 include:
Cooked Beef Liver
Canned Sardines
Cooked Mackerel
Black or Red Caviar
Cooked Pork Kidney
1 cup Soy Beverage
1 Bran Raisin Cereal
1 cup Cottage Cheese
3 oz Ground Beef
1 cup Skimmed Milk
3 oz Cooked Ham
1 cup Homo Milk
1 cup Plain Yogurt
Soy-based Vegetarian Meat
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is often regarded as one of the most important nutrients for the
human body. It is used in so many different aspects of your body and is
crucial to your overall health. There have actually been studies conducted to
suggest that the amount you should be getting daily is higher than what you
might physically be able to get. You can’t eat the amount of fruits and
vegetables that you would need every day that would bring your vitamin C
levels up to where they should be. Therefore, if you want to get the full
benefits of vitamin C, it would be best to take a daily supplement that would
bring you up to 500 milligrams a day.
This is a great antioxidant, which means that it helps in the production and
regeneration of cells. It also helps in making your skin look beautiful, and it
gives you that radiant glow. It is essential to the anti-aging process, and it has
great anti-inflammatory benefits that help protect you against cold, cough,
and flu. You definitely want to make sure you’re getting enough vitamin C if
you want to fight off any illnesses you might have. It is important in the
proper development of your bones, gums, and blood vessels. It is also a
crucial vitamin for prenatal development, so any expecting mothers should
make sure they have plenty of vitamin C in their bodies.
Examples of foods rich in vitamin C include:
Broccoli
½ cup Guava
½ cup Sliced Kiwi
Red raw Bell Peppers, chopped
Green raw Bell Peppers, chopped
½ cup mashed Papaya
½ cup Lychee
4 cups Brussels Sprouts Cooked
½ Grapefruit
½ cup Navel Orange
½ cup sliced Strawberries
Raw Cabbage
½ cup Pineapple Chunks
Vitamin D
Vitamin D works mainly for the proper growth of bones and teeth. It also
regulates calcium and phosphate levels in the blood and helps maintain
proper cell growth and neuro-muscular function. With the right calcium and
phosphate levels, proper immune system function is maintained. With the
proper amount of vitamin D, you can have more protection against certain
diseases.
If you don’t get the proper amount of vitamin D, it can lead to issues like
soft or fragile bones (osteomalacia or osteoporosis). Vitamin D can also
protect you from diseases like multiple sclerosis and heart disease. If you
have depression, vitamin D might alleviate some of your symptoms. It has
been shown to help regulate your mood, which helps with depression and
anxiety.
As for weight loss, there have been a few studies done to see whether
vitamin D can help in any way. In one study, those taking vitamin D saw a
small amount of weight loss, but it wasn’t anything significant. Another
study gave a group both vitamin D and calcium. This group had more
significant results, as the mix of vitamin D and calcium seemed to have an
appetite repressing effect. Overall, vitamin D is an important vitamin that
you need plenty of.
Foods rich in vitamin D include:
1 can Tuna, drained
Baked Salmon
1 cup Cow’s Milk
2 pieces Pacific Sardines, in Tomato Sauce
Soy or Almond Milk
Low-fat Yogurt
1 cup Orange Juice
1 tbsp Margarine
1 Large Egg
1 cup Breakfast Cereal
1 cup raw Mushroom Slices
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is a great antioxidant that protects the body from being damaged
by free radicals to prevent disease and cancer. It also protects the skin from
ultraviolet rays that cause skin damage and skin cancer.
If you have had high cholesterol or if you come from a family that generally
has high cholesterol, you might consider upping your intake of vitamin E. It
has a balancing effect and stops cholesterol from oxidizing, which is what
makes it increase.
Given that it fights inflammation, it is a great natural way to boost your
immune system. Moreover, it is a natural anti-aging nutrient. It can protect
your skin from premature wrinkles and any damage that you might get
throughout the years. Along with that, it can help heal your skin from
sunburns, scars, and acne. If you’ve always had naturally thin hair,
consuming more vitamin E might help thicken it, giving you the thick hair
you’ve always wanted. It can also help keep your scalp from getting dry and
flaky – something many people have to deal with, especially during winter.
Vitamin E is a natural hormone balancer. It can help regulate your menstrual
period, especially if it is being addled by your hormones. Another hormonal
imbalance might cause you to have unnecessary weight gain. This can be
especially stressful, but having a good amount of vitamin E might change
that, making it possible to regulate your weight instead of it regulating you.
Examples of foods rich in vitamin E are as follows:
¼ cup Peanuts
¼ cup Almonds
¼ cup Sunflower Seeds
1 tsp Wheat Germ Oil
2 tbsp Almond Butter
½ cup Canned Tomato Sauce
½ cup Cooked Spinach
¼ cup Pine Nuts
¼ cup Toasted Wheat Germ Cereal
½ cup Cooked Turnip Greens
½ cup Cooked Swiss Chard
1 tsp Sunflower Oil
Vitamin K
Vitamin K helps in synthesizing proteins so they can be used as energy. This
also helps burn fat. Vitamin K prevents blood clots. Of course, this doesn’t
mean that it never allows your blood to clot. It regulates it to clot only when
it needs to and makes sure that you don’t have any sort of bad blood clot,
like a stroke. Along with this, vitamin K is essential for building strong
bones.
It is crucial for preventing the calcification of arteries and other soft tissues.
This is when calcium builds up in places where it isn’t supposed to. While
some of this calcification is normal, not all of it is. It can cause major issues
in some cases, disrupting normal organ functions and getting in the way of
blood vessels. Vitamin K can help regulate this and stop this from happening
in places where it shouldn’t.
A vitamin K deficiency can lead to defective blood clotting, increased
bleeding, and osteoporosis. This blood clotting might be more severe or
might not happen at all. If it doesn’t happen, you might bleed too much. The
opposite can also occur, which can cause a number of different issues.
There are three different types of vitamin K. K1 and K2 have been shown to
be the most effective in preventing certain cancers. K2 seems to be the most
effective in terms of most issues vitamin K takes care of, including
protection against heart disease and osteoporosis. K3 is not a recommended
vitamin. It has been shown to have some levels of toxicity and should thus
be avoided.
Foods rich in vitamin K include:
1 cup raw Turnip Greens
½ cup cooked Brussels Sprouts
1 cup raw Swiss Chard
½ cup raw Parsley
1 cup raw Kale
1 tbsp Canola Oil
½ cup raw Scallions
1 tbsp Soybean Oil
1 cup raw Romaine Lettuce
½ cup raw Broccoli
1 cup raw Collard Greens
Calcium
While it may be fully regulated in the body, it is still important that you
make calcium a part of your diet to ensure the proper health of your bones
and teeth. It is especially important for strengthening your spine, which is
crucial for having a proper and proportionate body shape. It can keep your
back from having pain as well, as it will be nice and strengthened.
Calcium promotes proper muscle function and hormone secretion, which is
why it’s so important. This is especially true when it comes to the heart.
Making sure your heart is strong and functioning well means that you won’t
have any issues with this vital organ. Having weak heart muscles is the last
thing you want.
When paired with vitamin D, calcium can have an effect on your weight.
Having the proper amount of both in your body can help regulate your
weight gain and help you lose weight easier. Calcium alone can do some of
the work, but it is better when you take both. One big thing calcium does is
prevent colon cancer. It suppresses the growth of polyps, which lead to
cancer. It has been shown to bind to cancer promoters when going through
your bowels and them secreting them.
Although kidney stones are calcium-based, consuming calcium doesn’t
necessarily lead to kidney stones. In fact, having a good amount of calcium
in your body might help prevent these kidney stones from forming. That,
along with adequate water intake, might stop any kidney stones from ever
appearing.
Foods rich in calcium include:
6 oz Plain Yogurt
6 oz Fruit-flavored Yogurt
½ cup Cream Cheese
½ cup Mozzarella Cheese
3 oz Atlantic Sardines
3 oz Pacific Sardines
1 cup Non-fat Milk
1 cup Reduced-fat Milk
1 cup Skimmed Milk
Soy or Nut Milk
3 tbsp Sesame Seeds
1 cup cooked Collard Greens
½ cup firm Tofu
1 cup frozen Spinach
1 cup boiled Mustard Greens
Iron
Iron helps muscles transport oxygen so that it can be used by the body.
Notably, 70% of the iron in your body is found in hemoglobin, which is what
transfers oxygen throughout your body. Not having enough iron is definitely
not something you want, especially when it is used for something so
important. It is also essential in helping increase your metabolism.
The lack of iron may cause anemia, some symptoms of which are fatigue,
energy loss, and shortness of breath. If you often have these symptoms, you
may need to increase iron in your diet.
Without iron, we wouldn’t have hemoglobin. This, of course, would mean
that our entire bodies wouldn’t be getting any oxygen, which is the last thing
you would want. Along with that, we wouldn’t have any muscles. Iron is
crucial in muscle formation and is found in myoglobin, which is a muscle
protein. It would be a very strange thing if we didn’t have any muscles in our
body, that’s for sure.
Foods rich in iron are as follows:
1 cup Whole Grain Breakfast Cereal
3 oz Clams
¾ cup firm Tofu
¼ cup Pumpkin Seeds
3 oz Oysters
1 tbsp Molasses
1 cup Prune Juice
3 oz Beef
3 oz Lamb Chops
¾ cups Red Kidney Beans
¾ cups cooked Lentils
Potassium
Potassium is crucial in helping maintain electrolyte and water levels in the
body and in ensuring that the heart, nervous system, and muscles all work
well. The good news is that potassium is present in almost all plant and
animal foods, as well as in unprocessed grains, milk, and legumes.
Having a high potassium intake is actually linked to a 20% reduced risk of
dying from a number of causes. It lowers the risk of things like a stroke. It is
primarily linked to blood pressure, which it lowers. It counteracts the effects
of sodium, so you won’t have to worry as much about having high blood
pressure. Every organ in your body is kept in good condition, thanks to
potassium.
Here are some natural food sources of potassium:
Bananas
Avocados
Almonds
Peanuts
Citrus Fruits
Green Leafy Vegetables
Milk
Potatoes
Fiber
Fiber is incredibly important for your body. It helps with digestion, given
that fiber is actually something the body can’t naturally digest. This helps
make you feel full for longer and stops you from eating as much.
Other benefits of fiber include blood sugar control and heart health. For
anyone who has diabetes, you’ll understand how important it is to regulate
your blood sugar. Having a good amount of fiber can help your body do just
that. Of course, even if you don’t have diabetes, you should still be aware of
this and actively try to keep your blood sugar levels normal.
Fiber also plays a significant role in your heart health. If you want to avoid
having a heart attack or heart disease, then make sure you have the
recommended amount of fiber in your body at all times.
Anyone who suffers from IBS will be glad to know that fiber also helps
alleviate some of those symptoms. This has to do with the digestion aspects
of fiber, that is, it is difficult to digest.
Having a good amount of fiber is also helpful for skin health. It has been
linked to stopping certain skin ailments, such as acne, and making them less
severe. It works by moving yeast and fungus out of your body instead of
letting them go through your pores. Your pores don’t get clogged up, so you
don’t have acne.
The risk of stroke is also decreased when you eat more fiber. If your family
has a history of stroke, you can help decrease that possibility by making sure
that you eat enough fiber.
For weight loss, fiber has been proven to be a great help. Moreover, because
of the digestion aspect of fiber, it helps keep you feel full for longer. Thus,
you won’t feel the need to go and grab an unhealthy snack. Instead, you can
get through the day without worrying about snacking. If you do feel a little
bit hungry, you can opt to grab something like nuts instead, which also add
to the staving off of hunger.
Things like hemorrhoids and kidney or gall stones are also going to be less
common if you eat plenty of fiber. There are tons of great things that fiber
can do, so you should always aim for the recommended intake of fiber.
Here are a few foods with plenty of fiber:
Carrots
Avocados
Berries
Peas
Almonds
Oats
Apples
Bran Flakes
Zinc
Zinc is important because it is needed for your immune system. It also helps
to create many enzymes and proteins within your body, not to mention that it
helps create new cells.
Zinc deficiency can lead to a decrease in your immunity and an increase in
your chance of getting an infection. As with everything else in your life, do
not consume too much zinc. This can create toxic levels of zinc within your
body, which may cause sickness and pain.
If you are an elderly person, an alcoholic, vegetarian, or vegan, you are
especially at risk for zinc deficiency.
Luckily, there are many foods from which you can get zinc. It is not
incredibly common to have low zinc levels within your body, but it is
something important to be aware of.
Here are some foods that have zinc in them:
Red Meat
Mushrooms
Spinach
Nuts
Oysters
Peas
Whole Grains
Oats
All of these vitamins and minerals are incredibly important for your body.
Each one of them works in a different way, but they all work together to
keep your body functioning properly. Without every single one of these
vitamins and minerals, your body would not be able to properly function.
Moreover, your heart wouldn’t have the things it needs to function properly
and could even give out due to the lack of muscle strength. You would be at
a higher risk for numerous diseases, some of which have a high mortality
rate.
There are even more vitamins and minerals that your body needs, but those
listed above are the most crucial ones. Be sure to look up the daily
recommended consumption for all nutrients – not only those on this list, but
also the ones that aren’t listed. All of these will help you get the body you
deserve to have – one that’s healthy and strong.
If you can’t consume some vitamins or minerals, either due to an allergy or a
dislike of the foods listed here, there are dietary supplements. These dietary
supplements can be very good to take because they ensure that you are
getting the proper amount of each vitamin and mineral. That’s not to say that
they should be taken in place of eating healthy food, but it can be a good
idea to take some supplements when you are starting to eat healthier.
I won’t go into too much detail, but make sure to do your research before
buying supplements. Dietary supplements can interact very badly with other
medications, and some have the chance of doing more harm to your body
than good. Checking with your doctor for a trusted brand or conducting
extensive research on which brands are the best for you, which ones have
been recalled before, and what supplements are the best for whichever
vitamin or mineral you are not consuming as often would be the best idea. In
fact, for many people, particularly teenagers, children, and women, it is
helpful for their diet and bodies to take vitamins. As with many other
products, it can be useful to look for a supplement that provides nutrients
from natural whole foods.
If you are unsure of whether you should take a supplement or even what type
you should take, here are a few good examples of those who really need
supplements:
Are you a woman who still has her monthly cycles? Having
supplemental iron is likely a good idea for you.
Are you rarely exposed to the sun or are you someone who can’t be in
the sun? Take a vitamin D supplement.
Are you a vegan or vegetarian? You might benefit from taking iodine,
vitamin D, and vitamin B12 supplements.
Chapter 5: Understanding Malnutrition
Food is fuel for the body. It provides the nutrients and energy required for
the body to be healthy in the way of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins,
and minerals. When the body does not consume these nutrients in sufficient
quantities, then what the body undergoes is malnutrition, which causes the
person to lose weight in a very unhealthy way. If the weight of the body is
not lost in a healthy way, then the individual can develop serious diseases. It
should be plainly understood that even a deficiency of a single vitamin can
lead to malnutrition.
Hunger is a process that the body uses to signal to the fact that the body
needs refueling to function properly. However, malnutrition is different from
hunger. Hunger is temporary; it goes away once the body consumes food,
and the stomach is filled with enough energy to make the body function.
Malnutrition, on the other hand, can be chronic or permanent. In many cases,
it is more severe because the effects can be long-lasting and can develop into
long-term sicknesses. Under extreme circumstances, it can also lead to the
malfunction of vital parts of the body.
As much as there is a need to understand the importance of partaking in a
healthy and nutritious diet for the body, it is also necessary to know what
happens to the body when it is deprived of a well-balanced diet. The most
common misconception for losing weight is that people tend to avoid food
and eat less in an attempt to keep their caloric intake low. The biggest effect
is that in this attempt, people deprive their bodies of the nutrition that is
required to lose or maintain their weight. Malnutrition is a term that defines
this state of depriving the body of daily nutrition. This eventually harms the
body, resulting in moderate to severe adverse consequences and often longterm effects.
Malnutrition is an underlying condition in which the consumption of food
proves to provide insufficient nutritional value that is essential for the body
to function in daily routine and perform tasks and activities. Malnutrition
contributes directly to weakening the immune system by not giving the
organs their necessary minerals and vitamins. This weakened immunity
creates an issue in which the body has a difficult time fighting off diseases
and becomes slow and weak, thus creating an opportunity for bacteria and
viruses to attack with little to no defense system.
Malnutrition is a broad term that does not only involve the undernourishment
of the body but may sometimes refer to the over nourishment of the body as
well. In general terms, malnutrition relates to the imbalance of diet, which
usually depends on the individual. Therefore, in a nutshell, malnutrition may
refer to under/over nourishment and the sufficient/insufficient nutrition of
the body that may be over or under the requirements of the body.
Malnutrition is also measured based on the weight and height of the body. A
lower weight for a taller height would mean undernourished, while more
weight for a shorter height indicates over nourishment.
The body requires a specific amount of vitamins, calories, minerals, and
healthy fats. These are to be consumed based on the individual requirement
of the body.
Sub-nutrition is a particular category of malnutrition that specifically
describes the aspect of undernutrition of the body. Undernutrition sometimes
results in weight gain, or it might make the body shed too much weight,
which can cause the body to become sick or fall into a serious disorder or
disease. Sub-nutrition means that the person is not consuming enough
calories and nutrition. However, this does not correlate with the quantity of
the food. If a person consumes more food, it does not necessarily mean that
the individual is also consuming enough nutrition. A lack of healthy diet
results in deficiencies. Other direct effects include the occurrence and
development of nutritional disorders.
One of the primary results of sub-nutrition is obesity, in which people
concentrate on the quantity of the food rather than on the nutritional value,
which creates an imbalance in their body. Moreover, one of the worst
implications of maintaining an inadequate nutritional plan during childhood
is that the person may suffer from health problems for the rest of his or her
life, as the immune system was deprived of nutrition during the
developmental years.
Another major and very evident result of malnutrition in early ages is that
the individual could possibly suffer from psychological issues, low academic
achievement, mental instability, and personality problems. In many cases,
malnutrition can even cause diseases and challenges, such as measles,
pneumonia, diarrhea, and other gastrointestinal issues.
The most common observer groups of malnutrition victims are the elderly,
who are not able to care for themselves. One alarming trend currently being
researched is the fact that the majority of the elderly victims of malnutrition
are patients who are being treated in hospitals and health centers. The second
category comprises those individuals who are socially alienated from society
and who suffer from psychological conditions.
The third, and the most shared, is a growing group involving people with
low incomes who are not fiscally capable of affording nutritional regimens
with a variety of foods. This also includes individuals who live on a single
item and consume it for too long. Individuals who suffer from eating
disorders, such as bulimia and anorexia nervosa, or persons who are in the
process of recovering from severe illnesses are at the most vulnerable stages
of developing malnutrition and related problems.
Malnourishment can cause dramatic weight loss that can be mistaken for
losing weight through a healthy diet (which is essential for the body if the
person is overweight). The body has a pattern of gaining and losing weight.
Losing weight might be harder for the body, and it takes longer for the body
to adjust to a healthy diet and intake.
However, it is crucial for the body to lose weight over time and through a
nutritious diet, in which case the process is rather slow. In cases in which
weight is lost too quickly, the person needs to be careful and needs to
determine whether it is malnutrition or not. The difference between hunger
and malnourishment is that frequent spells of the body staying hungry can
eventually lead to malnutrition. If the body is left hungry for too long, it can
result in malnutrition, and this can be indicated by both weight loss and
weight gain. Both types of weight movement are indicators that the body is
not receiving the necessary full nutrition that it needs to function correctly.
Types of Malnutrition
Moderate acute malnutrition (MAM), otherwise called squandering, is
characterized by a weight-for-tallness pointer between - 3 and - 2 z-scores
(standard deviations) of the worldwide standard or a mid-upper arm outline
(MUAC) between 11 cm and 12.5 cm.
Serious, intense ailing health (SAM) is the most unsafe type of lack of
healthy sustenance. On the off chance that it is left untreated, SAM can bring
about death. Serious squandering is described by a huge loss of muscle-to-fat
ratio and muscle tissue. Kids who are severely squandered look elderly, and
their bodies are amazingly thin and skeletal.
In this type of extreme intense ailing health, edema is observed on the lower
appendages and is checked when thumb weight is applied on top of both feet
for three seconds and leaves a pit or space in the foot after the thumb is
lifted. The edema may, in the long run, spread to the legs and chest, and the
child will seem puffy and is typically bad tempered, frail, and torpid.
Different indications of edema incorporate skin injuries, an expanded liver,
and diminishing hair. Underneath the edema, the muscles have been
extremely debilitated, and the youngster encounters intense cramping and
muscle torment. An extremely malnourished child with edema is at a high
danger of death and requires immediate treatment. Both types of extreme
acute lack of real sustenance trade off the body’s basic functions.
Regardless of the possibility that a child is dealt with and his or her
nourishing status is reestablished, his or her physical and mental
improvement and general well-being status might be unfavorably affected in
the long haul.
Both direct intense hunger and severe, extreme lack of healthy sustenance
might be joined by micronutrient inadequacies, such as press insufficiency,
nutritious iron deficiency, iodine insufficiency, and tissue and vitamin A
insufficiency. All around, direct intense lack of healthy nutrition influences a
more noteworthy number of kids than extreme intense hunger.
While children experiencing either direct intense hunger or extreme, intense
lack of healthy nourishment are helpless to sickness, severely malnourished
kids are in greater danger of restorative intricacies and demise from ailments,
contaminations, and micronutrient insufficiencies. On the off chance that a
child experiences the endless lack of healthy sustenance, the fundamental
side effect is hindering and being shorter than normal for his or her age
group.
Hindered youngsters won’t develop to the maximum capacity, physically or
rationally. They will likewise be at a more serious risk for genuine medical
issues, such as heart and kidney infections and diabetes. If children
experience the intense lack of healthy sustenance, they aren’t getting enough
supplements for the organs, tissues, and cells to work properly.
On the off chance that their body doesn’t get these supplements from
sustenance, it will start to expand its particular tissue for vitality, leaving
expected survival a minimum. This adversely influences the kid’s digestion,
organ capacity, and safe framework, as well as puts their life in danger. The
more prominent the tissue misfortune, the more extreme ailing health gets to
be. Direct intense hunger causes certain insufficiencies because of an
absence of supplements, thus debilitating youngsters’ frameworks and
putting them at risk for different sicknesses.
Extreme intense lack of healthy sustenance is the most life-debilitating of all.
It genuinely reduces the greater part of a youngster’s imperative capacities
and can be lethal if left untreated. Not many individuals know that
unhealthiness can be brought on by the absence of supplements. In any case,
it is the ill health caused by the lack of essential miniaturized scale
supplements that is a noteworthy worldwide concern.
The fundamental types of lack of healthy sustenance sicknesses are
development disappointment hunger and ailing micronutrient health.
Development disappointment lack of healthy nutrition, as the name
proposes, is the inability of a person to develop a course in stature or weight,
as indicated by his or her age and sexual orientation.
Development disappointment ailing health can take different forms. Intense
ailing health, or squandering, emerges all of a sudden and results in radical
weight reduction. Hunger is the impeded capacity that results from a drawn
out insufficiency – or overabundance – of aggregate vitality or special
supplements. For example, protein, basic unsaturated fats, vitamins, and
minerals are all special supplements.
This condition can come about because of fasting and anorexia nervosa;
industrious regurgitating (as in bulimia nervosa) or powerlessness to
swallow; impeded assimilation and intestinal malabsorption; or endless
ailments that result in loss of hunger (e.g., disease, AIDS). Unhealthiness
can likewise come about because of constrained sustenance accessibility,
impulsive nourishment decisions, or exuberant utilization of dietary
supplements.
Signs and Symptoms of Malnutrition
The symptoms of malnutrition are hard to identify because some cases might
not show any symptoms at all, or they may have simpler symptoms that
include dizziness, fever, fatigue, or weight loss. However, the severity of the
symptoms can be checked through some basic tests that can highlight the
prevalence of malnutrition.
The symptoms that can make it easier to detect food disorders and lack of
nutrition are loss of adipose tissue, which can cause a dramatic weight loss;
difficulties experienced in breathing; psychological issues, such as
depression; low body temperatures; decrease in the number of white blood
cells; and changes in body temperatures where the tendency is to feel colder.
Some of the longer term effects are seen to affect the time span for
infections, illnesses, and wounds healing. In addition, the effects are seen in
lowered sex drive, and problems are experienced with fertility. Some
prominent and evident signs are fatigue, tiredness, mood swings, and
irritability. In some of the more extreme cases and circumstances, the skin
tissues are affected to the extent that the skin becomes thin. Other direct
effects are in the form of hollow and saggy skin.
What the medical and clinical signs of malnutrition also prove is that weight
gain is notably slower than the defined pace, and there is a possible slowing
in linear growth levels.
The evident signs and causes of malnutrition are iron deficiencies that can be
triggered when fatigued, anemic responses, frequent headaches, and changes
in the color and appearance of nails. Other symptoms include psychological
discrepancies and problems experienced with cognition and cognitive health.
Iodine deficiencies are not often observed to be very prominent but are based
on the developmental and mental sectors causing abnormalities, such as
retardation and goiter.
Vitamin D deficiency can be a trigger of developing diseases, such as rickets
and hypocalcemia, or a reduced growth rate. Vitamin A deficiency can be
indicated if the patient experiences night blindness, changes in hair, and
xerophthalmia. Folate deficiency can be a trigger of anemia, glossitis, and
defects in the neural tube (women).
Zinc deficiencies can trigger anemia, dwarfism, adverse responses of the
immune system that may include slower and poor healing of the wounds,
hyperpigmentation, hepatosplenomegaly, hypogonadism, and acrodermatitis
enteropathica.
It is to be kept in mind that not all signs might point towards malnutrition,
but they should not be ignored. In some cases, there is thinning of the
subcutaneous tissues, which may affect the face, legs, arms, and buttocks.
There might be conditions of edema, or there might be some oral changes
that include cheilosis, angular stomatitis, papillary atrophy, etc.
Abdominal distention can also be a sign of insufficient or over sufficient
intake of food. Sometimes, minor changes in the skin, i.e., dry or peeling
skin that is raw to touch, might also indicate malnutrition. One sign of
malnutrition is that the body is unable to extract and digest the nutrients from
food, and this can mean that the body might have developed certain diseases
that are preventing the nutrients from being absorbed by the body.
Sudden changes can indicate that there are problems with the body in the
form of thyroid problems, cancer, infectious diseases, digestive issues, heart
failure, and kidney disease. To be precise, if the weight shed by the body is
between 5% and 10% in a period of three to six months, then it is an
alarming sign of malnutrition. More severely, people with a BMI (Body
Mass Index) of 18.5 or below can be at risk of malnourishment.
Other signs include a loss of interest in eating and drinking, fatigue, feeling
tired all the time, and feeling weak throughout the day. It can also be
characterized by people falling sick too easily and taking too long to recover.
Destitution and absence of sustenance are the essential reasons why a lack of
healthy nutrition happens in the United States. Loss of craving is often
related to the maturing procedure but can also be a sign of malnutrition. Lack
of healthy foods influences one in four elderly Americans, to some extent, as
they may lose enthusiasm for eating. Furthermore, such sicknesses as
Alzheimer’s may cause older adults to forget to eat.
There is an expanded danger of lack of healthy sustenance related to constant
maladies, particularly illnesses of the intestinal tract, kidneys, and liver.
Patients with endless sicknesses, such as tumors, AIDS, intestinal parasites,
and other gastric issues, may get fitter faster but are distinctly powerless
against undernourishment because they can’t ingest beneficial vitamins,
calories, and iron.
Individuals with medication or liquor addictions are likewise at an increased
danger of lack of healthy sustenance. These individuals have a tendency to
keep up insufficient eating for drawn out stretches of time, and their capacity
to ingest supplements is hindered by the liquor or medication’s effect on
body tissues, especially the liver, pancreas, and mind.
Dietary issues, particularly in individuals with anorexia or bulimia, may
limit their nourishment admission to such extremes that they get to be
distinctly malnourished. Those with nourishment hypersensitivities,
particularly those with food allergies, may think that it’s hard to get
sustenance that they can process. Furthermore, individuals with sustenance
hypersensitivities frequently require additional calorie admission to keep up
their weight.
There also exists an inability to assimilate supplements in nourishment
taking after bariatric (weight reduction) surgery. Bariatric surgery
incorporates such methods as stomach stapling (gastroplasty) and different
intestinal sidestep strategies to help individuals eat less and become healthier
overall. Be that as it may, lack of healthy sustenance can likely be a result of
bariatric surgery.
Treatment and Prevention of Malnutrition
The basic treatment of malnutrition varies and depends on the severity and
seriousness of the type of malnutrition. A thorough understanding of the
individual afflicted helps in devising the diet and care plan according to
individual needs. The real priority would be to give the patient the required
amount of nutrition. However, in cases where this is not possible, there are
two forms of artificial nutritional methodologies.
The first process is enteral nutrition, where a tube is inserted through the
nose and then goes directly into the stomach of the patient. The food
supplement is sent through the pipe, or the tube, into the stomach directly.
The second process is parental feeding, where the nutritional supplement
liquid is directly injected into the bloodstream of the patient. Then, the
progress of the patient is monitored. The only preventative strategy is to
consume carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables, proteins, dairy, and a limited
amount of healthy fats.
One of the latest home remedies is to use the Ready-to-use Therapeutic Food
(RUTF), which can be given to a malnourished child in the form of a dietary
paste, and the most prominent effect is weight gain. This treatment has been
flavored with peanut butter and milk, making it easier to be consumed by
children. It also contains the necessary vitamins and minerals that can be
ingested. It has a shelf life of three to four months, so it can be fed to
children at intervals.
Given that malnutrition is common in children, the proper way of gaining
weight is to ensure that they are receiving an intake of 120 to 150 calories, as
this may be the case for chronic and severe cases of malnutrition. However,
in mild and moderate cases, the proper ways of gaining or losing weight
need to be assessed in terms of calorie consumption.
The prevention of malnutrition can often be controlled through prenatal
nutritional care. This also includes counseling the parents and educating
them about malnutrition. The most common forms of treating
malnourishment are for the patient to consume snacks in between meals, as
well as take plenty of fluids through drinks containing calories. A balanced
and healthy diet might include fruits, vegetables, bread, rice, potatoes, pasta,
starchy foods, milk, dairy products, meat, fish, eggs, and beans.
Statistics and Facts about Malnutrition
It has been found by the National Health Services (NHS) that in the United
Kingdom alone, there is an estimated three million people who are affected
by malnutrition and its various implications. This leads us to believe that
people are either consuming too much food or not taking the base level of
nutrients needed to sustain a healthy lifestyle. Meanwhile, according to the
estimates of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), a population of
923 million people around the globe is affected each year by the imbalance
in diet as a result of malnutrition. This number has increased drastically by
80% in a century.
According to a report by the World Health Organization, one of the biggest
factors that cause mortality in children is malnutrition, which is the foremost
reason for at least 45% of cases of child mortality. According to another
report by World Health Organization, 1.9 billion adults around the globe are
obese or overweight, while the figures indicate that 462 million people are
underweight and suffer from malnutrition.
The rate is alarming for children, among whom the obesity rate is 41 million,
but the underweight rate is 159 million, and these children are below the age
of 5 years. This phenomenon is common in both developed and developing
countries, i.e., both rich and poor nations.
Malnutrition affects one in every three children, and out of all of the cases of
malnutrition, the deaths are found primarily in the youngest age groups.
Among the major reasons are increasing inflation and higher prices of food,
especially in developing and underdeveloped countries.
A leading cause of malnutrition in infants has been linked to the nutritional
value of the breastfeeding mother’s diet. When the mother is malnourished,
she is not providing adequate nutrition for the baby, thus putting the child on
the same boat. Sometimes, some infections in the body disable the ability to
extract the needed nutrients from food and hinder the breaking down of food.
This results in malnutrition.
The WHO is working in collaboration with UNICEF and both are in
agreement that the severity of malnutrition all over the world has reached its
peak. They have exerted combined efforts to identify remedial measures that
might help overcome this issue, which stems from the guidelines provided
by the IMCI. Malnutrition causes over 300,000 deaths in children alone
around the globe aged less than 10 years.
Notably, 10% of all individuals from low-wage family units don’t generally
have enough refreshing nourishment to eat. Protein-vitality ailing health
occurs in half of surgical patients and in 48% of all other clinic patients.
Obesity and heftiness have achieved pandemic extents, influencing around
1.5 billion adults and 200 million offspring of school age all through the
world, making this the generation with an anticipated future life expectancy
that is lower than that of their folks.
Previously, weight problems were noted only in prosperous populaces with a
plentiful vitality admission, although stoutness is currently often related to
hindering nations with low per capita wage and high sustenance uncertainty.
The profile has now been seen among poor youngsters and youths in
different nations. Hindering is profoundly predominant in kids. The
commonness of being overweight and hefty was high in early adolescence
and low toward the end of youth.
The commonness of being overweight and stout expanded continuously
among young ladies, achieving 10% and 15% in young ladies between the
ages of 10 and 16 and influencing 15% and 25% of young ladies between the
ages of 17 and 20. At the point where they are stratified for pubertal stage,
young ladies at stage five showed a predominance of being overweight and
stout of 35%, while among young men, the commonness did not reach 1%.
A national review completed in Mexico found a 6.2% connection between
moms with focal adiposity and youngsters with hindering. This was more
predominant in rural regions and among indigenous families. In addition, an
investigation of poor Mexican kids living in provinces revealed that weight
and undernutrition coincided with a high pervasiveness of hindering and
being overweight.
The greater part of the families lived in neediness with countless members
per home. Over 30% of the families were of indigenous inception. Useful
seepage frameworks were available in less than 20% of the group. The
pervasiveness of hindering in youngsters was 21.3% for the non-indigenous
populace and 42.7% for the indigenous populace.
The predominance of overweight/corpulence among hindered youngsters
was twice as high among the indigenous kids as compared to their non-
indigenous partners. The most related elements were more youthful moms of
short stature, fewer years of training, more regrettable financial status, less
familiarity with economic wellbeing, and larger family measure.
Moreover, this kind of affiliation was seen among poor youngsters in China.
Of 453 overweight kids, 57.6% displayed hindering, 41.0% demonstrated a
tallness for age z score amongst −2 and 2, and only 1.4% exhibited a stature
for age z score >2. The predominance of hindering among the greater part of
the kids was 30%, with this being the most genuine and pervasive issue,
while the pervasiveness of being underweight was 10%.
One review was conducted in Alagoas, an extremely poor area of Brazil, and
a comparative concurrence of undernutrition and stoutness was found. A
total of 315 families was reviewed. Lodging conditions were of poor
standard; most families lived in plastic shacks with just a single room and
one family unit apparatus. The greater part of the residences needed floor
covers, most abodes had no water supply, and the families utilized untreated
water.
All homes were without a lavatory or fridge. Kids demonstrated a high
predominance of squandering in addition to hindering, and most were
gravely influenced (20%). Among adults, there was a higher pervasiveness
of being overweight (25%) than of being underweight (20%). The
pervasiveness of being both underweight and overweight was higher in
ladies than in men, and in the previous, the commonness of being
overweight was around twice that of the last mentioned. Of the hindered
people, 30% were overweight, and 16% were underweight.
The eating regimens of adults were overviewed to study the connection
between their sustenance admission and their dietary status. The mean
vitality admission was 63%, which is beneath the Recommended Dietary
Allowances (RDA), and after modification for light action and short stature,
the qualities were around 70% and found to be good with the more extensive
display of undernutrition present in the populace.
Among the hindered masses, hungry men appeared to have an inclination of
lower vitality, in contrast to the individuals who were corpulent. Then again,
among the hindered ladies, vitality utilization appeared to have no
connection to dietary status, as comparable vitality utilizations were found
for undernourished and fat ladies, individually.
These outcomes increase the likelihood that the high predominance of being
overweight or stout, specifically among hindered ladies, was not related to
exorbitant vitality utilization, but rather to a deficient admission if RDA
qualities are thought to be a reference for sufficient admission. Then again,
looking at this as a positive vitality adjustment must have successfully
caused heftiness. We can, along these lines, assume that the RDA qualities
may be high for this populace because of their smaller body measurement,
regardless of the revisions made for short stature and low vitality use.
One question to consider is the exactness of the nourishment utilization
estimations. A dietary review request was connected to all people at home,
on any offered day, to give data on the respondents’ nourishment
consumption amid a solitary 24-hour period utilizing an institutionalized
manual with photographic records for the dietary request, which represented
the diverse servings that appeared in grams and family measures.
In a sub-test, a three-day request was likewise made. The standard eating
routine was very reliable, fundamentally composed of espresso with sugar,
bread and margarine, beans and rice, stewed chicken, maize flour, and
chicken eggs. No significant out-of-home-sustenances were discovered,
which is predictable with the level of destitution. Thus, we trust that
nourishment admission estimations were precise because of the lower impact
of those components on the nature of sustenance admission estimations, such
as out-of-home uncontrolled nourishment utilization and an eating regimen
of vast fluctuation. Another variable to be viewed as one that could clarify
the nearness of overweight/large individuals found in this populace is the
measure of fat in their consumption.
The outcomes did not uncover high-fat admission or contrast in this
macronutrient for hindered and fat men and ladies when contrasted with their
typical or undernourished partners (25%, by and large). The creators inferred
that the corpulence found in hindered people couldn’t be clarified by a
higher fat admission. Then again, it is conceivable that physical action was
especially low. Furthermore, the unemployment rate was high (81.6%).
The most energetic physical exercises depicted were infrequent strolling
long distances to get and convey water to the family and the hand washing of
garments done by ladies. Hence, different systems might be in charge of the
positive vitality adjustment – for example, an impressive reduction in vitality
consumption for physical action. This was discovered particularly in studies
with double-named water in hindered immature young ladies.
Finally, it is conceivable that different components may have added to the
distinctions in body mass index (BMI) seen in ladies with short stature/low
weight in contrast to those with short stature/stoutness. One possibility could
be an expansion in vitality consumption in connection to vitality allowance
because of a higher recurrence of diseases and parasites among those with
low weight. The profile depicted for this populace was likewise seen in a
broadly based examination.
Among ladies from families that got up to 25% of the base pay, 32.1% were
overweight, and 8.8% were stout. A high predominance was found among
ladies who got in the vicinity of 25% and 100% of the base pay, with 40% of
these ladies being overweight and 13% being large.
Men of lower wage classes introduced a lower commonness of being
overweight and weight in contrast with ladies. Moreover, in terms of the
aggregate number of calories accessible per family for utilization in the
populace with a wage of up to 25% of the base pay, although the populace
with pay over five times the base pay, only 2,075 kcal calories are accessible
per capita.
As of late, a comparable review demonstrated that 35.5% of families
revealed that the amount of nourishment expanded through the span of a
month was either typical or every so often deficient. One important question
to bring up is the means by which corpulence is assessed in people with
short stature because, for any given weight, the BMI will be higher for
individuals who are shorter. Hence, the indicator of heftiness must be
affirmed by different strategies, for example, bone mineral thickness (BMD)
or abdomen-to-hip proportion. This assessment was done in a progression of
studies on young people and adults by us and other researchers. These
reviews have affirmed that there are modifications in the body of hindered
individuals with high-fat gathering.
In spite of the fact that the purported ailments of human advancement—for
instance, coronary illness, stroke, malignancy, and diabetes—will be the
concentration of this article, the most noteworthy nourishment-related
ailment is unending undernutrition, which torments more than 925 million
individuals around the world. Undernutrition is a condition in which there is
inadequate sustenance to address vitality issues; its fundamental attributes
incorporate weight reduction, inability to flourish, and squandering of
muscle to fat quotients and muscle. Low birth weight in babies, insufficient
development and advancement in kids, decreased mental capacity, and
expanded defenselessness to sickness are among the numerous outcomes of
unending persevering yearning, which influences those living in destitution
in both industrialized and developing nations.
The largest number of constantly hungry individuals can be found in Asia,
yet the seriousness of this condition is most noteworthy in sub-Saharan
Africa. Toward the begin of the 21st century, around 20,000 individuals, the
lion’s share of them kids, passed on every day from undernutrition and
related ailments that could have been avoided. The passing of a number of
these kids stems from the poor health status of their moms, as well as the
absence of chance forced by neediness.
Only a small percentage of craving passing is brought about by starvation
because of cataclysmic nourishment deficiencies. Amid the 1990s, for
instance, overall starvation (widespread shortage of the sustenance supply)
all the more frequently came about because of complex social and political
issues and the assaults of war rather than from cataclysmic events, such as
dry seasons and surges.
Chapter 6: Diseases Caused by Poor Diet
To lead a happy and healthy life, the importance of a nutritious diet is of
value, as it can protect the body from many diseases and illnesses that
develop as a result of the lack of the proper and required nutrition. However,
a poor diet may allow many diseases and illnesses to develop and prevail in
the body, and many of these diseases can be permanent and may continue to
weaken the body.
It is critical to realize the value of fresh produce instead of substituting it
with packaged and processed food. The markets are full of products that
claim that their products contain proteins and vitamins that have been
extracted from natural methods, but in reality, foods have been prepared
from many materials and artificial flavorings that might not be suitable for
human consumption. The prepared and processed foods that promise to
contain nutrients and vitamins might actually lack the required nutrients, and
when we consume these foods while thinking we are consuming nutrition,
we are building up harmful chemicals and toxins in our body.
Our body needs to extract the nutrients from food; however, if we feed our
body chemicals, these get absorbed in our bloodstreams, our organs, and our
bones (that are automatically weakened). This gives room for diseases and
illnesses to develop in our bodies. However, not every product has
chemicals; some of them have been recommended by medical experts and
are used as treatment in many malnutrition cases.
Overall, infection refers to any of the supplement-related sicknesses and
conditions that cause disease in people. This may incorporate insufficiencies
or overabundances in the eating routine, corpulence and dietary problems, as
well as persistent infections, such as cardiovascular sickness, hypertension,
growth, and diabetes mellitus. Wholesome ailments additionally incorporate
developmental anomalies that can be averted through a proper eating
regimen, an inherited metabolic issue that reacts to dietary treatment, the
combination of sustenance and supplements with medication, nourishment
sensitivities and prejudices, and potential risks in the sustenance supply.
The prevention of many diseases that result from a lack of proper nutrition
can be achieved through the consumption and use of remedies that can be
found easily in natural foods that are grown in the soil and on trees. By
consuming food in its freshest form, we can prevent the occurrence of many
diseases. This can also cure many of the already existing problems that the
body might be fighting against, as this is a natural and essential way of
cleansing the body and ridding it of unnecessary items that harm the body.
The most important nutrients for our bodies are proteins, fats, carbohydrates,
vitamins (13), and minerals (15), which are needed for the body to function
properly. Some of the primary problems are given below.
Diabetes
Diabetes is one of the most common diseases around the world that can
develop because of an inappropriate diet. However, diabetes can be
prevented and managed through an active and healthy lifestyle. In some
cases, a poor diet can result in some earlier problems, such as obesity, high
blood pressure, as well as rising levels of cholesterol, which can contribute
to diabetes.
According to the findings of the American Diabetes Association, a healthy
and nutritious diet can decrease the chance of becoming diabetic. The stage
before a diagnosis of diabetes is called a pre-diabetic stage. In this stage,
people experience changes in their glucose and cholesterol levels, which are
high or close to being high. Meanwhile, if people start caring about their diet
and adopting a healthy lifestyle, diabetes can be prevented from progressing
in the future, and the levels can become stagnant or even decrease.
Diabetes directly results from the consumption of foods that are fatty and
high in glucose or sugar. Moreover, some illnesses and conditions, such as
heart diseases, high blood pressure, stroke, gallstones, and some forms of
cancer, increase the likelihood of diabetes. The decrease in the use of oils
and butter, along with removing fat from meats, especially the skin and fat of
chicken and turkey, can prevent the condition.
Moreover, increased salt in the body that comes from processed snacks and
cold drinks can lead to pre-diabetic conditions. Diabetes is, notably, a
condition in which the body loses the ability to store or use sugar and
glucose and, therefore, can cause other problems that can lead to blindness,
problems with the movement of limbs, coma, and in severe situations, death.
There are two types of diabetes. Type 1 is the stage in which the body stops
producing insulin, which therefore has to be taken either orally through
medications or injected. Type 2 affects adults who are overweight. A few of
the signs that point towards diabetes is feeling thirsty too often, urinating
often, itchy skin, various phases in which blurriness and blindness occur in
short but frequent periods, shedding of too much weight, and feeling hungry
often.
Other likely causes are numbness and loss of sensation in hands and feet,
vaginal and groin infections, loss of consciousness, bed sores even when the
people are mobile, and delayed wound healing. The treatment for diabetes is
to eat frequently and in smaller portions foods that are healthy and nutritious,
as well as living a healthy lifestyle with the necessary exercise.
Anemia
Anemia is mainly referred to as a problem in which the blood levels in the
body decrease. In detail, it refers to a situation in which the number of red
blood cells decreases. An anemic person may experience weakness, fatigue,
temperature changes, headaches, and heartbeat irregularity from time to
time. Anemia is a condition that results from food and nutrient deficiencies.
According to the figures provided by the Mayo Clinic, anemia affects almost
1% to 2% of the adult population in the United States.
The most likely deficiencies are those that are caused by nutrients extracted
from meat and poultry. These deficiencies result in irregular hemoglobin
levels. Vitamin B12 deficiency also contributes to the progression of anemia.
This vitamin is found in grains and animal products. Anemia develops when
the blood is weak because of the rapid death of red blood cells, such that the
body is not able to keep with the pace of replicating and renewing the dying
and dead cells.
Anemia is more common in women because they bleed during their
menstrual cycle and thus lose blood faster than men. The majority of women
become anemic or develop anemia during pregnancy. Blood loss during
childbirth can significantly contribute to the death of women in many cases.
Iron deficiency is the leading cause of anemia, but lately, other illnesses,
such as malaria, diarrhea, ulcers, parasites, worms found in the body, and
wounds that do not stop bleeding can cause anemia. Some symptoms include
pale skin, specifically the eyelids and lips (inner). The condition can be
prevented by consuming citrus fruits, tomatoes, leafy vegetables, cereals,
liver, chicken, oysters, seafood, sardines, meat (lean), peas, beans, broccoli,
eggs, nuts, tofu, bran, and squash or by simply consuming iron pills or iron
supplements.
Rickets (Osteomalacia)
Rickets is a disease caused by of calcium, phosphate, and vitamin D
deficiencies. The condition affects both children and adults and develops
from poor nutrition levels for a prolonged period. Given that the body does
not get enough nutrients that strengthen the bones and the skeletal system,
the bones, muscles, and joints become weak and soft. As a result, they
become dislocated as they cannot remain straight and hard. Another leading
factor is the lack of vitamin D in the body. This vitamin can be gained from
both food and exposure to sunlight. Our body cannot produce or make
vitamin D on its own, so it has to be extracted from either ultraviolet rays or
food. Rickets has been found to develop in people with no access to direct
sunlight.
From the perspective of diet, vitamin D is found in dairy products, as well as
nutritious foods and vegetables having high levels of energy. Even if sunlight
is not available, the deficiency can be overcome through diet and nutrients.
Vitamin D can be created from the ultraviolet rays absorbed by the liver and
kidneys. Vitamin D deficiency is one of the most common problems among
people who work or stay indoors. It mostly affects children during their
developmental and growth stages.
Certain organs of poultry that can help combat this disease. Cod liver oil is
also a proven cure for vitamin D deficiency. The disease spreads and
progresses in higher rates in children, who develop it within a very short
period during the stages when their skeletal system is being developed. The
bones grow in a lengthening position, and they grow straight.
In people with rickets, the most affected areas are the legs, where bone
development and lengthening are most crucial. Parts of the leg bones become
too soft to be straight, and as a result, the bones grow in an outward direction
because of the lack of calcium and vitamin D. In other cases, the rib cages
and wrists are affected. This deformation causes swelling, widening, and
thickening of the surrounding tissues.
In other cases, the disease also makes the skull bones soft and damages the
tissues. It can cause curves in the back, which can cause further deformities
and frequent fractures. Vegetarians need to replace meat with milk and other
dairy.
Beriberi
Beriberi is a disease directly caused by excessive consumption of rice and
starchy foods that lack nutrients. This is a deficiency of vitamin B1. It
directly damages and affects the nerves and causes inflammation, which can
damage the neurons permanently. The disease is commonly associated with
countries and nations that rely on rice as their main source of food.
Moreover, the disease is restricted to countries that prefer white rice to
brown. White rice is known to cause weakness, aches and pains, weight loss,
difficulty in limb movement, altered muscle coordination, nerve
degeneration, and cardiovascular problems. In some cases, it has been
known to cause emotional and psychological issues.
In more extreme cases, beriberi can contribute to mortality issues. In the 18th
century, it was deduced that white rice could release poisonous toxins in the
body and is therefore unfit for human consumption in larger quantities.
Brown rice contains thiamine, which is essential for absorption into the
body, but white rice does not contain thiamine. Therefore, the body develops
many forms of illnesses that can be prevented by the consumption of
thiamine.
The most common signs include swelling, irregular heartbeat, and long
spells of hunger without the wish to eat. The condition can be improved by
consuming meat, poultry, fish, liver, cereals that have whole grain fibers,
peas, beans, and clovers, as well as higher consumption of milk and eggs.
Scurvy
Scurvy is referred to as the disease of gray death or the disease of the pirates.
It is essentially caused by a lack of vitamin C and ascorbic acid. The history
of the disease points back to ancient times, when the reasons and causes of
the disease were unknown, but according to the experiments done by
experts, it was found that the disease could be controlled or stopped in its
early stages if the patient is fed certain herbs and fresh produce.
Until the 15th century, the disease was rare, but it started occurring
frequently and began affecting more people in the latter centuries when
people began traveling and staying more on the ships. These people did not
have access to the different varieties of food, especially fresh produce that
includes fruits and vegetables. Therefore, they relied heavily on fish and
preserved poultry that lacked vitamin C.
The symptoms of scurvy can occur in the form of pain in joints and gums. It
can also result in bloodstains, clots, visible spots under the skin, loosening of
teeth, bad breath, as well as difficulty in eating, walking, and moving the
limbs. In more severe and serious cases, the sudden bursting of blood vessels
could result in immediate death.
In the 18th century, the consumption of fresh produce was specified and
limited to mostly citrus fruits comprising lemons, limes, oranges,
strawberries, and broccoli. These can be repliced by recommended processed
supplements that have vitamin C. A simple glass of fresh lemon or orange
juice is effective enough to provide relief from the disease or stop its
symptoms from developing.
Pellagra
Pellagra is caused by a deficiency of vitamin B3. It is a condition that results
in problems under the layers of the skin, causing blisters. Other symptoms
include bleeding from the mouth and psychological issues, such as abusive
or aggressive behavior.
The cause is unknown, but some data point towards the overconsumption of
corn and the use of corn as a substitute for meat. Corn is an inexpensive
staple food that is consumed by most vegetarians. It reduces the levels of
vitamin B3 in the body. This can be addressed by consuming meat in the
required quantities.
In the 20th century, the cause was found in the way the corn was processed
with the inclusion of limewater. This causes the grain to lose many of its
nutrients. The disease is most frequently found in developing countries and
the poorest nations that rely heavily on corn.
Some symptoms of pellagra include instances of dementia, diarrhea, and
dermatitis. The disease results from the absence of Niacin, which reduces the
supply of amino acids, tryptophan, and lysine. Some foods that can help
address the condition are tuna, peanuts, whole grain foods, mushrooms, and
chicken.
Night blindness (xerophthalmia)
Chronic or permanent night blindness is caused by the lack of vitamin A.
This results in poor growth and dryness of the epithelial tissue, thus causing
a chronic eye infection that causes blindness when dark. In more serious and
severe cases, this may result in permanent loss of sight. The consumption of
carrots, green leafy vegetables, and raw vegetables can address the
condition.
Goiter
Goiter results from iodine deficiency. This causes the thyroid glands to swell
and become problematic. It hinders the growth of children, as well as causes
cretinism and mental retardation in some cases.
Iodine can be found in salts and saltwater fish. Fish, salts, and starchy foods
can prevent the condition from progressing further.
Kwashiorkor
The condition results from the lack of protein. Other illnesses that may result
in the development of kwashiorkor are anorexia, liver enlargement, ulcers,
irritability, and other mood phases. The affected population is mostly
composed of children from poor countries. The consumption of eggs, lentils,
rice (brown), meats, and other foods that are high in carbohydrates and
proteins can help fight this disease.
Depression
The symptoms of depression are difficult to detect and analyze, but a few
serious symptoms include hair loss and rashes directly resulting from
vitamin B7 and biotin deficiency.
Depression is a serious illness that results in mental and physical health
problems. Some foods that have been found to mitigate the risk of
depression are poultry and dairy products, peanuts, and sugary items in low
quantities.
Osteoporosis
This is a condition in which the bones of the body are weak and soft,
resulting in the poor development and growth of the body. Vitamin D and
calcium deficiency can cause defects in the spinal and skeletal system.
Foods rich in vitamin D, such as bananas, spinach, milk, soy, and okra, can
be consumed to eliminate or lessen the effects of osteoporosis. Sunshine and
exposure to ultraviolet rays can further help by enabling the body to produce
vitamin D.
Cancer
Although a lack of good nutrition might not be the only reason for cancer, a
poor diet plays a key role in the development of the disease. People who
consume more fatty foods are at a greater risk of having colon, uterus,
prostate, breast, esophagus, or kidney cancer. People who consume greater
portions of fruits and vegetables have a lesser risk of developing cancer. A
diet that is high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals can help prevent cancer.
Whole grain bread, cereals, fruits, and vegetables should be consumed in
greater quantities.
Chapter 7: Obesity – An Issue for more than 35%
of American Adults
Obesity is a term that refers to an accumulation of fat in the body; this is
relatively different from being overweight. It occurs when food intake is
greater than the body’s energy requirements.
Obesity affects 78 million adults in the U.S. alone. Body weight might only
come from muscle, bone, and sometimes water retention. Being overweight
or obese would signify in a much heavier weight. However, obesity is a
condition where the fat is present in the body in thick layers, which is a
harmful condition.
Obesity directly results from consuming more calories than needed by the
body. Calorie requirements differ from person to person. Obesity is a serious
condition that might affect the genetic makeup of a person, and serious cases
of obesity can be passed on through the genes for generations.
Being overweight is not a sign of a healthy and nutritious diet, and
sometimes, an obese or being extremely overweight person could be
undernourished. The excess fats might come from calories and excess food
that the body failed to digest, thus forming a coating on the inside and
outside walls of the body, resulting in a D-shaped body form.
As obese people continue to consume fatty foods, they become more
malnourished. Fiber intake seems to be lower in obese people, as they
consume more processed foods that have more calories and lack essential
vitamins and minerals.
Obesity causes people to develop hyperinsulinemia – a condition that causes
the body to produce high levels of insulin, such that the body absorbs fat
through the cells, which then become swollen. Obesity tends to make a
person weak. Therefore, when the body demands energy, such energy cannot
be provided. Therefore, the individual feels weak, lethargic, and lazy. This
might further cause the person to feel stressed and moody most of the time.
Obesity can increase the risk of diabetes, stroke, arthritis, and even some
forms of cancer. Obesity causes serious health issues, as an obese person has
excessive layers of fat. This condition is being marked as the second most
important health concern after tobacco use and smoking. The number of
those affected is increasing, making it a foremost health issue confronting
the world.
Obesity can cause other problems that might include depression, disabilities,
problems in personal and sexual life, guilt that may cause further depression,
social isolation, low confidence and willpower, destroyed self-image, and
low achievement in many aspects of life.
Medical experts have claimed that obesity rates have risen at a fast pace in
the past three decades and are continuing to rise. The main reason has been
identified as the change in people’s lifestyles.
According to the British Journal of Sports Medicine, one of the main reasons
why people gain weight is that manufacturers of processed food advertise
their products in a way that gives the idea that if the food is condumed while
maintaining a healthy lifestyle and burning calories, then the effects will be
counterbalanced. However, medicine has revealed that this is not the case;
even after people exercise and think they have burned enough calories for
the effects of the processed food to wear off, packaged and processed foods
contain chemicals and artificial nutrients that are hazardous once they are
dissolved and absorbed by the body.
The causes of obesity include:
Lack of physical activity: The basic essence of food consumption is that
exercising or doing any form of physical activity can burn the excessive
calories and cleanse the body; however, when the body does not undergo any
physical activity, the calories are stored and absorbed by the body, which
results in weight problems.
Unhealthy lifestyle and unhealthy eating habits: Binge eating, eating only
one or two forms of calories and vitamins, and not consuming other forms of
essential nutrients might cause the body to try to access and extract the
nutrients from the calories, such that the body does not develop healthy cells
but rather fat cells.
Genetics: Although it is hard to believe, science and medical experts have
confirmed that the stored amount of fat and obesity can be carried in the
DNA structure of the body. Fat cells can be determined before a person is
born; this depends on the genetics and body structure of the parents.
Medical conditions: Certain diseases and medical conditions restrict the
physical activity of a person, and this can prevent people from exercising,
thus resulting in weight gain and obesity. Moreover, some drugs and
medicines release toxins and chemicals in the body that can directly cause
the patient to gain weight or become uncontrollably hungry, such that the
person consumes more food than needed.
Social reasons: A busy schedule and long hours of work can leave less time
for people to maintain a fitness regime and to have a healthy lifestyle. People
have less time to cook and thus consume mostly packaged and processed
food, which causes changes in the body structure and lifestyle. Moreover,
social surroundings and peers have an impact on people’s lives, and this also
affects the choices that people make.
Pregnancy: One of the biggest factors that make women obese is not being
able to lose the weight they gain during their pregnancy. If women do not
immediately control their weight after they have delivered the baby, then
there are more chances for that weight to become harder to shed off as time
increases.
Lack of sleep: Sleeping less or more than the requirement also tends to
make the body gain weight because some hormones released in the body can
increase a person’s appetite and cause more food cravings to occur.
Quitting smoking: Given that smoking tends to tighten the body and the
outer layer of the skin, quitting makes some people gain weight
immediately; however, after some time, the effects wear off.
According to health experts, some evidence has proven that sugar and sugary
products contribute to the rising rate of obesity. Other reasons, which include
alcohol consumption, smoking, and lack of physical exercise, have far less
effects on the body than sugar alone.
Medicine scientists have concluded that people who are overweight or obese
should not only change their eating habits or perform physical activity alone.
These need to be done at the same time. People who have or are developing
health issues need to adopt an active lifestyle of eating a good nutritious diet
and include physical activity in their routines so that they can become
healthy.
Body Mass Index
•
BMI < 18.5 = Underweight
•
BMI > 18.5 - <25 = Normal
•
BMI > 25.0 - <30 = Overweight
•
BMI > 30 = Obese
Obesity and Lack of Micronutrients
The deficiency is caused by the lack of micronutrients is one of the most
serious and concerning issues of the century. It is causing problems for
people and is becoming a major health concern. The major diseases and the
most common symptoms being experienced all over the world are due to the
lack of a proper diet that has the essential nutrients.
One important discovery is that people who are overweight and those who
are underweight are over or under fed, but despite the differences in the
intake of calories, both experience the same health issues. This is one of the
most astonishing discoveries, and it has resulted in the finding that weight
does not define whether a person is taking a healthy diet or not. Regardless
of the size and weight of the person, health problems can be experienced
without a well-balanced and a nutritious diet.
Obesity has been noted as a disease where the body consumes more and still
continues to desire more food. In reality, the body is pleading for the
micronutrient requirement to be fulfilled, but all the body gets is calories. As
a consequence, there is an imbalance in the mechanism of the body.
Obesity and Vitamins
Sometimes, nutritional deficiencies make the body fat and are a reason why
people gain weight. The true value and importance of vitamins are often
neglected and underestimated. Vitamins serve as protectants and fight off
many diseases and health problems, as well as prevent the body from gaining
weight. A direct relationship has been found between the vitamins and
minerals consumed and how much weight the body gains. Similarly, the lack
of essential vitamins may make it easier for the body to gain weight.
According to the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, it if vitamin
A is absent from the diet, people put on weight. The analysts examined the
reactions of more than 18,000 Americans from a seven-year nourishment
study and found that unlike people with typical weight, corpulent adults had
5% to 12% lower admissions of all micronutrients. A couple of particular
inadequacies emerged, as well. Compared with ordinary weight adults, 20%
larger adults had inadequate vitamin A, vitamin C, and magnesium in the
diet. They were likewise more unlikely to meet the government-prescribed
requirements for calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin E.
Vitamin A has been significantly associated the reduction of fat cells. When
this vitamin is absent from the diet, the body keeps producing and generating
excessive fat cells that can make people obese within a short period of time.
Vitamin D controls hunger and hunger-like symptoms and maintains
balance. Without it, the body takes and demands meals. If this vitamin is
absent from the body, the individual may feel hungry too rapidly or at odd
timings and may thus consume more food than intended. This, in turn, makes
people obese.
Vitamin A is found in spinach and potatoes while vitamin D is found in eggs,
salmon, and milk. Vitamin E is found in almonds and other nuts and seeds.
Nuts, seeds, and dark chocolate also contain magnesium, which is important
for the body.
Based on a review on stout ladies, 13% had an iron insufficiency, and 10%
had a vitamin B12 inadequacy. In another review, 9.5% were inadequate in
vitamin B12, 25% in folic acid, 68% in copper, and 74% in zinc. According
to another review, 35% of pre-bariatric surgery patients had insufficient
magnesium, 19% had insufficient iron, and 17% had insufficient vitamin A.
According to the nutrient deficiency theory of obesity, there exists an
indirect relation between the consumption of vitamins and weight loss. The
more healthy vitamins and nutrients are consumed, the more the health
benefits and the stronger the immune system. These also come with a
decrease in weight. The better nourished a body is, the lesser the weight and
the better the consumption of essential vitamins. Thus, the ratios and
prevalence of vitamins show the type of body that a person will develop.
Obese or overweight people tend to have a higher vitamin D deficiency than
people with normal weights. This deficiency has been closely associated
with heart problems, weakening of the bones, diabetes, and metabolismrelated problems. More importantly, vitamin D deficiency also causes weight
gain. Vitamin D can be extracted from exposure to the sun and the ultraviolet
rays, but obese and overweight people are socially less likely to go out and
enjoy the natural environment. This is why they are likely to develop vitamin
D deficiencies.
Obesity also results from vitamin B deficiency; deficiencies of both vitamin
B9 and B12 contribute to the acceleration weight gain. This also
automatically results in iron deficiency, which is more common in children
and adults who are overweight. Without vitamin B, the body cannot absorb
and extract iron from food. The food remains unabsorbed and passes out of
the body, thus causing weight gain. Furthermore, both iron and vitamin B
deficiencies cause anemia and blood problems, as well as reduces the oxygen
levels in the blood.
Vitamin D is a gathering of fat-dissolvable prohormones, the two most
noteworthy structures being ergocalciferol and cholecalciferol (Vitamin D3).
Ergocalciferol or vitamin D2 is derived from plants. Cholecalciferol or
vitamin D3 is the regular form delivered to the skin through photosynthesis
initiated by the introduction to UVB. It is also found in live creatures,
principally greasy fish.
Vitamin D3 is, by all accounts, around 87% more effective in increasing and
maintaining serum 25 OH vitamin D fixations and produces two to three
times more noteworthy stockpiling of vitamin D than equimolar D2 in
healthy adults. Vitamin D3 enters the blood while bound to a coursing
restricting protein (VDBP), thus restricting the aggregate circling 25 OH
vitamin D by 85% to 90%. This is transported to the liver.
The non-vitamin D restricting protein part (bioavailable vitamin D)
comprises egg whites binding 25 OH vitamin D (10 to 15%) with less than
1% of 25 OH vitamin D in its free shape. Vitamin D is hydroxylated by the
liver to deliver 25dihydroxyvitamin D3 (25 OH vitamin D3) or 25 dihydroxy
vitamin OH D2 (25 OH vitamin D2). These metabolites are further
hydroxylated essentially by the kidney using 1α hydroxylase (quality:
CYP27B1) to create the bioactive structures 1α,25(OH)2 vitamin D3 and
1α,25(OH)2 vitamin D2.
The catabolism of vitamin D and its metabolites happens in the liver through
cytochrome P450 compounds. The bioactive 1α,25(OH)2 vitamin D3 is a
hormone that controls quality expression in various cell types and tissues
through the vitamin D receptor (VDR), an individual from the atomic
receptor superfamily that directs the translation of many target qualities.
VDR is found in most human tissues, including osteoblasts, muscle cells,
pancreatic β cells, macrophages, and adipocytes. The omnipresent
articulation of VDR underlies a connection between vitamin D insufficiency
and scatters, for example, weight. Adipocytes could be included in the
neighborhood blend, along with a corruption of naturally dynamic vitamin
D.
Vitamin D and VDR appear to be required for adipogenesis. Vitamin D
status is particularly hard to break down because of the capacity of fat mass
and the obscure extent of bioavailable structures 2-4. Notably, 25 OH
vitamin D plasma focuses are utilized as a part of routine clinical practice to
assess vitamin D status.
Universal rules classify vitamin D status into four types, as indicated by
serum fixations: vitamin D adequacy/ideal level ≥75 nmol/, inadequacy 5075 nmol/l, insufficiency 27.5-49,99 nmol/l, and extreme lack <27.5 nmol/l5.
Low vitamin D serum focuses are repeatedly found in fat adults and young
people.
A scientific model examining the best fit between 25 OH vitamin D serum
focuses and different body estimate measures reasoned that volumetric
weakening, as opposed to sequestration, best clarifies low vitamin D status
in obesity. Given that confirmation was inadequate in people, circling and fat
tissue concentration of vitamin D3 were measured in fat adults. A positive
connection of 0.68 (p=0.003) was found between focuses in serum and fat
tissue for capacity in fat tissue. No information is available for kids and
young people.
Vitamin D status in a specimen of 1006 European youths from nine nations
was assessed to be problematic by the HELENA study in 80% of the sample,
with 39% being lacking, 27% insufficient, and 15% seriously inadequate, as
per worldwide rules. A non-noteworthy and dynamic diminishing of 25 OH
vitamin D fixations was seen with expanding BMI8. In Texas, 92% of a
gathering of hefty youngsters and youths had 25 OH vitamin D of less than
75 ng/ml, and 50% had less than 50 ng/ml versus 68% and 22% in a lean
control group. Notably, 25 OH vitamin D deficiency was associated with
skipping breakfast. A connection between the occurrence of vitamin D
inadequacy and gastrointestinal and ear diseases was confirmed in South
American kids.
A higher BMI was associated with lower vitamin D status. Heftiness and
ailing health were further found in a populace of kids and teenagers from the
2003 to 2010 NHANES. Vitamin D insufficiency was found in 5.6% of the
populace. A follow-up investigation showed that being a Hispanic female
(rather than a non-Hispanic white) between 12 and 19 years (instead of more
youthful kids) was a critical risk factor.
Exposure to daylight within the most recent 90 days and vitamin D
admissions since early September appeared to be connected to vitamin D
status during wintertime in a populace of French youngsters. Decreased
serum levels were found in fall and winter as compared with mid-spring and
mid-year in corpulent youngsters of Caucasian, Hispanic, and AfricanAmerican ethnicity. Vitamin D inadequacy was related to diminished vitamin
intake. Vitamin deficiency was more pervasive in fall and winter.
Kids with hypovitaminosis and vitamin inadequacy had higher BMI and fat
mass than those with sufficient vitamin D concentrations. The connection
between vitamin D status and corpulence is not only a matter of ingestion
and exposure to daylight. In adults, the bioavailability of vitamin D from
cutaneous and dietary sources is, by all accounts, decreased by heftiness.
The cutaneous blend of vitamin D3 measured on skin tests did not differ
between fat and lean subjects either under essential conditions or after UV-B
illumination in vitro. In vivo skin light prompted a decrease in plasma
concentrations of 25 OH vitamin D3, and 50 000 IU of vitamin D2 prompted
a decrease in pinnacle plasma concentration of 25 OH vitamin D2. In both
circumstances, plasma vitamin D fixations were conversely associated with
BMI.
Liver damage is another determinant of vitamin D status; 25 OH vitamin D
plasma focuses were observed to be 9 ng/ml (95% CI 12-6) in hefty
youngsters between 8 and 18 years (middle BMI 2.45 SDS) with stage 1 or 2
fibrosis as compared with those in stage 0 after adjusting for age, BMI,
sexual orientation, and midriff circumference. A connection among
heftiness, vitamin D status, and adiponectin was confirmed in an Italian
pediatric populace through a proteomic approach.
Adiponectin, a hormone created principally by fat tissue, has insulin
sharpening effects, thus mitigating cell reinforcement properties and controls
sustenance admission and body weight. Stout kids and youths were observed
in terms of their plasma 25 OH vitamin D3 fixations. Subjects with low 25
OH vitamin D3 plasma focuses (<15 ng/ml) appeared to have higher BMIs,
higher insulin resistance, higher diastolic pulse, and lower multimeric types
of plasma adiponectin fixation than those with 25OH vitamin D3> 30 ng/ml.
A day-by-day supplementation of 400 IU of cholecalciferol for more than 12
months in the low vitamin D population fundamentally increased
adiponectin without weight changes. The researchers demonstrated that
vitamin D controlled adiponectin multimerization in 3T36L1 developed
adipocytes. Notably, 35 stout youths were assigned to either supplementation
with 4000 UI/day of vitamin D3 for 6 months or a placebo treatment
containing soya oil.
Vitamin D supplementation prompted an abatement in fasting insulin (- 6.6
versus +1.2 µU/ml, p<0.001) and HOMA resistance (HOMA-IR - 1.36
vs+0.27, p=0.033) while QUICKI record and BMI remained stable. An
increase of 1 ng/ml in 25 OH vitamin D occurs for each 205 IU of vitamin
D3 ingested, which is consistent with outcomes for adults.
In a population of 68 fat youths who were supplemented with 50 000 IU
weekly for two months for lack and 800 UI/day for three months for
inadequacy, levels standardized in just 28% of the members despite an
observed underlying ascent. The type of vitamin D utilized was not
determined by the researchers.
The effect of supplementation with 2000 UI/d of 25 OH vitamin D3 for 12
weeks was assessed in young people in an open-name non-randomized trial.
Serum 25 OH vitamin D fixation was higher at benchmark in lean subjects
than in large subjects (28.9 versus 25.2 ng/ml, p = 0.03). The increase was
lower in hefty subjects (5.8 ng/ml) than in lean subjects (9.8 ng/ml, p =
0.019). Mean parathyroid hormone (PTH), calcium, and phosphorus focuses
were comparable before and after treatment.
Vitamin D status may likewise impact vascular well-being in the youths.
Given that large youngsters endure early cardiovascular adjustments, such
discoveries may have vital ramifications.
The association of aggregate, free, and bioavailable 25 OH vitamin D with
vascular wellness was assessed in 47 lean post-menarchal teenagers.
Vascular wellness was surveyed using stream intervened expansion (FMD)
on a brachial supply route. FMD was related to bioavailable 25 OH vitamin
D (ρ =0.3, p=0.08) but not with aggregate or free 25 OH vitamin D. The
clear lower serum 25 OH vitamin D had a higher increase in AfricanAmericans than in European Americans. This difference disappears when
VDBP is considered.
After adjustment for race, enlargement record (a surrogate measure of blood
vessel solidness) emphatically corresponded with free and aggregate 25 OH
vitamin D in African-Americans. An opposite pattern was found in European
Americans. Decreased vitamin D status may increase vascular hazards in
young people on a hereditary premise. Information is lacking for hefty
teenagers. The ramifications of this discovery remain unclear.
In American and European adults, the GIANT consortium (Genetic
Investigation of Anthropometric Traits) analyzed the connection between
corpulence and vitamin D status using bi-directional Mendelian
randomization examination. A 10% higher hereditarily instrumented BMI
was found. A value of 1.78 (95% CI: 1.04-3.06) was observed for BsmI and
TaqI SNPs, while there was no contrast between ApaI polymorphisms and
the wild genotype (95% CI:0.27-1.08, p = 0.078). BMI percentile was not
fundamentally connected with vitamin D status in numerous relapse models.
Low levels of 25OH VDBP may likewise clarify the decrease.
Obesity and Diabetes
According to the United States Library of Medicine National Institutes of
Health, a recent study has shown that the obesity that developed because of
malnutrition can contribute to serious illnesses like diabetes. According to
the estimates of Frimley Park Hospital, two-thirds of the population in
Britain is overweight, and these people are quickly moving into the category
of obesity. Moreover, obesity is prevalent mostly in one of the world’s
strongest countries, i.e., the United States of America.
According to estimates, diabetes has a direct relation to obesity, and the
statistics are rising worldwide, i.e., obese or overweight people are more
likely to become diabetic than the ones who are underweight, and this seems
to have no relation to age. Even though obese people consume larger
quantities, their diets have been found to lack nutrition in higher ranges, and
this poses a risk for becoming diabetic.
Deficiencies of effective vitamins and minerals that serve as the key
elements in regenerating and supporting insulin and glucose may be the most
likely cause for the development of diabetes in the obese population.
The increasing trends of obesity have been attributed to economic, social,
genetic, behavioral, and environmental factors that emerged because of
nutrition and health deficiencies around the world. Another major reason that
caused an increase in obesity is the availability of inexpensive, processed,
and packaged forms of food that have poor quality and low nutrition but
more calories.
Moreover, the quality of raw forms of fruits, vegetables, agricultural crops,
as well as changes in the processing of food, has changed the quality of the
food available for consumption. These constituent factors play a role in the
under or over production of insulin and glucose in the body that can hinder
the balance and natural function of the body, thus giving way to diabetes,
specifically Type 2 diabetes.
High rates of vitamin D inadequacy and insufficiency have been noted in
large people and in diabetics. The predominance of vitamin D deficiency in
hefty people ranges from 80% to 90%.
Some contention exists over treatment focuses on people with mild
deficiency of vitamin D, particularly for the implied extraskeletal impacts of
vitamin D supplementation. Some findings suggest the benefit of utilizing
vitamin D supplementation for glucose digestion and insulin function in
patients with type 2 diabetes or hindered glucose resistance. Preclinical proof
for the role of vitamin D in insulin discharge and capacity incorporates the
nearness of vitamin D receptors in human pancreatic β-cells, the
identification of 1-α-hydroxylase action, and insulin quality translation
responsiveness to vitamin D in pancreatic β-cells.
In vitamin D insufficient subjects, pancreatic β-cell dysfunction is noted.
Such function is re-established through vitamin D supplementation.
Numerous epidemiologic reviews exhibit an inverse connection between 25hydroxyvitamin D level and pervasiveness of type 2 diabetes. Occasional
changes in glycemic control in type 2 diabetics may likewise be attributed to
a limited extent to vacillations in vitamin D levels. However, behavioral
contrasts may also clarify these discoveries.
Recent surveys and meta-analyses of clinical trials show a potential impact
of vitamin D supplementation on the improvement of type 2 diabetes in
high-risk people. Three of five randomized trials exhibit enhancements in
insulin function with vitamin D supplementation in subjects with insulin
resistance or impeded fasting glucose.
One review indicated enhanced oral glucose resistance and insulin function
in 71 hefty men supplementation with 120,000 IU of cholecalciferol or
placebo treatment at regular intervals after a month and a half of follow-up.
Another trial demonstrated a change in insulin function and diminished
fasting insulin levels in 81 vitamin D inadequate subjects with gauge insulin
resistance given 4,000IU of cholecalciferol every day or placebo treatment.
In the third trial, subjects with impeded fasting glucose demonstrated good
fasting glucose levels following three years of daily supplementation with
700 IU of cholecalciferol contrasted with an increase in fasting glucose
levels in the placebo treatment group.
Two trials neglected to show the impact of vitamin D supplementation. One
of these trials utilized low measurements of vitamin D (400IU daily) that
might not have been satisfactory; more than 89% of participants did not
accomplish typical levels of vitamin D before the end of the trial. In light of
the outcomes of these reviews, patients at risk for the advancement of type 2
diabetes may profit from vitamin D supplementation.
The utilization of vitamin D in patients determined to have type 2 diabetes
has likewise been studied. Of four recent randomized trials, two exhibited
enhancement in glycemic control.
In one trial, 92 early type 2 diabetics were randomized to receive 2,000IU of
cholecalciferol or placebo treatment daily for four weeks. Notable increases
in glucose levels were noted in the treatment group. In another trial, 90 type
2 diabetic patients given 1,000IU of cholecalciferol or placebo treatment
daily for 12 weeks exhibited diminished glycosylated hemoglobin by 0.4%,
diminished fasting glucose, enhanced insulin function, and 1 kg to 2 kg
weight reduction in the treatment group.
In one of the trials that exhibited an irrelevant impact of vitamin D
supplementation in type 2 diabetics, patients were given a single dose of
300,000IU of cholecalciferol, and no adjustment in fasting glucose,
fructosamine, or insulin function was observed regardless of the
standardization of plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels.
Be that as it may, sufficient levels of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D were not
accomplished in this trial. The normal 25-hydroxyvitamin D level toward the
completion of follow-up was 16 ng/dL. The other negative review was a
randomized trial with a month and a half of follow-up. In this trial, 32
diabetic patients were given 40,000 IU of cholecalciferol or placebo
treatment, and these patients demonstrated no distinction in glycosylated
hemoglobin, fasting glucose, or insulin function. Subjects in both treatment
groups had a moderately high pattern of 25-hydroxyvitamin D level in this
trial, which may have added to the negative outcomes. The utilization of
vitamin D supplementation, particularly for upgrades in insulin function,
remains a disputable issue.
There 10 ongoing clinical trials assessing the utilization of vitamin D
supplementation in type 2 diabetic patients and patients with hindered
glucose resistance, which may provide direction on this issue. Given the high
rates of vitamin D deficiency in the hefty populace and the observed
benefits, clinicians may consider vitamin D supplementation in this
populace.
Chromium was perceived as a fundamental metal required in insulin
receptors through dietary examinations that were initially performed in the
1950s. Sub-atomic and cell culture analyses show that chromium binds to
the oligopeptide chromo Dulin, which improves the tyrosine kinase
movement of the insulin receptor and hinders phosphotyrosine phosphatase
action, consequently opening up the intracellular insulin receptors.
Chromium inadequacy has been found in extremely malnourished patients
who show serious insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, hypertriglyceridemia,
and difficult neuropathy. In several case reports, these side effects and
symptoms totally and quickly resolved after the administration of chromium.
For every biochemical procedure, glucose digestion and insulin flagging
both required co-factors and vitamins needed in the eating regimen.
Inadequacies in any of these micronutrients can possibly impede glucose
digestion and cause insulin resistance.
Clinical confirmation supporting the speculation with respect to the
metabolic impacts of particular inadequacies, including vitamin D,
chromium, biotin, thiamine, and vitamin C, is mounting. Unlike vitamin E,
which has practically no demonstrated clinical impact when given as a
supplement, these vitamins are known to be insufficient at generally high
rates in fat people and in diabetic patients. Clinicians ought to consider
addressing the conceivable lack of these micronutrients while treating fat
patients who are at risk of type 2 diabetes.
Those determined to be stout ought to incorporate lifestyle changes, make
sound nourishment decisions, and ingest high supplement content as major
aspects of an adjusted approach for the improvement of type 2 diabetes.
Particular vitamin supplements may be incorporated into this practice.
Based on these discoveries, the incorporation of chromium into parenteral
sustenance equations must be made standard. The primary dietary sources of
chromium include yeast, meat, and wheat germ. The use of stainless steel
pots and utensils expands the chromium content of food as hints of
chromium are freed from the steel while cooking. The body stores chromium
intracellularly, mainly in the liver. People with type 2 diabetes have 20% to
40% lower blood chromium levels and 40% to 50% lower chromium levels
measured in scalp hair in contrast to solid controls.
Chromium insufficiency rates in fat people are presently untreatable. Various
clinical trials have explored oral chromium supplementation in patients with
type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, and metabolic disorders. These trials
merely showed insignificant increases in the markers of insulin resistance
and glucose digestion. The best effects are noted in trials that use higher
doses and supplement with combinations, such as chromium picolinate, that
provide a higher bioavailability of chromium.
An examination of 15 trials utilizing chromium picolinate notes steady
enhancements in glycemic control in 13 of the 15 trials, with a general
normal decline in glycosylated hemoglobin of 0.95%. Similarly, as with
many supplements, the utilization of chromium supplementation in diabetic
patients or in patients at risk for diabetes is dubious. Clinical trials that use
high dosages of high-bioavailability chromium suggest that supplementation
with chromium may control insulin resistance and enhance glycemic control
in diabetes.
Recently, the United States Food and Drug Administration discharged a
Quality Health Claim with respect to the utilization and safety of chromium
picolinate for the treatment of insulin resistance. This treatment might be
advantageous for fat patients at risk for diabetes.
Biotin is a dissolvable water vitamin that serves as a cofactor for carboxylase
proteins in unsaturated fat-manufactured pathways, the citrus extract cycle,
and amino acid digestion. Notwithstanding its biochemical capacity, biotin
controls quality expression. Pervasiveness information with respect to rates
of biotin insufficiency in fat people or in diabetic patients is unavailable.
Patients with type 2 diabetes exhibit decreasing levels of biotin in contrast to
healthy controls and an inverse connection was observed between biotin
level and fasting plasma glucose. The advancement of insulin resistance in
biotin-insufficient rats can be resolved through biotin substitution. Biotinactuated hexokinase quality expression enhances hepatic glucose uptake.
Biotin also enhances insulin receptor and pancreatic β-cell function.
To date, on a few human trials have assessed the effect of adequate biotin
supplementation on glycemic control. In one longitudinal review, diabetic
patients treated for 28 days with 15 mg of biotin supplements showed
enhancements in fasting glucose and insulin levels.
Two placebo treatment controlled trials focused on the utilization of a
combination of biotin and chromium supplementation in type 2 diabetic
subjects. Enhancements in glucose digestion were noted in both trials.
One trial showed a noteworthy change in oral glucose resilience and a
decrease in fructosamine following four weeks of treatment. The second trial
showed a decrease in glycosylated hemoglobin of 0.5% from a pattern of
8.7% in 447 subjects over more than 90 days. With the promising aftereffects
of these early reviews, the potential advantages of biotin supplementation
might be considered in diabetic and hefty patients.
Thiamine is a fundamental micronutrient that serves as a cofactor for a few
key compounds in glucose and amino acid digestion, including transketolase,
pyruvate dehydrogenase, α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase, and α-keto
corrosive decarboxylase. The last three are imperative administrative
chemicals that control glycolysis, as well as the citrus extract and the pentose
phosphate shunt pathways.
Thiamine insufficiency results in a relative decrease in these metabolic
pathways and increments in the polyol, hexosamine, protein kinase C, and
progression of glycosylated final result pathways of glucose digestion that
can prompt endothelial dysfunction and possibly type 2 diabetes.
Thiamine is essentially absorbed through dynamic transport. The prescribed
daily dosage of thiamine is 1.2 mg or roughly 0.5 mg for every 1000 kcal
consumed. Critical sustenance sources of thiamine include pork, red meat,
wheat germ, eggs, fish, and vegetables.
Thiamine is essentially missing in food items containing refined starches,
such as processed rice and raw sugars, and the digestion of these sources
requires moderately high measures of thiamine and may thus result in
exhaustion. In subjects with insufficient thiamine in their diet, thiamine
stores in the body can be exhausted within two to three weeks.
Serious inadequacy of thiamine can result in wet or dry beriberi or Wernicke
encephalopathy, depending on the tissues included. Direct insufficiency of
thiamine may affect glucose digestion, diabetes, and related complexities.
Thiamine insufficiency based on direct plasma levels of thiamine or on
increased erythrocyte trans-ketolase action has been observed in 15% to 29%
of hefty people wanting to undergo weight reduction surgery.
The pervasiveness of thiamine inadequacy has been estimated at 17% to
79% of diabetic patients, although these reviews incorporate both type 1 and
type 2 diabetic patients. The effect of thiamine supplementation on lowering
the risk and severity of type 2 diabetes has been exhibited in various reviews.
Refined endothelial cells show decreased creation of responsive oxidative
species and enhanced capacity for high glucose fixation with adequate
thiamine. These mitigate diabetic complexities and perhaps even decrease
the danger presented by diabetes itself.
In a double blind randomized trial, the organization of benzoctamines, a lipid
solvent thiamine, were found to enhance endothelial capacity, diminished
markers of oxidative anxiety, and lowered levels of post-prandial blood
glucose levels in type 2 diabetic patients.
Dietary thiamine intake has been associated with endothelial cell
proliferation in type 2 diabetic patients. Long-term studies on thiamine
supplementation in diabetic patients have not been performed. The potential
exists for thiamine supplementation to control the course of diabetes through
the regulation of glucose metabolic pathways.
Given the high rates of thiamine inadequacy in fat people and diabetic
patients, supplementation might be considered. Notwithstanding the
significance of responsive oxygen species and oxidative stress related to type
2 diabetes, trials utilizing a cancer prevention agent in the treatment of both
diabetic patients and patients with weakened fasting glucose have been, to a
great extent, disillusioning and demonstrate almost no general impact.
Therefore, normal supplementation with vitamin E, vitamin C, and vitamin
A for diabetic patients is not prescribed at present.
Vitamin E comprises a group of lipid dissolvable cell reinforcement
substances, with α-tocopherol as the most abundant in the diet. Unlike the
other micronutrients discussed in this paper, stout and diabetic people have
low rates of vitamin E inadequacy. The utilization of vitamin E was
examined in the Heart Outcome Prevention Evaluation trial, in which 3654
diabetic patients were randomized to receive either 400 IU of α-tocopherol
or placebo treatment. At 4.5 years of follow-up, no distinctions in
cardiovascular results, nephropathy, dialysis, or retinal laser treatment were
seen between treatment groups.
A few small trials demonstrate no distinctions in glycemic control with or
without vitamin E supplementation in type 2 diabetics. Despite a few
distributed trials that suggest slight enhancements in glycosylated
hemoglobin, a current meta-analysis of nine studies shows no calculable
impact of vitamin E supplementation on glycemic control in type 2 diabetic
patients.
Vitamin C or ascorbic acid is a water-solvent cell reinforcement vitamin that
does not have noteworthy body stores. Restricted consumption of foods
grown from the ground can result in rapid exhaustion. Plasma vitamin C
levels are inversely related to body mass, and insufficiency of vitamin C is
observed in 35% to 45% of corpulent people wanting to undergo bariatric
surgery. Diabetic patients have low dietary admission and plasma levels of
vitamin C than healthy controls.
In a populace investigation of 232,007 adults, vitamin C supplementation
was associated with gradually decreasing rates of type 2 diabetes. People
who took 500 mg daily had a 9% decrease in the predominance of diabetes.
Information from the National Health and Nutrition Exam Study shows that
vitamin C essentially brings down plasma levels in type 2 diabetics. These
outcomes ought to be considered carefully as populace-based studies
frequently have unclear elements.
A number of clinical trials have examined the utilization of vitamin C
supplementation in type 2 diabetic patients. One randomized trial of 20
diabetic subjects showed that 1000 mg daily oral vitamin C
supplementation enhanced glucose transfer rates after four months. Another
trial failed to show a change in glucose digestion or insulin resistance with
800 mg daily vitamin C supplementation.
In this review, plasma levels of vitamin C increased fundamentally; in any
case, satisfactory plasma vitamin C levels were not accomplished.
Additionally, studies on diabetic patients and those at risk of diabetes may
explain the role of vitamin C supplementation in this populace.
The high rate of vitamin C inadequacy in hefty people suggests that
supplementation might be advantageous. Increasing dietary consumption of
foods grown from the ground can likewise address this inadequacy and is, as
of now, prescribed as a component of medication for the prevention and
treatment of type 2 diabetes.
Chapter 8: The Best Fat-Burning Foods
The road to weight loss can be incredibly frustrating. There will be foods
you eat that might claim to help people lose weight but just don’t work for
you at all. There are some foods out there that have been linked to helping
people lose weight naturally, without taking any supplements. Of course,
even if you do eat all of these foods, you’ll still need to work out on top of
this. As long as you have a set workout schedule and stick to it, you
shouldn’t have any problems with losing weight. If you want to you lose
weight naturally as fast as possible, then you need to get to know the foods
that burn fat faster than anything else. These foods are enumerated below.
Walnuts
Walnuts contain omega-3 fatty acids – one of the best kinds of fat out there.
This provides the body with alpha-linolenic acid, which makes use of fats as
energy and ensures that you are able to lose unnecessary fat. Eating a
handful of walnuts every day will help you lose weight.
Even though walnuts are high in fat and calories, it doesn’t mean that they
aren’t incredibly healthy and can’t help you lose weight. In some cases, it’s
proven to be more effective than a low-fat diet, which is completely
astonishing. What’s even better about this is that you also can lower your
cholesterol by eating walnuts every day. This is incredibly beneficial,
especially when you are on your weight loss journey.
Water
A lot of people shrug off water and don’t drink the amount they should.
Some people just don’t like the lack of taste, while others just don’t see the
point. Water, however, is probably one of the most beneficial things you can
consume for your body. After all, the human body is made up of around 60%
water, so it makes sense that drinking plenty of water will only help you.
Water is necessary for your blood to keep flowing. Not having enough water
can lead to dehydration, which is very bad for you. You will become
fatigued, dizzy, confused, weak, and might even faint. However, if you drink
the recommended amount of water daily, you’ll be more than okay.
Drinking at least two cups of cold water increases your metabolic levels by
around 30%, which means that it’s one of the best things you can do to help
reduce body fat. Water also keeps you hydrated and full of energy, which is
important for you to get through each day.
Drinking cold water is the best because your body will have to warm it up,
which might burn some calories. Every extra calorie you can burn when
trying to lose weight is helpful. Moreover, drinking while working out not
only keeps you hydrated but can also give your body that extra thing to do in
order to lose weight.
Oatmeal
Aside from keeping blood sugar levels low, eating oatmeal boosts your
metabolism. This ensures that the body easily absorbs nutrients and that fat
gets burned. Research shows that athletes who consume oatmeal in the
mornings are able to burn more fat throughout the day than those who don't.
What’s even better about oatmeal is that you can use it for a variety of things
you might cook. For example, you can use it to make something like banana
bread. It will still have the great taste of banana bread, but will be much
healthier. You could even use it as a substitute for breading on chicken.
Oatmeal is also very low in fat. This makes it perfect for cutting down on the
calories you’re taking in every day. The fats that are in it are heart-healthy,
mono and polyunsaturated fats. Another great thing about this is that it is a
very filling food, making it a great breakfast item. You won’t get as hungry
throughout the day, so you won’t overeat during lunch, which is likely your
next meal.
Ginger
Ginger is great in making sure that the digestive system works well and that
the digestive tract is clean. Ginger also reduces inflammation and helps
muscles recover from pain. The best part is that it is able to burn calories
easily, which enables you to lose as much fat as possible.
Ginger is also a great way to help regulate your blood sugar and leptin
levels. Leptin, of course, is what helps you feel full after a meal and what
keeps you from looking for something else to eat right after you eat a meal.
Ginger is also helpful when burning belly fat in particular.
The main causes of belly fat are overeating and lack of exercise. There is
also a hormone that helps control the fat stored in the belly. To address
overeating, ginger helps you feel full. A good way to ensure that you don’t
overeat is by drinking some ginger water or just eating a little ginger.
It can also give you some energy, which will give you the motivation to go
out and get some exercise. Most of the time, it is a lack of energy that stops
people from going and exercising. Blood cortisol, when it is elevated, can
cause a change in metabolism and the immune system. This can be elevated
when you are under a lot of chronic stress or when you have a hormonal
imbalance.
Ginger is a regulator of blood cortisol level, which, in turn, regulates your
metabolism. As long as you eat enough ginger, you won’t have to worry
about your blood cortisol levels messing your metabolism up in any way.
Avocado
Avocados are full of mono-saturated fats and are easily digested to release
calcium in the body. This ensures that while losing weight, your body stays
healthy and maintains strong bones. When the body absorbs calcium, fat
burn is promoted. This makes avocados extremely good for you. It also is a
great way to lower your cholesterol. It specifically targets the bad cholesterol
and stops it from doing what it does.
As regards monounsaturated fats, they have been shown to prevent the
distribution of fat in the belly, so eating an avocado every day might be
exactly what you need.
Soybeans
Aside from helping you lose weight, soybeans also promote muscle building
to keep your body strong and healthy. They also decrease calorie intake and
control appetite. Soybeans are a wonderful addition to the many meals that
you’ll make. They are also a great source of calcium, vitamin K, Vitamin B2,
dietary fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, iron, and potassium. Not only will you be
eating to lose some weight, but also to get the nutrients you need.
Salmon
Salmon is also rich in omega-3 fatty acids. It can provide your body with
most of the energy that it needs. This means that fat burning can easily occur
and that your metabolism can increase. However, you’ll want to be aware of
how you cook it. Using things like butter to cook it will add to the fat
content. You can try broiling the salmon instead, adding the herbs that you
want. This way, you’ll know for sure that you aren’t making the dish more
fattening than it needs to be. Without butter, it is a lean source of protein,
which makes it a great food to eat to keep you feeling full.
Of course, the fish oil that is in salmon also plays a big part in losing weight.
Fish oil is where the omega-3 fatty acids come from, so you know that you’ll
be losing some weight if you eat salmon. A great thing about salmon is that
there is vitamin D in them – something that is not often found in foods.
Vitamin D is one of the harder vitamins to find in food, so you should take it
where you can find it. The benefits of vitamin D have already been
discussed. If you want to learn more, you can find the details in the nutrient
section.
Grapefruit
By eating grapefruit at least thrice a day, you will be able to lose around 4
pounds in 12 weeks, even without exercise! This is why this fruit is included
in most diet plans. Grapefruit reduces the body's insulin levels. Insulin
controls blood sugar levels and prevents fat from entering or being stored in
the body.
Grapefruit is considered a superfood. It is very dense in nutrients, making it
a wonderful food to snack on and eat. If you ever needed a food that has
Vitamin C, you’ve found it. One interesting thing about grapefruit is that
even smelling it has benefits. In fact, when you smell a grapefruit,
specifically the oil, it slows down the nerve in your body that calls for the
munchies. This means that you can go longer without eating, as your body
doesn’t think it needs to eat.
There are enzymes in grapefruit that help break down fats. This way, they
won’t get stored and add to your weight. Instead, they will be broken down
and gotten rid of, thus making your road to weight loss much easier.
Cellulite is something many people deal with on a daily basis. Fortunately,
grapefruit has something in it that naturally gets rid of cellulite, making your
skin look much smoother and nicer. Moreover, if you need a good immune
system boost, grapefruit might be where you need to go. Thanks to the huge
amount of Vitamin C, you might be more easily able to fight off infections
and illnesses, thanks to grapefruit.
Flax Seeds
Flax seeds are also full of omega-3 fatty acids that again lead to increased
metabolic levels. Along with this, flax seeds are very high in fiber, which
helps reduce your appetite by keeping you feeling full longer.
It is important to keep in mind that flax seeds are among the foods with the
most calories. How, then, do you burn away the calories that you gained
through eating flax seeds? Exercise, of course, is the easiest thing to go with.
This will ensure that you are definitely burning everything off and aren’t
leaving unwanted calories behind. Otherwise, if exercise isn’t an option right
now, you should look at other foods, such as cauliflower, which is also high
in fiber, but they don’t have nearly as many fat calories as flax seeds have.
Of course, you can always just have a smaller portion of flax seeds if you are
very worried about the amount of calories you’ll be consuming. Just because
something seems full of calories doesn’t mean you have to make it harder by
not eating something you want to eat. Working out is the easiest way to get
away with eating something like flax seeds and still having all the benefits
they bring.
Peanut Butter
Contrary to popular belief, peanut butter is not fattening. It's a great source
of healthy fats. However, some manufacturers change ingredients, so always
be sure to check nutrition labels.
The most effective way to include peanut butter in your weight loss diet is to
mix it with other foods. Fruit is a wonderful thing to mix with your peanut
butter. It will make the snack healthier and give you a reason to eat peanut
butter.
Another thing to do is control your portion size of peanut butter. Believe it or
not, it doesn’t take much peanut butter to make up a serving. Therefore, you
should figure out how much peanut butter is in one serving and use only that
much every time you eat it. You’ll then know exactly how much calories you
are consuming rather than just taking peanut butter out of the jar and
continuously eating it. Moreover, a great thing about peanut butter and
regular nuts is the decrease in the risk of developing heart disease.
Honey
Honey is a form of sugar, but it has a low glycemic index, which means that
your metabolism levels continue to burn instead of store fat. It also helps fat
cells release fat energy so that fat can be used and not stored in your body. In
addition, honey is a great antioxidant!
One way to use honey is as a replacement for sugar. Given that it still
contains sugar, you can use it in a recipe that calls for sugar without having
to worry about placing too much sugar. Honey actually contains a bunch of
vitamins and minerals, making it a great thing to have with a snack. There
are also a few combinations that are popular with honey, including honey
and water, honey and lemon juice, and honey and cinnamon. Each of these
has benefits for weight loss. Below is a brief breakdown of the benefits for
all three.
Combining honey with warm water has been shown to mobilize stored fat.
This makes it easier to burn when you go through your exercise routine.
Moreover, given that honey reduces the risk of stroke and heart attack, you
won’t have to worry about those when doing your exercises.
Honey and lemon juice are mixed specifically for weight loss. The nutrients
in honey, especially the amino acids, are perfect for stimulating metabolism.
You’ll be able to see the weight slowly drop off as you drink this concoction.
Lemon juice, on the other hand, is perfect for improving your liver function
and fat metabolism. Moreover, this concoction is also perfect for going on a
cleanse.
Honey, cinnamon, and warm water comprise another great combination.
Cinnamon has been studied, and people have found that it has some weight
loss benefits. It has been shown to regulate blood sugar levels and the
metabolism of glucose. Both of these are very important when it comes to
losing weight.
Drinking this on an empty stomach is the recommended way to do it, as it
will have the greatest effect on your body. Without question, this is a
wonderful way to lose some weight naturally.
Broccoli
Broccoli is high in fiber and thus helps you maintain a low blood sugar level
and keeps you feeling full longer. Broccoli is also one of the most
concentrated sources of vitamin C, which we already know is a powerful
antioxidant.
Broccoli, overall, is a great snack food. With the number of nutrients in
broccoli, you won’t have to worry about finding an unhealthy snack to
munch on. Instead, you can just have a few pieces of raw broccoli and eat
that. The phytochemicals in broccoli also contribute to weight loss. These
are said to help with the breakdown of fat cells. You’ll see some weight fall
off as you eat more things like broccoli.
Chili Pepper Flakes
Chili pepper flakes contain capsaicin, an enzyme that comes from hot
peppers that are included in pepper flakes, such as chili peppers, ancho, and
cayenne. These peppers are good choices because the capsaicin that they
contain increases metabolism to burn fat and suppress appetite.
Adding these to a drink is a great way to start the day. Not only will it give
your drink a little heat, but it would also jumpstart your metabolism. Then,
you can go through the day, not worrying as much about what you’re eating.
You can relax a little and instead focus on the things that you need to do.
Chili pepper flakes can also burn stored fat.
Eggs
Eggs should be one of the mainstays of a healthy diet. Start your day by
eating eggs, and you’ll find you won’t be looking for fatty foods throughout
the day. Eggs are a great source of protein, which is essential in maintaining
a healthy body and a well-balanced diet. It is great for feeding fussy kids. It
can serve as a quick snack, lunch, or supper and as an ingredient for all kinds
of culinary dishes.
For decades, the egg has been blamed for all sorts of health problems
because of its high cholesterol content. For years, eggs were shunned, and
people ate only the whites. The American Heart Association then reversed its
guidelines and advised an egg per day. In one of the many studies that food
scientists conducted, it was discovered that the high cholesterol in eggs is not
associated with heart disease. Instead, heart disease was attributed to
saturated fats, but even this advice is now in dispute (see Dairy).
All the blame here should not be laid at the door of scientists. It is just that
the whole subject of food and the effects it has on our body are so vast that
the information we have is constantly evolving. This is all the more reason to
stick to natural, unprocessed products whenever possible. After all, this is
what our ancestors lived on for thousands of years.
Egg whites, of course, are the best part of the egg when looking only at
weight loss. However, you still need to realize that the yolk has a ton of
vitamins that you will miss out on if you stick with only eating egg whites.
Therefore, you should mix it up, having only egg whites some days and
having the whole egg other days.
The best thing about eggs is how filling they are. You won’t feel yourself
getting hungry an hour after eating eggs. Instead, you will feel more satisfied
with the foods you’re eating, and you will not have to find a snack to munch
on. You’ll be less inclined to look for a cheap, fattening snack if you have
eggs in the morning.
Moreover, a great thing about eggs is that they are cheap and easy to prepare.
They only take a few minutes in the morning to cook and are anything but
difficult to prepare. There are different variations as well. You can scramble
them, poach them, make an omelet, or do a bunch of other things. You can
have eggs a different way every morning and add things to them, like bell
pepper, spinach, and other healthy items. You can make different kinds of
eggs every morning and never feel like you are eating the same thing. In
addition, you’ll know that what you’re eating is healthy and only beneficial.
Olive Oil
The reason why olive oil is used in most diets is because it is extremely
beneficial in terms of fat and calorie burning, given that it helps the body
make use of fat as energy. It also improves cardiovascular health and aids the
immune system in protecting you against viruses. It likewise keeps you safe
from most heart ailments and lowers the risk of stroke.
Olive oil should be the first thing you turn to when you need a kind of oil.
The benefits are much greater than those of other types of oils. Olive oil is
made with mono-unsaturated fats, which are among the good fats. This
brings down the bad cholesterol and brings up the good cholesterol. It also
decreases the risk of heart disease, which is always a big plus.
All of these foods can help you lose weight in some way. Many of them have
similar nutrients, so make sure to look into what nutrients are the most
beneficial for weight loss, so you can choose your foods accordingly,
especially if you have food allergies.
Berries
Berries and other fruits are full of water and fiber, which in turn make you
feel fuller and satisfied longer. Berries in particular are often sweet as long as
you eat them when they are perfectly ripe, so you can still satisfy your sweet
tooth while keeping your calories down.
Blueberries are especially good fat-burning foods because they are not only
full of water and fiber but also full of antioxidants. If you are looking for the
best fat-burning berries, blueberries and raspberries are the best picks as they
are packed full of fiber and antioxidants while being sweet and small for a
nice snack.
Low-Fat Dairy Products
While many dairy products can be great for helping you to burn off fat, lowfat products are especially great because they are incredibly rich in calcium
and vitamin D. Calcium is especially important because many studies have
proven how having a calcium-rich diet often means that you will be more
successful in losing weight and fat. This doesn’t mean that you have to eat a
dairy product all day long, but having two to four smaller sized servings of
dairy each day is the best for burning more fat.
It has been said that the phosphorous and magnesium in dairy products, on
top of the calcium, help to enhance calcium’s effect on fat breakdown within
the cells. Moreover, the proteins within dairy products help to preserve
muscles and often increases metabolism. The metabolism increase is
especially important because it converts what you consume into energy, so
having a higher metabolism means a faster working metabolic system within
your body. This is especially true if you are working out; you burn the
calories faster because your metabolism kicks into overdrive to provide
enough energy. So have a yogurt and a glass of milk each day – it might help
you to lose weight and burn away your fat more quickly than you thought it
could!
Whey Protein
Consuming whey, whether in the form of a whey protein shake or added to
whatever food you are consuming, can help greatly with your weight and fat
loss. Any type of protein helps you to lose weight – at least most of the time
– because it consumes calories just to digest the food. Whey protein is
especially important and helpful, however, because it provides all the amino
acids your body needs and also helps you to keep up a higher metabolism.
Whey is also found in many dairy products. As mentioned in the previous
section, dairy is an incredibly great fat burner. Thus, having a dairy product
may work better than having a whey protein shake. However, whey is
another option for you to consider as you continue to look for great fatburning foods.
Green Tea
While everything else on this list has been a type of food, it might seem odd
to suddenly run across a drink on the list, but this is, in fact, a very good fatburning product. This is the best drink, even above other types of teas like
black teas, because it is not fermented, so all the active ingredients within
green tea aren’t altered in any way.
There is an ingredient in the tea known as EGCG. I’m only briefly
mentioning this because this is what makes green tea such a good fat burner.
EGCG within green tea has been proven to – at least temporarily – increase
how quickly your metabolism converts energy within your body. Consuming
green tea several times a day, especially without added sugar, will definitely
help you along as you try to burn more fat. It’s time to lay off of the coffee,
energy drinks, or black teas and try drinking green tea instead if you want to
burn off fat.
Chapter 9: Getting Started
All of the above chapters may be a little intimidating and confusing, so the
best thing to do is just look at how to get started and how to keep things as
simple as possible. First, you need to know what it is that you want to
achieve. Remember that even if you are not carrying excess weight, your
body is simply not performing as well as it could if you are not eating a
healthy balanced diet, and over the long term, there might be health
implications.
Being Mindful of What We Eat
We have become conditioned by a number of factors when we eat. The large
food companies have molded many of our eating habits, but they are not
alone in taking responsibility for the health of our nations. We also have to
change well-established habits and addictions, and although it may seem
counterintuitive, this often starts with the mind.
In many cases, we have become emotional eaters who allow our mood or
circumstances to dictate what we consume rather than taking a few minutes
to think things through and opt for the healthiest choices. With the
information provided earlier, we are now able to make informed decisions,
but we probably already knew some of that information. However, we still
failed to act on it. Much of this boils down to time. We grab meals on the
run, multi-task while eating, and sometimes don’t even sit down to
appreciate our meal. Worse is that we are in such a hurry that we fail to listen
to our body when it says it is full, and instead, we gorge ourselves.
There are even times when we sit at home and absentmindedly grab a snack
that we know that we shouldn’t eat. Maybe there are some chips lying
around that you snack on while watching your favorite TV show. Maybe you
have some candy that’s sitting in a bowl on your living room table. Then,
you just go and grab it without thinking, just eating it. This is definitely not
helpful if you are trying to change your lifestyle.
Here are a few tips that might help you to not only eat less, but also enjoy
your food more.
Start with the purchase. Make a list in advance, and have an idea of what you
are shopping for rather than just throwing things into your basket when you
are at the supermarket or store. I find it a bad idea to shop on an empty
stomach, as I tend to do more impulse buying. Think about each item before
placing it in the basket, and take the time to read the nutrition charts if you
are not sure of what each item contains. With each item, think about the
impact it will have on your health.
Once you get home with your groceries, decide on the best way to prepare
them, and then enjoy the cooking process. Further on in the book, I will
share a few easy-to-prepare yet healthy meals to get you started. Although
there are thousands of healthy eating cookery books out there to add to the
recipes I will provide, always aim for quality over quantity.
If realistic, sit down at the table with your healthily prepared meal after
switching off the TV and internet. Then, enjoy your meal, and give it the
respect it deserves by eating it slowly. Put your cutlery down between
mouthfuls, and chew slowly and deliberately. This will not only let you
enjoy your food more, but it will also aid in your digestion.
Stop eating when you feel full. Aim to be slightly hungry when you reach
the end of your meal, and then stop eating. Wait for twenty minutes, and then
reassess to see if you are still hungry. It takes a while for the stomach to get
the right signals up to the brain so that it knows you are full. Once you have
done this for a few days, you will be amazed at how much less you eat.
Always have a jug of water on the table, and make sure you drink a glass or
two during the course of your meal. This slows down the speed at which you
eat, helps you feel full earlier, and aids digestion.
Feel free to leave food on your plate when you are full. If you grew up in a
home like mine, you were probably often encouraged to eat everything
placed in front of you, regardless of whether you were full or not, because of
something about the poor starving children in Africa or Asia. How that little
lesson has damaged our eating habits! Instead of trying to force down every
morsel on the plate, ask yourself, “Do I really want this?” If the answer is no,
then leave it. It certainly does not need to go to waste. We live in the age of
refrigerators, and leftovers can be made delicious. Would you rather that it
be stored in the refrigerator or on your hips as fat that your body could not
process?
I know that this sounds impossibly unrealistic in terms of time, but what
price is your health worth, and how much time will you lose if you have
some major health problem develop as a result of hastily thought out, badly
prepared, and gulped down meals? There was a time when we had a love
affair with food. It played a major role in every reunion, from christenings to
funerals and from weddings to birthdays.
Over the past decade, we have seen a huge increase in the number of
cooking programs, and many of these programs are very popular. The
problem is that there doesn’t seem to be a relationship between what people
watch on their television and what they do in their kitchens. All over the
world, people are sitting down to watch a healthy cooking program while
munching on fast food. How crazy is that?
We need to rebuild that love affair again and stop poisoning our bodies with
food that somebody else has prepared with no consideration for anything
other than how cheaply it can be made and how they can increase their
profits.
Don’t Beat Yourself Up
The road to healthy eating is a long, slow one. Think of it as a marathon
rather than a sprint. Along the way, there will be days that you may fall off
the wagon. There will be dinner parties, company get-togethers, or just plain
pig outs where you find yourself shoving jam doughnuts into your mouth. It
happens. You haven’t failed, and your body is a pretty robust machine. It will
forgive you. You must learn to forgive yourself, put it behind you, and go
straight back into your health routine. It is all too easy to say, “Okay, I’ve
failed for a day. What is the point in carrying on?”
It’s easy to give up. It’s much harder to accept that it didn’t go exactly how
you wanted, but you still move on and keep going. Let yourself have some
moments during which you think of all the good that is coming from
changing your eating habits. If your goal is losing weight, keep a weekly tab
of the foods you ate and your weight. It’s okay if it isn’t exactly where you
want it to be. Everything that has to do with this is a process, so allow it to
be what it is. Don’t try to force something to happen when it shouldn’t.
Everything will come in time.
If you need to, schedule a specific cheat day. Set ground rules for that cheat
day. Do everything in your power to give yourself the power to succeed. You
can easily set yourself up to fail, but you can just as easily set yourself up to
succeed. If you like a lot of structure, then give yourself structure within
your diet. If you need a little wiggle room, give it to yourself. You need to
realize that everything that has to do with your diet is in your own hands.
Someone else isn’t making these choices for you; it’s all on you. Tell
yourself you can do it, and you’ll be surprised at what you can accomplish.
Keeping up your motivation is potentially the most difficult part of the entire
process of losing weight or even just eating well. With so many foods that
are constantly being advertised that aren’t healthy for you, it can be difficult
to resist the temptation. One way to combat losing motivation is by setting
realistic goals. Don’t try to eat well every single day and cut out a food you
eat a lot of right away. Ease into eating well. If you know you consume a lot
of sugar in a day, begin by cutting down how many snacks, sweets, or sugary
drinks you have in a day. Go from five sodas a day down to three, and stay
like that for at least a week. Then lower it to two a day, one a day, three a
week, etc., until you are completely eased off of it.
Setting a goal of eating well is good, but having a particular goal in mind
may help. Aiming to lose 5 pounds in six months is a good way to stay
motivated for a while. Keeping track of your progress and how far you have
come since you first started trying to eat well consistently can help a lot as
you begin to feel more confident in how well you are eating, such that
healthy eating becomes a habit. It’s a rough journey sometimes, but easing
into it a bit more slowly than you may want and allowing yourself a break
every now and then from sticking to strict eating guidelines will help you
want to stay on top of eating well.
Chapter 10: Some Tips on Shopping and Recipes
Naturally, how we shop is going to affect how we eat. If you can restrict
yourself to eating when you get home rather than buying fast food when you
are on your way home, then you have much greater control of how healthy
your food is going to be. Of course, this is going to break down if you go
home to an empty refrigerator or when what you have in the refrigerator is
unhealthy. I know there are going to be days when you arrive home and
cannot summon up the energy to cook a full meal. Later, we will look at
some tips for having healthy standbys that can just be popped into the
microwave for a few minutes. For now though, we will look at what items
you should have in the fridge, freezer, and cupboards.
As previously mentioned, it is important to have a shopping list before you
go. If you have already drawn up a weekly meal plan, then having to make a
list should not be too difficult. Remember to try not to shop when you are
hungry. There are several studies that show that shopping while hungry leads
to increased spending, and not always on the right things. Often, going to the
store while hungry results in the purchase of quick and easy foods. You’re
already hungry, so why would you want to spend an hour cooking something
when you can just put it in the microwave for a few minutes?
A great tip is to plan out what you want to make throughout the week. Do
you have your heart set on having a steak at some point this week? Write it
down when you have the thought. Every time you think of something you
want to make for dinner in the next week, be sure to write it down. There
have been plenty of times that I’ve gone to the store with a few things in
mind and realized a few days later that it was not enough food. Always make
sure that you get enough food for the entire week. Planning ahead is a good
idea, not only so you know that you have enough food, but if you end up
making something else one night, you’ll still have what you didn’t make
ready to go.
If you can, going to a store where you can buy food in bulk is always a great
option. Maybe you know that you are going to have a bunch of people over
for a get together. You can buy the things you need in bulk instead of
spending more money and getting the same amount at a different store.
Things like juice are great when bought in bulk, especially if you and your
family drink a lot of juice. You won’t have to worry about running out of it
in the middle of the week and needing to buy more.
Meat and fish are going to be the most expensive items on most people’s
shopping list. There are several options here to make your money go further
while eating more cheaply. First, look for cheaper cuts. Chicken thighs, for
example, are normally cheaper than chicken breasts. Cheaper still is buying
whole chicken and then roasting it. This will give you a great first meal, with
leftovers that can be used for more meals later.
There are many recipes, such as stew and casseroles, which combine meat
and vegetables to make the meat go further. These options will allow you to
use slightly cheaper meat cuts, such as stewing steak. Moreover, make sure
to try to buy chicken that is skinless. This will help with your fat intake. If
skinless chicken is more expensive, buy the skinned chicken, and take the
skin off before you start cooking. Either way, you will be getting a food that
is much healthier and less fattening while still getting the best bang for your
buck.
Buying frozen or canned fish is often the cheapest way to go, and there is
nothing unhealthy about these options. Some of the cheapest frozen fish can
be quite bland, but when cooked with a nice sauce, frozen fish soon turns
into a delicious healthy meal at a much cheaper price than fresh fish.
There are plenty of people who live a vegetarian lifestyle, and for them, the
meat-buying problem falls out of the equation. I am no vegetarian, but I do
recognize that we eat too much meat and that large-scale meat production
negatively affects the environment. I am not ready to let go of my steak lust
just yet, but I do observe meat-free Mondays, which has become a huge
movement. By giving up meat one day a week (it doesn’t need to be a
Monday), we can help the environment and our shopping at the same time.
Meats are obviously incredibly important to any diet, as long as you still eat
meat. Take your time to look at the various meats available wherever you are
getting your groceries from. Make sure they look the way you want and are
lean. Don’t cart the first one you see, but take time to look. You might be
surprised that the meat you find is much better tasting.
Pulses are both cheap and healthy, and they are a great addition to meat
dishes. They can even replace meats from time to time.
I am not going to tell you not to go to the supermarket to do your shopping.
For convenience, supermarkets are hard to beat, but they are not always the
best option, especially when buying fresh vegetables. Vegetables are the
mainstay of a healthy diet, but supermarkets often import them from distant
countries. This affects both their nutrition levels and price. Try to buy
vegetables that are in season and grown locally. Often, there will be sales on
items that they suddenly find they have a glut of. This is the time to buy
these food items and then pop them in the freezer. Corn, for example, will
cost a fortune in the non-summer months, but the price goes through the
floor in summer, so buy loads and throw them in the freezer.
If you have the land and knowledge, you should grow your own vegetables.
With a big enough garden, you’ll be able to grow tons of vegetables that can
then be frozen and used later. This does take some time to do, and not
everyone has the kind of time that it takes, but at least you will know exactly
where the food is coming from. You’ll know that it’s healthy and definitely
not drenched in preservatives or chemicals. Fruit trees are also a great idea,
if you have the space for them. Any way that you can save on buying healthy
fruits and vegetables should be taken as a good option.
Pre-frozen vegetables are almost always cheaper. They are convenient and
will have been frozen shortly after picking, so they lose very little of their
nutrition levels. Even canned vegetables are both nutritious and convenient,
but be sure to check the nutrition chart to see what additives, especially sugar
and salt, may have been placed into the can.
If you have a farmer’s market nearby, this is one of the best sources of highquality fruit and vegetables. If you are in an area where you know some of
the farmers, then you might be buying from people whom you know.
Moreover, you are supporting an industry that is being placed under lots of
pressure. Towards the end of the day, they will often sell off stock more
cheaply to avoid having to pack it up and take it back to the farm with them.
Wherever you buy your vegetables, remember to go for a rainbow of colors
to get plenty of variety.
If you have the space, then it pays to buy healthy foods in bulk. Aside from
helping in terms of price, you are virtually assured that you will always be
able to find something healthy to eat in your kitchen, and that is a good way
to avoid eating junk. I always have tubs of yoghurt, fruit, and almonds in the
house. No matter what happens, I know I can combine those three
ingredients to have a healthy snack or meal if ever I need one.
Given that I try to buy less, I prefer to go for the smallest shopping trolley I
can find. Another useful tip is to shop when the supermarket is not full, if
possible. Supermarkets are designed so that there are plenty of impulse
choices in view while you stand in queue, and this is a sure way to find
things you don’t need sneaking into the trolley. In fact, you should stick with
your list and nothing else. Pretend that the rest of the store isn’t even there.
All that’s there are the groceries you need and the list that you made. Go
straight to those items, and put them in your cart before you can look at
something else. Obviously, with things like fruit, vegetables, and meats, look
only at the things that you want to buy to make sure you buy the best ones
possible. However, don’t let your eyes wander to other things that surround
those on your list. Any way to avoid an impulse buy is important.
Cutting Down Food Waste
As much as 40% of food produced in America gets thrown away. The figures
for Europe and Britain are not much better. That waste does not all happen in
our kitchens, as plenty is wasted on the farm and during the transport and
manufacturing processes, but there is still a huge amount of domestic food
waste. Much of that will start to decrease automatically as you start
becoming more conscious of what you buy and start buying what you need
rather than what you think you want on impulse. Here are a few tips to
reduce food waste further.
One good place to reduce waste is the refrigerator. Keeping it organized
helps reduce waste in that you can eat the oldest food first, and you can be
sure that there are no items tucked away that you have forgotten about.
Placing them in cold water for a few minutes can revive greens that look sad
and wilted. Scraps can be turned into snacks or meals and added to other
dishes.
When you buy in bulk, be sure to store the oldest items at the front of your
cupboards, and put the newer ones behind them. If you do buy in bulk, it
may be advantageous for you to make several meals at once, pack them up,
and freeze them or put them in the fridge. This not only makes sure that food
is used up before it goes bad, but it can also save you energy and time later
in the week if you just need a quick meal on the go or if you don’t have too
much time to make a full meal right then.
Many recipes will list a specific ingredient that you don’t have. Try replacing
it with another similar ingredient that you do have. If something needs a
milk-based product that you don’t have, you can try to replace it with milk.
This way, you’ll be able to still make what you want without any issue.
Have some good airtight containers for storing items like nuts for longer.
Moreover, keep them in a space that you will see, especially if they don’t
need to be refrigerated. This will ensure that they will get eaten by someone,
given that they are in an appetizing spot.
Have one meal a week that can be considered a use-it-up meal by putting
together an assortment of leftovers that have accumulated in the refrigerator.
Bread is one of the most frequently wasted items. Bread freezes really easily,
especially if you halve the loaf and pop one half into the freezer before you
even start to use it. If you tend to go through a lot of bread, it’s easiest to buy
a few loaves and put the extras in the freezer. That way, when you go
through the first loaf, you can bring the next one out without needing to go
back to the store to get another one. Of course, if you aren’t a frequent bread
eater, buying bread that is a smaller loaf might be the best idea for you.
There are some breads that come in smaller loafs, thus making it easier for
you.
Often, people forget about the foods that they have in their kitchen. Put
foods that you don’t want to forget about in places where you will definitely
see them. Don’t put something like salmon on the counter, of course, but if
you have some oatmeal that you keep forgetting about, put it on the counter
so you’ll see it right away when you walk into the kitchen in the morning.
Doing this is even more important when you buy in bulk. Buying in bulk is
good, but not if you buy too much of something that will go bad. Keep those
things in places that you will always see to ensure that they will be eaten.
Another way to avoid forgetting what food you actually have is to write a list
of what you have to eat or haven’t made into a meal yet, and place it on your
fridge. It’ll save you time from browsing through the fridge and figuring out
what you need if you do it this way. However, this does require a more
consistent checking of what is in your fridge than you may want to do.
Finally, learn to monitor what you throw away so that you start to get a
handle on your greatest areas of waste, and then alter your shopping
accordingly. If you tend to throw away fruit every week, maybe it’s time to
stop buying that fruit. Maybe there’s a certain meal you make too much of
every time, and the leftovers never get eaten. Try making a smaller batch of
that dish next time so that it is eaten when you make it. Then, you won’t
have to worry about leftovers.
Check your shopping list, and think of what you have actually eaten each
week. Instead of doing the same weekly shopping and wasting the same
amount of food on a regular basis, change the list to fit what you actually eat
or what you really want to eat – that is, the food you want to eat that is also
healthy for you – each week or each time you go out shopping.
Putting It into Practice
Below are some simple recipes followed by a meal plan that will help you
get started on your new healthy lifestyle program. This is by no means a
comprehensive collection, but it will certainly give you some ideas both on
how to eat and what to shop for. After that, you can start to introduce your
own innovations based on the information you now have.
You can also start to gather other healthy recipes. There are plenty of recipes
available to you on the internet and in cookbooks. If you ever want to find
more, these recipes aren’t hard to find. Remember that food is your friend,
and you have to start to develop a different relationship with the food you
put into your body while eliminating the careless attitude of the past. By
giving a little thought, a little time, and a little patience, you will find
yourself feeling and looking better.
It will likely be difficult at first. It might seem like there’s no way it will ever
work out in your favor. If you can, try to start this with someone else. You
can lean on each other when it starts to get hard, and support each other
when you are having issues. Moreover, it’s always more fun when you have
someone else to do something like this with. Working together to do
something generally means that it will happen in the end.
If you can’t do it with anyone else – if they don’t want to or they can’t for
other reasons – that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to do it yourself. You
need to know that you can do it yourself. It will be a little harder, but if you
set your goals and see them through to the end, you will be much more
successful than you would be otherwise. You might even surprise yourself
with the great things you can do. Always tell yourself you have what it takes,
and great things will come your way. This is not a quick weight loss plan. It
is a new, healthy, and sustainable lifestyle.
Breakfast Recipes
For years, breakfast has been promoted as the most important meal of the
day. Science is now starting to show that it is not quite as important as we
were led to believe and that equal attention should be paid to the other meals
of the day. However, breakfast still sets us up for the day ahead. The problem
with breakfast is that very often, we neglect it as we dash about getting
dressed, sorting out the kids for the day, and preparing for the combat of our
commute to work. This is a time when we might not do too much mindful
eating and instead be tempted to grab something unhealthy.
It helps if you can prepare these meals the night before, but in the real world
that we live in, this might be wishful thinking. Breakfast should be an
exciting meal that helps wake you up and gives you the energy you need to
get through the first half of the day. Many people feel that not eating
breakfast is better for weight loss. This isn’t true. Skipping a meal just makes
you hungrier by the time it’s lunch, so you are more than likely going to eat a
lot more than you actually need. Moreover, your body won’t have the energy
it needs to get through the morning. You’ll feel more tired, and the things
you need to do, like work, might seem even more annoying than they would
if you had a full stomach. The recipes below are chosen for their simplicity
and their ease of preparation.
A Real Quickie
Quarter one apple
Cube 8 grams of cheese
¼ cup of almonds or walnuts
This is my go-to meal when I find myself pressed for time. I can pop it all
into a zip lock bag and munch on it on the way to work. It also doubles as a
handy snack when I find myself hungry between meals.
Ricotta Kick Off
This comprises three tablespoons of low-fat ricotta spread over two slices of
whole wheat bread. Top this with some sliced tomato and a few cubes of
yellow pepper. Sprinkle lightly with crushed black pepper. This will give you
some great protein to start the day off with, plus a great tasting sandwich.
Fruit Shake
Fruit shakes or smoothies are easy to make and great to drink at any time of
day, but their easy preparation makes them ideal for breakfast. There is no
limit to what you can throw into them, but my usual method is to throw one
cup of milk, half a tub of plain yoghurt, and eight grams of almonds into a
blender. To this, I add a bit of whatever fruit I happen to have handy. Berries
like strawberries, raspberries, black currants, and blueberries are high in
antioxidants while also adding flavor. For fruits with weak flavor, I throw in
one teaspoon of honey. A quick word of warning here – some blenders
cannot cope with whole nuts, which may need to be chopped on a cutting
board first.
Easy Oats
Most people make rolled oats into porridge, which makes up a very healthy
meal, but I prefer to eat my oats raw. Take three quarters of a cup of rolled
oats. Pour enough milk to soak them. Some people prefer to eat this meal
quite dry, but I tend to let the oats soak well. Add some chopped nuts or
blueberries, and then add a half teaspoon of honey if you find this all too
bland. I can prepare this breakfast in about a minute, and it simply doesn’t
get much healthier. Oats are great for lowering cholesterol, and they fill you
up for a long time, so this little starter should easily carry you through to
lunchtime.
Bran Waffle
Toast a bran waffle, and then coat it generously with a tablespoon of peanut
butter. To add a bit more interest, add a sprinkle of sesame seeds or dried
raisins. You can replace the waffle with whole grain bread or a bran muffin.
Sunday Special
Once in a while, why not blast off your day with a bigger meal that you may
prefer to treat as brunch? Grill two rashers of back bacon. In a pan lightly
oiled with olive or coconut oil, fry a large sliced tomato and a cup full of
fresh mushrooms, then fry or scramble two farm eggs. This meal should
keep you going for hours. Mushrooms are among the more filling
vegetables, and tomatoes actually become healthier when heated because
some of the nutrients are made more accessible to our bodies.
Easy Work Lunches
Lunch when working is another meal that we may find hard to really think
about. This exposes us to the temptation of hitting that button on the vending
machine. The meals below are low in calories and very easy to prepare and
eat. They do not take long to make, but it may be easiest to prepare them the
night before. I know you are tired and don’t want to be bothered. Focus on
the person you want to be in terms of health and weight. Pretty soon, you
will find yourself becoming accustomed to spending a few minutes each
evening getting lunch ready for the next day at work.
As time progresses, you will find that you have more energy as your body
adapts to its new healthier regime. Lunch is especially important if you work
somewhere for long hours. You need something to help get you through the
day and help you feel happier. The more times you eat lunch, the more you
will notice that you can get through your work day in a better mood.
Turkey Wrap
1 whole wheat wrap
3 slices of turkey
2 tablespoons of humus
1 tablespoon of cream cottage cheese or goat’s cheese
1 hand full of baby spinach
Throwing all this together and wrapping it up really takes no time at all. You
will probably spend more time looking for a lunch box than you will making
this meal, and turkey is both cheap and low fat.
Black Bean Burrito
1 whole wheat wrap
¼ of a cup of black beans (canned beans are fine)
½ a sliced avocado
¼ of a small red onion
1 teaspoon of sweet chili sauce
When I am making this meal, I tend to make two or three at a time and pop
the others into the refrigerator.
Grilled Chicken and Cheese Sandwich
2 slices of whole grain bread
½ a chicken breast
1 slice of Gouda cheese (any cheese will do)
2 tablespoons of Greek yoghurt
3 slices of tomato
Lettuce (or rocket if I can get it)
If you have a refrigerator at work, you can store the ingredients there and
make this up at work in less time than it would take you to get that chocolate
bar out of the vending machine, which will probably swallow your money
half the time anyway. The only problem is that pretty soon, everyone in the
office would want what you’ve got.
Egg, Tomato, and Avocado Sandwich
1 whole wheat muffin
1 large egg
1 teaspoon of olive oil
Half an avocado
Two slices of tomato
Okay, I admit, we are stretching you here. You need to muster all your
willpower and fry an egg. You also need to cut the muffin in half before
loading in the ingredients. One handy little reminder here – don’t leave the
egg too soft. It won’t travel well, and it would look bad running down the
front of your top during that first meeting after lunch.
Quinoa Tabbouleh
Salads are a great meal for work because not only are they are easy to make
and healthy, but they also allow you to just make up the recipe according to
what you have in the kitchen. You cannot ruin a salad, but be sure to include
enough protein or fat to get you through the second half of your workday.
Leaves and tomato are great, but you need something a little more
substantial. The idea is to feel healthy, and it won’t do if you are starving.
100 grams of Quinoa (cook it according to the instructions on the bag)
75 grams of parsley, chopped finely
4 diced tomatoes
100 grams of cucumber, diced
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
Juice and zest of half a lemon
1 teaspoon of honey
¼ clove of crushed garlic
50 grams of rocket or lettuce
Small pinch of salt
Mix the olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, honey, salt, and garlic to make your
dressing. Finally, mix the other ingredients, and pour the dressing over the
top.
Dinner
I am using the term dinner here on the assumption that you are a working
person who may be having your main meal in the evening. Of course, these
meals are interchangeable, so if you have a bit more time during the day, you
may choose to make these your lunchtime meals. These are only suggestions
to get you started and, hopefully, gently seduce you into a passion for
cooking, which is essential to really healthy eating.
Dinner is a pretty crucial meal for people who work. There will likely be
days during which you miss out on lunch because you had too much work to
do. Fortunately, dinner can still be a great time to pick up on any nutrients
you missed out on during the day. You can always have a very healthy dinner
and pick yourself up from the long day you just had.
Chicken, Broccoli, and Brussels Sprout Salad
2 skinned chicken breasts
½ teaspoon of salt
2 broccoli stems
2 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
Ground black pepper
3 cups Brussels sprouts (finely sliced)
2 celery stalks
¼ cup fresh parsley
4 grams Parmesan cheese
Place the chicken in a small pan, cover it with water, and add half of the salt.
Bring the water to boil, then remove the pan from the heat, and let it stand
for 15 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water, then allow it to cool
completely. When cool, shred into bite-sized pieces.
Peel the broccoli stem, and then slice it into thin strips. In a large bowl, mix
the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Finally, add the chicken, the strips
of broccoli, the Brussels sprouts, nuts, and parsley, and mix all ingredients
gently. You have just made a healthy meal for two.
Beef Chow Mein
This is a very popular dish that you will find on nearly any Chinese menu
but perhaps not cooked with quite the same attention to health as this recipe
below.
450 grams egg noodles
4 tablespoons of peanut or walnut oil
450 grams of lean beefsteak cut into strips
2 garlic clove crushed
1 teaspoon grated root ginger
1 green pepper, thinly sliced
1 carrot, thinly sliced
2 celery sticks, sliced
8 spring onions
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1 teaspoon Demerara sugar (dark brown sugar will do)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
A few drops of chili sauce or some chili flakes
Cook the noodles for 4 and a half minutes in boiling water, then drain and
rinse under cold water. Toss the noodles in one tablespoon of peanut or
walnut oil. Heat the remaining oil in a pre-heated wok, and then stir fry the
beef for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and grated ginger, and stir fry for a
further 30 seconds. Add the pepper, carrot, celery, and onions, and stir fry for
2 more minutes. Pour in the sugar, sherry soy sauce, and chili, and continue
mixing for another minute.
Finally, stir in the noodles, and keep mixing until the whole mixture is
warmed through. This meal serves four.
Beef and Peppers With Lemongrass
500 grams lean beef fillet
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 lemongrass stalk, finely shredded
Thumb-sized root ginger, finely chopped
1 red pepper, thickly sliced
1 green pepper, thickly sliced
1 onion, thickly sliced
2 tablespoons lime juice
Salt and pepper
Serve with freshly cooked noodles or rice
Cut the beef into long strips. Heat the oil in a pre-heated wok to high heat.
Add the beef, and stir fry for 3 minutes. Add the garlic, lemongrass, and
ginger, and then remove the wok from the heat. Remove the ingredients from
the wok, and set aside. Add the pepper and onions to the wok, and fry until
the onion starts to become golden. Return the beef to the wok, and add the
lime juice. Season the dish with salt and pepper. Serve with rice or noodles.
This dish is meant for four people.
Ratatouille
This recipe is one of my favorites because of sheer convenience and its
abundance of vegetables. A large quantity can be made, and this can be eaten
hot or cold or as an accompaniment to steak, chicken, or any other protein.
Cracking an egg over it makes for an easy meal to throw together at the last
minute. Finally, it freezes really well, so a large quantity can be divided into
several meals, each of which can be defrosted on occasions when time is in
short supply.
2 large onions
6 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped)
3 courgettes (Zucchini)
2 red pepper (Capsicum)
1 kg aubergines (Egg plant)
1 kg peeled tomatoes (Canned are fine)
150 grams black olives (Preferably without pips)
½ teaspoon of thyme
30 grams capers
Salt and pepper to season
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Lightly brown the onions. After 3 minutes, add the tomato, onion, garlic,
thyme, and seasoning. Cook gently for a further 30 minutes, and while
waiting, dice the remaining vegetables into cubes. Warm the oil in a large
pan or wok, and fry the peppers and the eggplant until soft and golden. Drain
off the excess oil by laying the ingredients on a piece of kitchen paper. Fry
the zucchini until soft, and add all the ingredients, including the olives, and
simmer for a further half an hour. This recipe will give six helpings, so you
can freeze anything you would not use, or you can double the quantities and
make a really large batch to have several meals on standby for when you
need them.
Desserts
If this healthy eating method is to be both viable and sustainable, then it
needs to include some of the pleasures in life, such as desert. You might need
to steer clear of the Black Forest chocolate cake or the banana toffee
pudding, but there are still plenty of healthy options. I have already looked at
smoothies and yoghurt with fruits, nuts, and honey, but what about a couple
of more interesting recipes to make healthy eating a little bit more
enjoyable?
Dessert is one of those things that people never want to say no to. Even
when you’ve had a large dinner, there’s still a part of you that wants to have
something sweet after your savory meal. Thankfully, there are plenty of
desserts out there that aren’t as high in sugar content and can actually be
beneficial to your health. Making your own dessert is a great way to ensure
that you’re getting everything you need.
Red Fruit Brûlés
This is a healthy version of the traditional Crème Brûlée. It is low in calories
and only takes 10 minutes to cook. It is a great dessert for when you have
guests.
450 gm / 1 lb assorted red fruits, such as red currents, black currents,
cherries, and strawberries (can be bought frozen and defrosted)
150 ml / 5 fluid oz Sour cream
150 ml / 5 fluid oz Natural fromage frais
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
4 tablespoons Demerara sugar
Start by pre-heating the grill. Divide the red fruits equally between the four
heat-proof ramekin dishes. Combine and mix fromage frais and sour cream,
then stir in the vanilla essence. Gently spoon the mixture over the fruit,
trying to cover the fruit as evenly as possible. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of
Demerara sugar over each of the bowls, then place under the hot grill until
the sugar completely melts and begins to caramelize, which normally takes 2
to 3 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before serving.
Mixed Fruit Crumble
This easy-to-cook dessert can provide up to 12 helpings and is thus ideal for
dinner parties or for several family meals. It works equally well with fresh or
frozen fruit, and it doesn’t need to be defrosted before cooking.
2 kg of mixed fruit – peeled, cored, and quartered apples and pears,
blackberries, plums, and figs (feel free to change these ingredients according
to what you have available)
Cinnamon
100 grams almond meal
100 grams desiccated coconut
50 grams plain flour
50 grams sugar
50 grams butter
1 tablespoon honey
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Place the fruit in a large oven-proof
serving dish, drizzle the honey over the fruit, and then sprinkle the
cinnamon. In another bowl, mix the flour, almond meal, coconut, sugar, and
butter with your fingertips to form a crumbly texture. Gently sprinkle the
crumbly mixture over the dish of fruit, covering it evenly.
Place in the pre-heated oven for 30 minutes or until the crust is golden
brown.
Serve with a dollop of yogurt.
The Sensitive Subject of Snacks
It is probably best if we deal with this subject head on because almost
everyone reading this book is going to snack at some stage. This is
particularly true when you first start to change your eating habits from the
fast food guzzling you may have done in the past.
At first, when you start to eat a healthier diet, your body will tell you it is
starving simply because it is used to all the fat, salt, and sugar that you have
been giving it before you changed your ways. As your body comes to realize
that it is not, in fact, being treated so badly after all, these feelings will
subside, but there are going to be times when snacks between meals become
a necessity.
There is a myth that eating more frequently speeds up metabolism and that
by doing so, you can actually lose weight. In fact, it has been proven that the
more often we eat, the more calories we consume overall. Ideally, we would
not need to eat between meals because we should consume the right amount
at each meal to last us until the next one.
This is not an ideal world, so we might as well make the best of it. The
scientific name for snacking is Between Meal Eating Episodes or BMEE,
and it has been widely practiced throughout our history. What has changed is
the quality of the food we choose to snack on.
The first thing to recognize is that feeling hungry does not mean you have an
emergency on your hands and thus need to respond immediately. Think
about how hungry you really are, and decide on whether you really have to
eat immediately. If, after a few moments of reflection, you feel you can hold
out until the next meal, then do so.
On the other hand, if you are gritting your teeth in discomfort, then a snack
may be the answer. The question is, of course, which snack to go for. You
now know that fresh vegetables and fruit provide fiber and fill you up, so
these are obvious choices to go for. If necessary, try having something
healthy with them, such as guacamole, humus, or even a little peanut butter.
Whichever choice you decide on, try to eat slowly, drink water, and think
about what you are eating. One good rule of thumb is that your snack should
not have more than one hundred calories.
Snacks don’t have to be evil things that you steer clear of. Instead, they
should be seen as something that can help you get through your day and not
make you worry about your next meal when you should be working. Always
keep in mind that snacking might be exactly what your body needs,
especially if you accidently miss a meal. Having a snack that isn’t chockful
of calories or harmful ingredients also won’t make or break your diet.
Remember to cut yourself a little bit of slack when you are eating, well and
don’t force yourself to stick to such a strict regimen of eating.
Here are a few easy-to-eat snacks and the amount of calories they contain on
average so that you can make more informed choices about what snacks to
have.
Apple (medium) 95 calories
Red pepper 37 calories
Peach 58 calories
Orange 65 calories
20 Cherry tomatoes 61 calories
These are just a few examples, but they will give you an idea of how many
calories there are in these items and how handy they are as a quick snack that
won’t blow your daily intake sky high.
Another good snack that I find very useful is almonds, which have an
average of 100 calories for every 13 nuts. They are easy to carry, make you
feel full quickly, and have been proven to decrease the risk of heart disease.
If you prepare in advance for the possibility of needing a snack, then you can
make sure you are always prepared by having some nuts or an apple with
you instead of just grabbing the first edible thing that comes along, which in
this day and age is probably going to be some form of fast food.
For a slightly more complicated snack, but one that is both delicious and
filling, why not try the cocoa power ball?
Cocoa Power Ball
330 grams almond meal
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
60 grams vanilla protein powder or powdered milk
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
16 fresh dates, pitted
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Some desiccated coconut to assist rolling
Place all ingredients, except the dates and the vanilla extract, into a food
blender, and give them a quick whiz.
Chop the dates by hand, and add them and the vanilla to the mix in the food
blender. Whiz the ingredients again until a sticky consistency is achieved so
that you could form portions the size of golf balls with your hands. If the
mix seems too dry to bind, then add a few drops of water.
These delicious and filling little snacks can be kept in an airtight container in
the refrigerator for weeks. Be careful not to eat too many as they are
addictive.
Chapter 11: The Importance of Water
It might seem strange to be reading about water in a book on the subject of
healthy eating, but water is one of the most neglected parts of our diet. Our
bodies are made up of 60% water. Therefore, it very nearly makes up twothirds of who we are. It also influences every single body process. With
figures like that, it suddenly makes more sense that we take a look at water
intake and how it leads to healthier living.
Our bodies are constantly losing fluids. We do this through urination,
through our skin when we perspire, and through respiration when we
breathe. All of this fluid needs to be constantly replaced; otherwise, we
become dehydrated. When we become dehydrated, our bodies immediately
start to function less efficiently. We need to balance fluid input with fluid
output constantly, especially if we are living in or visiting warmer climates,
exercising, or as we become older.
Our brain tells our kidneys how much fluid to release and how much to
retain. The less we put in, the more the kidneys will retain fluid that contains
impurities rather than allowing us to dehydrate. By drinking regularly, we
ensure a constant flow of clean fluids that aids just about every bodily
function and improves not only our health, but also our overall sense of wellbeing.
If you are feeling lethargic, try drinking a couple of glasses of chilled water
with a slice of lemon or a sprig of mint, and see how quickly it picks you up.
Dehydration, on the other hand, can actually cause the brain to shrink and
reduce thought processes.
A great way to start drinking more water is simply by working out more
often. If you don’t work out consistently, you might notice that you just don’t
feel all that thirsty. Working out has the opposite effect. If you have a
consistent workout routine, you’ll notice that you are thirsty a lot more often.
It might not be noticeable at first, but when you do notice it, you’ll probably
start drinking the recommended eight glasses a day.
We should not always wait until we are thirsty in order to have a drink. Older
people are particularly prone to underestimating their own fluid intake, but
all of us trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle should treat fluid intake as a
form of purification for our systems. We have already discussed how
drinking can help serve as an appetite suppressant by filling us with a zerocarbohydrate liquid, but below are few of the other health benefits of
drinking water.
Water keeps the skin looking its best. It not only hydrates the skin but also
flushes away impurities that may lead to skin problems, such as acne.
Bowl function is crucial to overall health, and water is great for maintaining
healthy functioning bowels, especially when combined with high fiber from
the extra vegetables and fruit you are now eating.
When playing sports and exercising, our muscles perform better if they are
properly hydrated. Hard exercise can build up lactic acid in the muscle
fibers, and water improves the speed at which this acid is removed.
Water increases both energy and concentration levels.
The cartilage that surrounds our joints and our spinal column is composed
largely of water, and by keeping it fully lubricated, we improve our
flexibility.
Not only is water a type of lubricant around our bones, it’s also important to
drink water so our eyes stay hydrated and so that we continue to produce
saliva. Saliva helps break down food as we chew and swallow it prior to it
being digested by our stomach. It also allows the food to more easily go
down our throat.
Tests have shown that high water intake may lead to a reduction in the risks
of certain types of cancer and coronary disease.
Our blood is primarily made up of water, with a little over 90% of it actually
being water. This is important because blood carries nutrients and oxygen
throughout our body toward the areas they need to go to.
Drinking more water may help reduce the number or severity of headaches
or pains experienced. This is because of the amount of water our body needs
on a regular basis should be greater than the amount of water we excrete
throughout our body’s natural processes.
Not all our fluid intake needs to come from drinking water. Eating fruits and
vegetables increases our fluid intake, and so does drinking other liquids that
we may prefer from time to time, such as tea or coffee (sorry, this does not
include alcohol or sweet fizzy drinks). Remember that coffee is a diuretic,
and as such, you may be losing more fluid than you take in.
Try to keep your urine looking clear at all times. This is a good indicator that
you are getting sufficient fluids. If your urine is clear or nearly clear when
you go to the toilet first thing in the morning, then your fluid intake is
brilliant, but don’t drink so much late at night that you are forced to get up
and go to the toilet during the night.
Cool weather does not mean you will not be losing fluid. You may be
perspiring less, but you will still be losing fluids through respiration.
Upping your water intake may take a bit of discipline at first. We have
become accustomed to drinking only when we become thirsty as opposed to
taking in fluid constantly throughout the day. Try having a water bottle on
your desk, in your car, and with you when you perform sports. Moreover,
take a glass of water every time you eat or have a snack. As with mindful
eating, mindful drinking will help make you become more aware of what
you consume, such that it eventually becomes a habit – one that is
fundamental to good health.
Set reminders for yourself to drink water throughout the day if you need a bit
of an external motivator. Assign yourself a particular water bottle to drink
from at different times when your reminders go off, and refill it as soon as it
is empty. Having easy access to water and consistently having it right in
front of you will help remind you to drink more water. If you have a water
bottle and you know how many ounces of water it holds, it will help you
better stay on top of how much water you have had.
Continuously carrying a water bottle or some other type of container and
making sure it is almost always full is a good idea. It will help eliminate
some of that urge for another drink while also ensuring that you don’t go
thirsty. There are often areas in public areas, like parks or malls, which have
a water fountain for you to refill your container. If you don’t trust those, you
may go into a restaurant and ask to have your water bottle filled. This may
not be an option in some places, and in others, it may cost money. Just be
aware of your options.
It has been recommended that you have about a half-gallon of water each
day. It sounds like a lot, but splitting that up into eight 8 ounce glasses of
water or four 16 ounce glasses of water each day will help you keep up a bit
better. It is a lot to keep up at first, especially if you do not drink enough
each day, but you can work up to it over time. Once you begin drinking a
good amount of water regularly, your body is much more likely to remind
you to always drink the same amount of water. It may take time, but
eventually it will become more of a habit to drink that much water.
Depending on what helps motivate you, getting an app that is a little more
interactive may help you to remember to drink water or feel motivated to
drink water. There is an app where you grow a virtual plant based on how
much water you have had in a day. There are others that provide you with
automatic reminders throughout the day. It may be something to look into for
those who are constantly near a device or always have the sound on.
Tea and Coffee
Both tea and coffee are mainstay beverages for many people. Both
beverages, but more so with coffee, received their share of bad press over the
years in terms of their health benefits. People who consume these two drinks
will be pleased to hear that in the 2015 edition of the Dietary Guidelines for
Americans, caffeine was mentioned for the first time, and it was stated that
drinking up to five cups of coffee per day was found to have no detrimental
effects, not to mention that this can be a good way to consume the proper
amount of water you need each day.
Both tea and coffee have certain health benefits, but they differ in what these
benefits are. These benefits, however, only really emerge when the drinks are
plain and haven’t been processed. By this, I mean that the drink shouldn’t
already be in a can or bottle, as it makes it more likely to have unhealthy
additives.
Coffee
It improves short-term recall and may delay or prevent the onset of
Alzheimer’s disease.
It helps protect the liver from cirrhosis and liver cancer.
In men over the age of 40, it may help reduce the risk of gout.
It helps prevent the onset of type II diabetes.
Tea
Tea is derived from the leaves of Camellia sinensis and is filled with
antioxidants, which give it cancer-fighting properties.
Tea also has high levels of fluoride, which is good for the teeth.
Tea drinkers have shown reduced rates of heart attack, and tea may help
prevent type I diabetes.
People who drink four or more cups per day show lower levels of stress
hormone.
Green tea, as mentioned earlier within this book, is a very good fat burner.
In both cases, the beverage should be taken without milk or sugar, as this
reduces the benefits. Adding a slice of lemon to tea is desirable. Both of
these drinks will help augment the amount of fluid you are consuming, but
be aware that too much caffeine can have adverse effects, including anxiety,
heart palpitations, and insomnia.
Chapter 12: Healthy Living
This has been mentioned before within this book, but I wanted to take the
time in the end to expand upon this idea a bit. Leading a healthy life is
something that many people who are trying to lose weight or who are trying
to eat better foods aim for. Eating well and exercising are just a few ways as
to change up your lifestyle. Eating better does greatly improve and promote
healthy habits, but how do other areas of your life impact how much energy
you have and how healthy you are willing to be?
One major area that impacts your life significantly is sleep. Not having
enough sleep makes it all the more likely that you will not want to eat
healthy food or have the energy throughout the day to get through all of your
tasks, especially those that require a lot of movement, such as working out.
Lack of sleep also has a tendency to make your body release more of the
stress hormone cortisol, increase your appetite, and decrease how satisfied
you are after eating.
Sleep isn’t just such an important factor for those reasons. Continuously
having a lack of sleep can lead to health problems down the line. This could
mean an increase in how likely you are to be depressed or anxious, which is
incredibly common. It could also mean that you are at an increased risk of
having heart problems and that you are more likely to have a stroke. All of
these, combined with the tendency for you to become more forgetful and
easily distracted when you don’t get enough sleep, should help you feel
motivated to sleep more at night.
If sleep doesn’t come easily to you, make sure you don’t eat before bed.
Maybe play relaxing music, or challenge your mind so that it will fall into
sleep more easily. Avoiding bright lights before bed, such as from the
television or your phone, will help you fall asleep more easily. Bright lights,
especially blue lights from various screens like that on your television or
phone, can disrupt your sleeping pattern.
Stretching or doing yoga before bed is also a great way to relax and help you
sleep. They help loosen up your muscles and make you feel truly loose and
relaxed. When you are trying to sleep, being relaxing and not feeling any
stiffness are major priorities in ensuring that you won’t spend half of the
night tossing and turning.
There are many more methods and ways for you to try to fall asleep at a
better time and promote healthy sleeping habits, but this subject is so
extensive that I will not fully go into it here.
Instead, I will go into the importance of meals. You should eat a minimum of
three times a day to ensure your body is getting all the energy and nutrients it
needs to function. This may be a bit more obvious, and I won’t discuss this
too long, but eating decent-sized meals three times a day will help prevent
you from eating too many snacks throughout the day. Skipping a meal, such
as breakfast, which is the most important meal because it helps rejuvenate
your body after it had fasted for several hours, will mean that you are not
giving your body enough sustenance so that it can function properly. This
leads to a higher chance of you snacking throughout the day. Skipping a
meal may also make your body begin to think that it is being starved, such
that it will release whatever fat stores it has inside of its cells to prepare for
starvation. You increase your odds of gaining weight by not eating enough.
If you are still tempted to snack on foods, leave out healthy snacks at plain
sight. This makes it easier for you to choose to eat something healthy over
something unhealthy. This is especially true for students or those who work
at home. Leaving a fruit, like an orange, on top of your desk within easy
reach makes it much more likely that you will eat the orange rather than
getting up and grabbing another snack. That’s not to say that you won’t, but
it does help stamp down the urge quite a bit.
Leading a more positive life whenever you can will also help promote
healthier habits. Positivity can be a good motivator to help you continue
towards your goals. It will also lower the chance of you falling deeply into a
more negative or self-deprecating mindset, which will normally decrease or
kill your motivation significantly. Studies have proven that being positive or
happy will increase the likelihood of you wanting a healthy snack, like an
apple or salad. Meanwhile, being a little more negative or sad increases your
chances of wanting to have unhealthy foods, like chocolate or soda.
Of course, drinking lots of fluids, especially water, is incredibly good. It not
only provides your body with all the water that it needs, but it also provides
a tendency to naturally moisturize your skin. It may not be enough to
completely get rid of dry skin, but it will help make it much smoother
overall. It can also typically help you feel more energized and focused. This
is mainly due to you cells getting all the water they need when you are wellhydrated.
Smoking, drinking, or using other drugs can often cause more problems than
you can override by being healthy in all other areas of your life. Doing your
best to quit, or at least cut back, on each of these things is the quickest way
to improve your health. Having an occasional smoke or drink is, of course,
not too bad for your body. However, it is often in your best interest to avoid
these things when you can, particularly when you are easily addicted to
them.
For some, meditation is a way to lead a better life. This may or may not
apply to you. Meditation or another form of guided thinking can help in
several ways. It can help you clear your mind of the stress of your life. It can
help calm you down as you slowly ease out of your negative thoughts or
feelings. It can also help you feel as if you are centering yourself after a long
or stressful day. No matter what it does or does not do for you, this may be
something to look into if you are often distracted, anxious, or tired. It may
not fully help, but it will help bring a little bit of focus back into your life.
Work on your posture. Having good posture can help you feel – or at least
look – more self-confident, which can be a very good motivation boost to
have. Having better posture is also a good way to work on your breathing.
The molecules in air make up a great portion of what fuels our body and
helps it to function properly. Taking in deep breaths on a regular basis –
breathing from the stomach area rather than your chest – is very healthy for
your body. Many people, particularly adults, have a tendency to begin
breathing from their chest. Part of this is due to how fast-paced an adult’s life
is. You can tell when you are breathing properly when your stomach goes in
and out and your shoulders barely move.
Go outside, or hang out with your friends and family more often. This will
allow your brain to rest from whatever stress you may have from work. It
will also allow you to take in a fresh breath of air, as opposed to breathing
the same inside air for days or hours on end. Being with those you care about
is important because it can help you feel rejuvenated and happy. It will also
get you out of the same areas you are in on a regular basis, such as your car,
your home, and your workplace. Oftentimes, it can be hard to escape any of
these three places while you are in them, so changing up your scenery every
now and then help you focus again on your life.
In your day-to-day life, it is in your best interest to have a sort of routine. Try
to sleep, wake up, and eat at the same time each day. It may not always
happen, but it will eventually become more of a habit, as well as a way of
tuning your body’s internal workings to your daily life. This means you are
much more likely to naturally wake up at 7 a.m. if that is the time you wake
up every morning and you constantly go to bed at 11 p.m. or midnight every
night. Going to bed at the same time each night also makes it more likely
that you will become tired and go to bed at that time each night. It will tune
your body’s natural sleep cycle into this time frame.
This is also important for eating. Your body will time when it gets hungry
around when you typically eat your meals. If you are constantly snacking all
day long, then you are probably tuning your body in such a way that you are
always hungry all day long. However, if you were to instead consistently eat
a good-sized meal at 8 a.m., noon, and 6 p.m., you would be training your
body to get hungry at those times. If you become too invested in work or are
in a rush in the morning, your stomach will remind you that you need to eat
as soon as you can, even if you aren’t fully aware of the time. So this is
helpful for multiple reasons.
Instead of following an exact diet plan, just watch and make sure that the
foods you are eating are healthier for you. Diets often cut back on nutrients
that are vital to intake on a daily basis, and they are usually not nearly as
effective as leading a healthy lifestyle through both what you consume and
how much you exercise. Dieting is actually more likely to make you gain
weight in the future, particularly if you are sticking to a diet just for a short
period of time instead of continuously keeping up healthy eating. If you are
going to eat well, you should plan to keep up eating well for as long as you
can, although there may be the occasional cheat day here and there because
we are human, and mistakes happen.
Speaking of which, try to avoid going out and having a drink with your
friends as a cheat day. It isn’t healthy for your liver, your blood, or your
brain to consume too much alcohol. Try and continue to stay healthy by
having a mixed drink or adding water to top off your glass. Do enjoy
yourself and have a good time, but try to not go too crazy. You can either
turn down the repeated shots your friends keep on doing, turn down drinks
and continue nursing your first one throughout the night, or even become the
designated driver. That way, you won’t even need to touch drinks. If you do
want to go out and drink, then don’t be the driver. The other two may still
apply and work well if you are aiming not to cheat on your meal plan that
night.
Keeping a planner full of what you need to get done, when they need to be
done, and when an event is, can occasionally help you alleviate the stress in
your life. Seeing everything laid out may look overwhelming. Taking the
time to break it down into a schedule for that day is incredibly helpful. It
might help you better manage your time and better keep track of how well
you are eating. If you aren’t a planning type of person, setting reminders on
your phone to get things done is also another good way to go. Do what
works best for your personal style.
If you are a planning type of person or one who writes down everything he
or she does, getting a food planner or using a calorie tracker can be a great
way to ensure that you are staying on top of your diet. Websites, such as
MyPlate and Livestrong, are great ways to help you track what you have
already eaten for the day or figure out what you should have for each meal.
You may have forgotten if you ate a meal already, and you are just hungry
again, or you may just be trying your best to not continuously snack on
foods. These are great reasons to write down what you have already eaten,
how many calories were in that meal (which you can look up on the website,
no need to do calculations there on your own), and you can also plan out
what food and how many calories you are going to have the next day.
There are many apps available to help you make to-do lists, keep a journal,
use a calendar with reminders, track your calories, and plan out meals for the
month if you are more likely to note things down on your phone. You can
also bring around a physical journal or a planner. The apps I find to be
convenient because many people, including myself, have their phone on
them on a regular basis in case someone urgently calls them. There is a wide
range of apps with various amounts of personalization, so download a few
and try them out until you find what you like best – if you do want to use an
app, that is.
Another food-related healthy lifestyle practice would be becoming vegan or
vegetarian. This is not very accessible or easy to do for many people. For
one, you would need to make sure you are still getting all the important
minerals and vitamins that your body needs each day from a much smaller
selection of food than you had previously to choose from. Checking in with
your doctor and taking supplements each day, in addition to eating well, can
make this lifestyle possible and help you lead a healthier life. Remember that
this is not for everyone and that you can still be healthy even if you eat meat.
Having good hygiene habits can impact how much you eat and how well you
continue to eat. This especially applies to good dental hygiene. Brushing
your teeth after every meal or rinsing your mouth out will help lessen your
urge to go and snack after you just finished eating. Another good example
would be keeping your body and hair nice and clean. Eating more oily foods
and getting all that oil and grease all over is more disgusting if you just
recently took a shower or if you don’t feel very dirty.
Be thankful for all that you have, and take the time to appreciate it fully. This
isn’t so much an “avoid the negativity” point as it is a reminder to stop and
take stock of what you have. Many people know – either through first-hand
experience or through various media portrayals – that you don’t realize what
you really care for until it’s gone. So, while you have it, appreciate it while
you can. This may mean doing a kind act for your family members, spending
more time playing with a family pet, or even making your bed.
Finally, having a good group of people around you will help you lead a
healthier life. Having a support group to turn to when things are getting
rough or to help motivate you, as you also do for them in turn, helps make
your life a little bit easier. It can be relieving to share daily burdens, even if it
is something small. Speaking about it will often make you feel better.
Having this group may motivate you to live better or help you feel like you
can better lead a healthy life. It is especially helpful if they are also healthy
eaters; this way, you won’t be tempted to eat something unhealthy because
they are eating something unhealthy.
Chapter 13: Final Eating Tips
This section is full of miscellaneous tips that I thought would still be useful
to share with you. They may or may not be helpful in your day-to-day life,
but these are a few more tips to help you watch what you are eating and how
much of it you are consuming.
When you are trying to remember to eat well while having your meal, there’s
an easy way to check. Look at your plate, and see if there are red, orange,
and green foods on it. If you have two out of three, that’s still not too bad.
You still have a good variety of fruits and vegetables within your diet. If you
only have one color, look for something else of another color to add to your
meal. It’s an easy way to check and see if your meal is balanced well
enough.
It has been proven through scientific studies that the color blue decreases
your appetite. If you look at the color blue while you are eating, it will help
prevent you from eating as much food because you won’t feel as hungry.
You could have a blue design on your plates, blue décor, or blue clothes on.
It will typically help. Conversely, looking at colors like red and yellow have
a tendency to increase your appetite. This explains why so many fast food
logos include shades of red, orange, and yellow in them. Try to avoid having
those colors around your dinner table, so you can avoid feeling like you need
to eat more.
This tip is a bit odd. It includes looking at yourself in a mirror while you eat.
The idea behind this is that it will remind you to consciously eat and savor
each bite you take. This is also a good tip if you are trying to take a few less
bites per meal. Watching yourself eat can also remind you to stick to your
goals. You’ve seen movies and other forms of media where the main
character motivates himself or herself by staring into a mirror and saying
words of encouragement. This same principle is applied while you are
eating. You can remind yourself to take a few less bites, to eat a small
portion size, etc.
An odd tip is immediately followed by a funny one: smell something that is
food scented when you are hungry. Even sniffing a banana or some
peppermint can help. Why does this tip help? It can help trick your brain into
thinking that you actually ate the food that you smelled, as your sense of
taste and smell are very closely related to each other. Of course, there are
cases when this will just make you feel hungrier, but it is a good idea for you
to try if you want to.
If you can eat more calories before noon or one o’clock while eating less in
the evenings, this may be a good idea to implement. If you eat most of your
calories earlier in the day, then you have more opportunities to burn them off
as your day goes on. It will also help prevent you from overeating in the
evening and going to sleep full of calories without having done any exercise.
Additionally, if you can’t do this, you could try to go walking around your
neighborhood, if you feel comfortable enough, after you eat dinner. It will
help you feel a little more energetic after having eaten your meal, and it will
help you to digest your food a little bit better.
Eating eggs for breakfast or another dish that is packed with protein is a
good way to start off the day. This is good because it can help limit your
cravings for certain foods throughout the day. It might also help you lose
more weight and body fat as you go about the day because protein helps
keep your metabolism going steadily instead of slowing down.
Sharing food with another person, particularly at a restaurant with large
serving sizes, will help you not to feel obligated to eat everything on your
plate. It will also make sure neither you nor the person you are sharing with
will end up wasting food later on by not eating the leftovers. If it is possible
at the restaurant you are at, you may also be able to ask for a lunch size
portion of food, which is typically smaller than the dinner-sized portions.
This won’t work for everybody, but sometimes, visualizing eating food can
make it so that you won’t feel the need to eat it in reality. Picturing not only
eating the food but also what it would taste like, what it sounds like when
you are eating it, and the texture of it are the best ways to visualize eating a
food. Again, this may not work for everyone because it may just make you
want to eat that food more than you already did.
If you can’t visualize your craving away, trying eating a healthier version of
it. Do you want to eat a bunch of fried food? Eat a baked potato (with very
little or no salt or butter) instead. It may not be exactly the same thing, but
there is a good chance that it will satisfy that craving you are having, or curb
it until it’s a little less tempting to go and make or get some fries.
Changing small things about the way you eat can make a large difference.
Taking a few less bites every meal, consuming a little less sugar and salt, or
even limiting your carb intake are all examples of this. Be self-aware about
what you eat so that you are able to lead a healthier lifestyle. Often, changing
something small can also help you drop several pounds over the course of a
year. If weight loss is you goal, then focus on your small habits as well.
Setting small goals to reach every week or so may make eating healthier
easier for some. Having a little reward, like buying a book or going out to
watch a movie with someone, is a good motivator for those who are more
engaged and dedicated to something when they know there is a reward at the
end of the road. Don’t make it too easy for yourself though. Don’t cut
corners, but still give yourself that reward. If your goal was to eat healthy
every day for a week but you ended up having a cheat day, that doesn’t count
because you didn’t set that up with your goal.
Brushing your teeth after you finish a meal is also helpful in curbing your
appetite. With your mouth feeling fresh and clean, it lessens that urge to
continue to eat something. This is not to mention that the leftover toothpaste
taste mixed with a food soon after doesn’t normally taste too great, so you’ll
be more willing to avoid eating for a while after brushing your teeth. If you
don’t have the opportunity to fully brush your teeth, flossing or rinsing out
your mouth with mouthwash is another alternative. You can also chew on
sugarless gum for that same minty taste to lessen your appetite.
Moving more and drinking more water when you are tired, except at night
when your body is exhausted from a long day, are great ways to wake
yourself up. They will help get your blood moving faster through your veins
because your breathing pattern when you are awake is a little different from
the one you have when you are asleep. If you can, doing a morning workout
will also increase this effect greatly.
Doing stretches, even while you are lying in bed and can’t sleep or are just
tired and sore from a long day, can go a long way towards your relaxation.
Ridding yourself of as many aches and pains as you can, especially before
sleeping, will help you feel more at ease and less likely to wake up in the
middle of the night to toss and turn continuously. In the mornings, doing
many stretches may even help you to wake up a bit more easily. This is not
to mention that maintaining a healthier way of living has a tendency to
decrease your desire for unhealthy foods or snacks.
During seasons or periods of time when it is cold outside, it may be the best
time to go and exercise. In order to stay warm, you’ll need to keep moving
and doing lots of aerobic exercise and cardio to not freeze. You may also
need an additional sweater or hat for when you start working out and aren’t
warmed up yet. When it is hot outside, sometimes, moving faster, like
running faster, helps you to feel cooler because you create your own breeze
to hit the sweat running down your skin in its attempt to help you cool off.
How is this related to eating? Doing lots of exercises is already a great way
to decrease the amount of unhealthy foods you desire. Exercising like this
ensures that you drink enough water and eat a lot more filling healthy foods.
You can also take a hot drink when it is hot outside or a cold drink when it is
cold outside to help even out your body temperature a little bit so you won’t
feel the weather as intensely.
Conclusion
Thank you, again, for downloading this book!
I hope this book was able to help you understand what nutrition is about and
how it can benefit your health and your life.
The next step is to apply what you have just read in this book by making
sure that the next time you go to the grocery store, you buy the right kinds of
food. This means checking nutritional labels to select the healthiest food
possible.
If you’ve enjoyed this book, then I’d like to ask you for a favor. Would you
be kind enough to leave a review for this book on Amazon? It would be
greatly appreciated!
Click Here To Leave A Review For This Book On Amazon
Thank you so much, and good luck!
Works Cited
Daniel D. Bikle (2015). Vitamin D Metabolism, Mechanism of Action, and
Clinical Applications. Chem Biol. 20; 21(3): 319–329. Doi:
10.1016/j.chembiol.2013.12.016
Vinicius J. B. Martins, Telma M. M. Toledo Florêncio, Luciane P.
Grillo, Maria do Carmo P. Franco, Paula A. Martins, Ana Paula G.
Clemente, Carla D. L. Santos, Maria de Fatima A. Vieira, and Ana
Lydia Sawaya. (2011). Long-Lasting Effects of Undernutrition. Int J
Environ Res Public Health. 8(6): 1817–1846. Doi: 10.3390/ijerph8061817
Michael Via. (2012). The Malnutrition of Obesity: Micronutrient
Deficiencies That Promote Diabetes. ISRN Endocrinol. 2012: 103472.
Doi: 10.5402/2012/103472
Heaney RP, Recker RR, Grote J, Horst RL, Armas LA. (2011). Vitamin
D (3) is more potent than vitamin D (2) in humans. J Clin Endocrinol
Metab; 96:E447-52. Doi: 10.1210/jc.2010-2230.
Walker GE, Ricotti R, Roccio M, et al. (2014). Pediatric obesity and
vitamin D deficiency: a proteomic approach identifies multimeric
adiponectin as a key link between these conditions. PLoS One; 9:e83685.
Doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0083685
Ding C, Gao D, Wilding J, Trayhurn P, Bing C. (2012). Vitamin D
signaling in adipose tissue. Br J Nutr;108:1915-23. Doi:
10.1017/S0007114512003285.
Braegger C, Campoy C, Colomb V, et al. (2013). Vitamin D in the healthy
European paediatric population. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr; 56:692701. Doi: 10.1097/MPG.0b013e31828f3c05.
Drincic AT, Armas LA, Van Diest EE, Heaney RP. (2012). Volumetric
dilution, rather than sequestration best explains the low vitamin D status
of obesity. Obesity (Silver Spring); 20:1444-8. Doi: 10.1038/oby.2011.404.
Blum M, Dolnikowski G, Seyoum E, et al. (2008). Vitamin D (3) in fat
tissue. Endocrine 2008; 33:90-4. Doi: 10.1007/s12020-008-9051-4.
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Book 2
Fitness Nutrition
The Ultimate Fitness Guide
Health, Fitness, Nutrition, and
Muscle Building
Lose Weight and Build Lean Muscle
4th Edition
By
Nicholas Bjorn
© Copyright 2018 – All rights reserved.
In no way is it legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this
document in either electronic means or in printed format. Recording of this
publication is strictly prohibited, and any storage of this document is not
allowed unless with written permission from the publisher. All rights
reserved.
The information provided herein is stated to be truthful and consistent in that
any liability, in terms of inattention or otherwise, by any usage or abuse of
any policies, processes, or directions contained within is the solitary and
utter responsibility of the recipient reader. Under no circumstances will any
legal responsibility or blame be held against the publisher for any reparation,
damages, or monetary loss due to the information herein, either directly or
indirectly.
Respective authors own all copyrights not held by the publisher.
Legal Notice:
This book is copyright protected. This is only for personal use. You cannot
amend, distribute, sell, use, quote, or paraphrase any part or the content
within this book without the consent of the author or copyright owner. Legal
action will be pursued if this is breached.
Disclaimer Notice:
Please note that the information contained within this document is for
educational and entertainment purposes only. Every attempt has been made
to provide accurate, up-to-date, reliable, and complete information. No
warranties of any kind are expressed or implied. Readers acknowledge that
the author is not engaging in the rendering of legal, financial, medical, or
professional advice.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: How Calories Work
What Calories Are
Breaking Down Calories in Food
Our Daily Caloric Needs
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
Physical Activity
Thermic Effect of Food
Exercise and Calories
Nutrition and Calories
Chapter 2: Choose Carbohydrates Wisely
How Carbohydrates are Converted into Energy
The Importance of Quantity and Quality
The Glycemic Index of Foods
Counting Carbohydrates
Chapter 3: Good Fats for Weight Loss
Understanding the Good Fats
Good Fats from Plants
Good Fats from Meat and Dairy
Stay Away from Hydrogenated Oils
Chapter 4: The Lowdown on Lean Protein
Pick Your Protein
Protein Portions
Chapter 5: Vegetarian or Vegan?
Different Kinds of Vegetarian
One Type of Veganism
Properly Planned Diet
Specific Nutrients
It Can’t Slow You Down
Chapter 6: Meal Frequency
The Benefit of Frequent Small Meals
Chapter 7: Fitness Nutrition Tips
Chapter 8: Calculating Your Daily Calorie Needs to Lose Weight
Chapter 9: Best Upper Body Workouts for Lean Muscles
Chest Exercises
Shoulder Exercises
Forearm Exercises
Biceps Exercises
Triceps Exercises
Upper Back Exercises
CrossFit Training Regime
FRAN
Chapter 10: Best Lower Body Workouts for Lean Muscles
Abs Exercises
Thigh Exercises
Lower Leg Exercises
Hip Exercises
Butt Exercises
CrossFit Training
Chapter 11: Alternative Exercise Choices for Lean Muscles
Best Pilates Moves
Best Yoga Poses
Chapter 12: Six of the Best Lean Muscle-building Recipes
Easy Egg Breakfast
Cucumber Tartine
Beef Balls in Pasta
Chicken Breast Stuffed with Spinach, Tomato, and Feta Cheese, Served
with Brown Rice
Chickpeas and Lentil Soup
Chicken Sausage with Peppers
Baked Fish with Sesame
Sesame and Ginger Tofu with Scallions
Mushroom Sandwiches
Body Cleansing Smoothie
Peanut Butter Granola Bites
Chapter 13: Best Natural Supplements for Lean Muscle Building
Chapter 14: What to Avoid – Food Edition
Chapter 15: What to Avoid – Exercise Edition
Chapter 16: The Importance of Water for the Human Body
Chapter 17: How Important is Motivation for Your Workout?
Chapter 18: Stay in Shape Even When You are on a Vacation
Key Highlights
Conclusion
Introduction
I want to thank you and congratulate you for purchasing the book, “Fitness
Nutrition: The Ultimate Fitness Guide: Health, Fitness, Nutrition and Muscle
Building – Lose Weight and Build Lean Muscle.” This book contains proven
steps and strategies on how to lose weight and build lean muscle naturally
and safely, all through nutrition.
The foods we eat are just as important as working out and exercising, if not
more. This book will introduce you to important information about what
types of foods you should be eating to help you achieve your fitness goals.
We will look at how different foods affect your body in terms of providing
energy and nutrients, as well as which types of foods and food components
should be avoided due to the negative impact that they can have on your
health. You will also learn all about carbohydrates, fats, and proteins and
how to choose the right foods to achieve weight loss and build lean muscle.
We will discuss how to determine your caloric requirements both to maintain
your weight and to lose weight if that is your goal. Moreover, in this book,
you will learn exactly how calories work and the importance of limiting your
portions.
Once you have a more in-depth understanding of how the food that you eat
will affect your health and fitness levels, as well as how to eat to achieve the
best results, we will move to the exercise portion of the book. This book also
contains plenty of effective fitness nutrition tips and exercises that will guide
you toward achieving your health and fitness goals. You will learn about a
variety of different exercises that can help you build lean muscle mass and
improve your overall fitness level. We will discuss exercises that target each
core muscle area of your body so that you can make sure that your entire
body is getting the exercise and strengthening that it needs. Whether you are
working out in a gym, outside, or in your own home, this book will provide
exercises that you can use in a way that is easy to follow and understand.
After you have the nutritional basics under control and have an idea of some
exercises that you can do to improve your fitness level and build lean muscle
mass, we will take a look at some recipe ideas. These recipes can be added to
your diet to make sure that it is as healthy as possible while following your
caloric requirements, whether your goal is to maintain or lose weight.
This book will then take you through a more in-depth discussion of what to
avoid, both in terms of exercising and diet. It is important to ensure that you
are exercising and eating in a way that will improve your health and wellbeing while avoiding anything in your diet or your activities that will impede
your health goals or cause negative health effects.
One of the last chapters in this book will provide you with some ideas on
how to stick to your diet and exercise plan, even while you are on vacation,
and still enjoy yourself. We all know how tempting it is to vary from your
exercise and nutritional goals while you are on vacation, which can make it
difficult to return to your plan when you get back from vacation. The tips
and tricks in this book will help you avoid that scenario, such that you stick
to your diet and exercise plan while you are away. This enables you to feel as
healthy as possible on vacation while preventing yourself from deviating
from your health and fitness goals.
Once you have read this book, you will have a much better understanding of
your nutritional requirements and how to eat so that you are giving your
body its best chance at being as healthy as possible. You will also have
learned how to exercise so that you can achieve all of your fitness goals.
Make sure to go back through the book from time to time so that you
remember all of the important pieces of information and ensure that you are
maintaining the best possible diet and exercise plan.
Thanks again for purchasing this book. I hope you enjoy it!
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Chapter 1: How Calories Work
In this day and age, where life has become just so hectic, there is hardly any
time for people to stop and look at their diet. From consuming sugary foods
to fat-laden junk, everybody is now only interested in satiating their hunger
and going about their daily activities. But then, what really are the long-term
consequences of following such a diet?
Well, for starters, people will begin to turn obese and acquire various
illnesses, both mental and physical in nature. There are many serious health
consequences that arise from being overweight, including heart problems,
high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, cancer, osteoarthritis, and sleep apnea.
Coronary heart disease is one of the most significant possible health impacts:
as your body mass index (which will be discussed in a later chapter)
increases, so does your risk of suffering from coronary heart disease.
Coronary heart disease involves plaque building up inside your coronary
arteries, which are the arteries that move oxygen-rich blood to your heart. If
blood flow to the heart is reduced, this can cause angina (chest pain) or a
heart attack. If the plaque buildup reaches a certain level, it can cause heart
failure. If an area of plaque ruptures, this can cause a blood clot to form,
which in turn can cause a stroke.
The development of Type-II Diabetes is another serious health issue that can
arise as a result of being overweight. The insulin produced by your body
allows the breakdown of sugar so that it can be stored or burned by your
body as necessary. Excess body fat leads to an increased likelihood of insulin
resistance, which means that your body is not able to break down the sugar
that you eat. This will eventually lead to the development of Type-II
Diabetes.
Being overweight can also lead to increased risk of certain types of cancer,
including cancer of the pancreas, breast, colon, kidney, thyroid, and
gallbladder.
As indicated above, these are just some of the serious physical health issues
that can arise from being overweight. There can also be mental health
impacts: depression and anxiety, in particular, can develop as a result of
being overweight, along with the feeling of helplessness or loss of control
associated with increased weight gain.
Add to these physical and mental health issues the ill effects of a sedentary
lifestyle and stress, and you have the perfect recipe for disaster. The need of
the hour is, therefore, to make appropriate food choices and try and get your
health back on the right track. That is the primary goal. Once it is attained,
the priority changes. It becomes primary to build lean muscles so that you
don’t go back to your old habits and become obese again.
You have to follow a strict diet and an exercise program that allows you to
control the amount of calorie intake and manage to build lean muscles. All
these and more is covered in this book, and I hope you treat it as your one
true lean muscle-building guide.
Any effective weight loss diet follows this simple rule: eat less, and burn
more calories. So what is a calorie? Understanding this will show you the
crucial role that nutrition plays in losing weight and gaining lean muscle.
What Calories Are
The dictionary definition of a “calorie” is this: it is a unit or quantity of heat
that is needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree
Celsius (or 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) at atmospheric pressure.
The “calories” used in food are actually kilocalories, and 1 kilocalorie is
equal to 1,000 calories. This means that if a box of cookies has 140 calories
per serving; it actually means 140,000 actual calories. Nutritionists use the
word “calories” to describe the energy-producing potential in food, and it is
these calories that fuel all of our bodily functions.
The “calories” in exercise also means the same: if a fitness chart states that
you will burn 100 calories for each mile that you run, it actually means you
burn 100,000 calories or 100 kilocalories. Hence, when the word “calorie” is
mentioned in this book, it refers to kilocalories.
Calories have received a somewhat negative reputation in recent decades,
thanks to various fad diets and the tendency to discuss calories as unwanted
things. In reality, calories are essential to our survival: if we do not eat
enough calories on a daily basis, our bodies will not have the energy required
to continue to function, and eventually, our bodies would break down. The
important factor is knowing how many calories you are eating and how
many you are burning and then making sure that you are not eating more
than you are burning – this will help you avoid weight gain while
maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Breaking Down Calories in Food
The number of calories in your food shows the amount of energy that you
will get from it. All foods are a combination of three building blocks, and
these are carbohydrates, protein, and fat, all of which are referred to as
macronutrients. The calories in each macronutrient are as follows:
● Carbohydrates – 4 calories
● Protein – 4 calories
● Fat – 9 calories
As fat has more than twice the amount of calories as carbohydrates and
protein, it obviously means fat is more difficult to burn off. Therefore, it
should be consumed sparingly.
Let's take a look at the nutritional label on a box of cookies, which shows
that the serving size is 25 grams, and the amount of calories per serving is
120. If we open up the packet and burn up the cookies directly in an open
fire and let it burn off entirely, this will produce 120 kilocalories, which is
enough to increase the temperature of 120 kilograms of water to 1 degree
Celsius.
A closer look at the nutritional label will show you that there are 5 grams of
fat, 16 grams of carbohydrates, and 3 grams of protein, which gives you a
total of 24 grams (food companies tend to round off the amount). Therefore,
the 120 calories on the nutrition label of the cookies actually contain 45
calories from fat (5 grams multiplied by 9 calories), 64 calories from
carbohydrates, and 12 calories from protein.
For the body to burn these 120 calories, it has to break down the
carbohydrates into sugars, such as glucose, the proteins into amino acids,
and the fats into fatty acids and glycerol. After this, these organic
compounds are transferred via the bloodstream to the different cells in the
body for immediate use, and the excess would be stored for future use in the
form of body fat.
Sugars, proteins, and fats are each broken down by the body into different
compounds, which are then used by the body for different functions.
Carbohydrates are broken down by your body into glucose, which is then
absorbed through the walls of the small intestine. The glucose is processed
by the liver. It then enters the body’s circulatory system, increasing the
body’s blood glucose levels. This provides the body with an excellent (and
quickly accessed) source of energy. If there is excess glucose, the liver will
store it to be used between mealtimes if the blood glucose levels fall below a
certain level. Any glucose in excess of what the liver can store will be turned
into fat to be stored for the long term.
Proteins, on the other hand, are broken down into amino acids, which are
used by the body to build new proteins. Each of these proteins has a specific
function, such as enabling chemical reactions or allowing cells to
communicate. If the body is low in glucose and fatty acids, then the body
can get energy from protein, but this is not ideal.
Finally, fat is broken down by the body into fatty acids, which are burned as
energy. Fatty acids make a fantastic energy source for the body, although it is
important to note that not all cells can use fatty acids for energy; brain cells,
for example, do require glucose, so be careful when thinking about limiting
your carbohydrate intake. If more fatty acids are broken down than the body
needs for energy at that moment, then the fatty acids are packaged together
in bundles called triglycerides and then stored in fat cells for use at a later
date.
Proteins, fats, and sugars each play an important role in the body, and it is
essential to ensure that you are taking in enough of each so that your body
has the energy and other resources that it needs to carry out all of its
functions.
Our Daily Caloric Needs
When nutritional labels show the percentages of the daily values that the
body needs, they typically refer to someone who follows a 2,000-calorie diet.
It is difficult to identify exactly how many calories our cells require to
function properly, as each person's daily physical activities vary, along with
his or her height, weight, age, and gender. This is why it is more helpful to
look at the amount of calories listed on the nutritional label rather than the
percentage of the daily diet.
To know approximately how many calories you need to consume per day so
that you can achieve your weight loss goals, there are three important factors
that you need to be aware of:
1. Basal Metabolic Rate or BMR
2. Physical Activity
3. Thermic Effect of Food
These three factors need to be calculated, and by adding up the calculations
from these, the result would be the total amount of calories that your body
requires each day. There are many calorie counters available online, all of
which give different results based on the formulas they used. Adding the
above three factors is the most accurate way of determining how many
calories your body requires each day.
Here’s a starting point for the number of calories you should be eating if you
live a sedentary lifestyle.
For men (to maintain weight):
Ages 19–30 should eat anywhere from 2,400 to 2,600.
Ages 31–50 should eat anywhere from 2,200 to 2,400.
Ages 51 and up should eat anywhere from 2,000 to 2,200.
For women (to maintain weight):
Recommended 1,600 to 2,000.
Keep in mind that these are simply starting points. They will only be able to
get you so far, so you will need to get an individualized number of calories
to eat every day. It changes if you want to lose, gain, or maintain your weight
depending on your lifestyle, which is why it is important to calculate it
yourself.
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
A person’s BMR refers to the amount of energy required for his or her body
to function while at rest; that is to say, for the lungs to continue breathing,
the heart to keep pumping, the kidneys to keep functioning, and the body
temperature to remain stable. These functions take up approximately 60 to
70 percent of the calories that are burned during the day. On average, the
BMR of men is higher than that of women.
To estimate your BMR, what you can do is to follow the Harris–Benedict
formula:
For adult men: 66 + (6.3 x body weight in pounds) + (12.9 x height in
inches) – (6.8 x age in years)
For adult women: 655 + (4.3 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches)
– (4.7 x age in years)
It might look unusual for men to have 66 and for women to have 655 as the
first digits in the formula, but this, in fact, is accurate.
Age is an important factor in the formula because BMR tends to decline by
1% to 2% per decade after you turn 20, largely due to continued loss of fatfree mass in the body. This is, of course, a generalization, and it can differ
among individuals depending on exercise, diet, and a person’s percentage of
body fat.
Increases in muscle mass will also increase your BMR, so if you have
calculated your BMR previously and then started an exercise regime that has
increased your muscle mass, you should recalculate to make sure that you
have a current and correct idea of your BMR.
Another equation that can be used to calculate your BMR, which has been
found to be approximately 5% more accurate than the Harris–Benedict
formula, is the Mifflin St. Jeor Equation:
For adult men: (10 x weight in kg) + (6.25 x height in cm) – (5 x age in
years) + 5
For adult women: (10 x weight in kg) + (6.25 x height in cm) – (5 x age in
years) – 161.
If you know your body fat percentage, you can also use the Katch–McArdle
formula:
For adult men and women: (21.6 x fat free mass) + 370, where “fat free
mass” = weight – (body fat percentage x weight)
The important thing to remember is that each individual is different, and
each of these formulas will work better for some and not as well for others.
If you have concerns about whether you are using the right formula, or if you
are properly calculating your BMR, then you should seek your doctor’s
assistance.
Physical Activity
After BMR, this is the second main factor that burns considerable amounts
of calories. This includes all that you do with your body, such as walking to
work, swimming at the pool, and talking to your friend. The amount of
calories that are burned off from physical activity actually depends on your
body weight. The more weight you have, the more calories you actually burn
off as you engage in a particular physical activity. However, if you keep
eating as many calories (if not more) as you burn off, you will continue to
maintain your current weight (if not increase it).
A great tool to use to calculate how many calories each activity burns is at
bitelog.com/exercise-search.htm, but there are many online resources that
can you help you to figure out how many calories you are burning.
While many people automatically think of activities like running or going to
the gym as the best options for burning calories, there are many other
activities that you can choose that will do a great job of burning calories. If
you are one of those people who prefer to disguise their exercise in a fun
activity, some of these options will work well for you.
Hiking and rock climbing are two excellent examples of fun, outdoor
activities that will also help you to burn a large amount of calories.
Depending on the difficulty of the trail and how quickly you are walking,
you can burn around 400 calories per hour while hiking, whereas rock
climbing can burn from 500 to 700 calories per hour. The difference in
calories burned for rock climbing comes from how much you weigh because
you are using your own body as the weight in this exercise. On days when
the weather is not great, indoor rock climbing is always a great alternative.
If you have some household chores that need to get done and think you don’t
have time to exercise, think again: those chores are exercise! Vacuuming,
laundry, sweeping, and mopping will all burn calories, and using those
online resources mentioned earlier can help you figure out just how many
calories each chore will burn. If you need to wash your car, that will burn
about 200 calories per hour, and mowing the lawn (using a push mower, not
a riding mower!) will burn around 300 calories per hour. Checking items off
the “to-do list” and burning calories both make this option a great
combination.
Playing sports is perhaps an obvious way to burn calories, but it still should
be mentioned because it’s a great way to have fun with your friends and still
get your exercise in. Football can burn around 500 calories per hour,
assuming that you and your friends are somewhat serious about the game,
while soccer can burn 600 calories or even more per hour. Even badminton,
which is a much lower impact sport, can burn between 250 and 400 calories
depending on how much you weigh.
Yoga is an excellent option because aside from burning calories (around 300
per hour), it also provides a variety of other health benefits: core strength,
balance, and flexibility. Plus, it can be very soothing if you are feeling
stressed out or wanting to give your body a rest from more strenuous
activities.
Thermic Effect of Food
This is the last factor that burns the calories that you consume, and it is the
amount of energy that the body utilizes in order to digest the food that you
have consumed. After all, it does take energy to digest the foods and then
break them down to the basic organic compounds that the cells need in order
to function properly.
To determine the amount of calories that your body utilizes for this, what
you do is multiply the total number of calories consumed within a day by 10
percent.
Exercise and Calories
When you eat a total of 3,500 more calories in a week, you will gain one
pound of fat. Therefore the only way to get rid of this is by burning 3,500
calories more than what you consume in a week by reducing your portions,
increasing your physical activity, or both. Burning 3,500 calories in a week
will result in a 1 lb loss in body weight. It is the only way to naturally
change a pound of fat into energy.
The beauty of exercise lies in its ability to boost your metabolic rate even
though you have stopped doing the physical activity. Metabolism takes time
to revert to its regular rate, which is why the body continues to burn calories
for the next 120 minutes after exercising.
Nutrition and Calories
If weight loss was the only concern, then you would only have to count the
calories. It wouldn’t matter whether it is a carbohydrate, protein, or fat
calorie. But as much as you need to focus on burning more calories than
what you consume, you also need to focus on the nutritional value of the
foods. Carbohydrates and proteins are better calorie sources than fats, even
though the body does need fat to help absorb fat-soluble vitamins, such as
vitamin A. Ideally, you should not eat foods that contain more than 25 to 30
percent of fat calories.
Chapter 2: Choose Carbohydrates Wisely
Carbohydrates are the first building blocks of food, and understanding how
they work will help you choose your sources of nutrients effectively to
promote weight loss and build lean muscle.
How Carbohydrates are Converted into Energy
After eating carbohydrates, your body breaks them down into sugars, which
cause your blood glucose level to increase. As this happens, the pancreas
releases insulin, which is an anabolic hormone responsible for transporting
nutrients into the muscle cells and helping muscles recover. The second
function of insulin is to eliminate surplus glucose from the blood and shuttle
it into liver glycogen or muscle glycogen stores. However, if both the liver
and muscle glycogen stores have been maximized, the surplus blood glucose
will then be stored as fat.
When you exercise, muscle glycogen stores are utilized, and the
corresponding insulin released when eating high-carbohydrate foods will
cause the surplus blood glucose, along with the rest of the nutrients, to be
shuttled into the muscle cells. This boosts muscle protein synthesis and
muscle recovery, which in turn builds lean muscle.
As you know, that is your ultimate goal. You are taking up these exercises
because you wish to have lean muscles at the end of it all. Once you have
your goals set, it becomes increasingly easy for you to follow and pursue
them. Thus, it is important to do as many “right” things as possible in order
to attain your goal faster. So be wise in choosing what you put inside your
body in terms of carbs. This is further explained in detail under the next
heading.
The Importance of Quantity and Quality
The level of increase in your blood sugar from the consumption of
carbohydrates greatly depends on the amount that you consume, as well as
how quickly the carbohydrates are digested. The amount of fiber in the
carbohydrates, as well as fat and protein content, is also a major factor.
In order to lose weight and boost muscle recovery from carbohydrate
consumption, it is best to choose food sources that are unrefined and rich in
fiber. This will ensure that the carbohydrate will be digested more slowly,
leading to steadier blood sugar increase and insulin response. Refined
starches and sugars from which fiber is removed become easily digested and
trigger an immediate blood sugar spike, followed by a crash once the insulin
plays its role. Individuals who consume white sugar, bread, pasta, and all
other refined and processed carbohydrates tend to crave even more of these
foods because of the “spike and crash” cycle, ultimately leading to weight
gain. So that is where the whole issue lies. Many people blame their “staple”
foods as being habitual.
In addition to being better for ensuring a balanced increase in blood sugar
and stable insulin response, unrefined carbohydrates provide your body with
more vitamins and minerals than refined carbohydrates because the refining
process tends to remove those essential items. Unrefined carbohydrates
include whole grains, such as brown rice, oatmeal, whole wheat, or bran;
legumes, such as soybeans, peas, lentils, and peanuts; fruits, such as apples,
strawberries, oranges, or grapes; and uncooked vegetables, like broccoli,
carrots, and spinach.
The Glycemic Index of Foods
The glycemic index of foods or GI refers to the categorization of foods,
particularly sources of carbohydrates, on a three-point scale: low, medium,
and high. Foods that cause an immediate rise in blood sugar are categorized
as having a higher GI, whereas foods that increase the blood sugar at a
gradual pace have a lower GI.
There are several diets out there that consider the GI as a way of determining
the primary food nutrition groups to help people lose weight and keep it off
for a long time. So it becomes extremely important for you to keep in mind
what you eat when you begin with the lean muscle-building routine.
The following common foods fall under the low GI category: the majority of
fruits and vegetables, the majority of dairy products, sweet potatoes, whole
and unrefined grains, beans, and barley.
The following common foods fall under the high GI category: white bread,
white rice, white pasta, peeled potatoes, corn flakes, ice cream, crispy rice
cereals, cooked carrots, and sugars (excluding fructose).
The GI can be very helpful when you are creating your meal plan. For
instance, it is best to eat foods under the high GI category immediately after
an intense workout so that you boost and maximize the insulin response and
regain muscle glycogen stores. Eating foods in the low GI category will help
you lose weight, so concentrate on eating these while limiting your intake of
high GI foods throughout the day. The chart below provides a sample of
some commonly eaten foods:
Low GI (less than
55)
Apple, Broccoli, Cherries, Grapefruit,
Orange, Pear, Tomatoes
Medium GI (56 to
69)
Banana, Brown Rice, Oatmeal, Popcorn,
Sweet Potato, White Rice, Whole Wheat
Bread
High GI (70 and up)
Bagel, Doughnuts, Rice Cakes, Pretzels,
Watermelon, White Bread, White Potatoes
Now I’m sure your existing diet consists of all the foods mentioned in the
last category. Don’t worry; it won’t remain that way for long, and by the
time you are through with this book, you would have changed your food
habits and will be on your way to attaining a lean and ripped body.
Counting Carbohydrates
For individuals who are starting an active lifestyle and trying to lose weight,
your carbohydrate intake should fall within 100 to 150 grams each day. The
sources of carbohydrates should primarily be vegetables and fruits. You can
also eat small amounts of healthy starches, such as sweet potatoes and
potatoes (with the skin), as well as whole grains, such as brown rice and
oats.
Many people wonder if fruits are healthy, as they are sweet and have the
capacity to add back fat to the body. In reality, fruits contain fructose, which
is a more complex chemical than sucrose that is present in sugar. So if your
body is exposed to both, it will take more effort for it to digest the former
than the latter. In the process, it ends up burning more fat from the body. So
don’t think eating fruit is bad for you, unless you are eating extremely sweet
fruits all throughout the day. However, you might have to exercise
precaution if you have high levels of sugar in your body.
If you want to increase and speed up weight loss, you will need to limit your
carbohydrate intake to the 50- to 100-gram range each day. This is also a
healthy range for people who have Celiac disease or any other carbohydratesensitive issue. Concentrate on eating primarily vegetables and limiting fruit
to one to three pieces per day, and avoid starchy carbs as much as possible.
To really rev up your metabolic rate, you should eat 20 to 50 grams of
carbohydrates per day. If you eat less than 50 grams each day, the body will
undergo a state of ketosis, which means that it will start to utilize the fat
stores from your body as an energy source. You should only eat low GI
carbohydrate vegetables, such as leafy greens, and trace carbohydrates from
raw nuts, seeds, avocados, and berries. A word of caution: make sure to
consult your doctor before making any drastic changes to your diet in order
to avoid any health problems in the future.
Chapter 3: Good Fats for Weight Loss
When we speak about obese people, we are referring to the fat that is stored
in their bodies. It is no secret that Americans consume just so much junk that
the fat they put into their bodies gets stored in theirs as their fat. The
cumulative results are known, and the person might also find it tough to
move about owing to his or her excess fat. However, it is possible for you to
choose the kind of fat that you put into your body.
Not all fats are bad for you; eating the right kind of fat will help you lose
weight and build lean muscle. But remember that fat contains 9 calories per
gram, making it more than twice as dense as protein and carbohydrates (each
of which is 4 calories per gram). Eating the right amount of healthy or good
fats will help to keep you feeling full longer, thus assisting in the weight loss
process.
The “healthy” fats are also needed by your body for managing your mood,
achieving top brain function, fighting fatigue, and controlling weight. Your
brain, for example, is almost 60% fat – that means that it needs fat in order to
properly develop and function. These healthy fats can also help lower your
cholesterol and the risk of heart disease, among other health benefits. The
“unhealthy” fats, on the other hand, can raise your risk of heart disease and
increase your cholesterol, as well as cause a variety of other negative health
outcomes. This is why it is essential to understand which fats are good and
which are bad, as well as to focus on eating the ones that will help your
body.
There are four main types of fat found in today’s diet of foods developed
from plants and animals: monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, trans fats, and
saturated fats. Monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are considered
to be the “good” fats, as they provide health benefits. Trans fats are
definitively within the “bad” fats category, whereas saturated fats are still
somewhat open to debate in the world of nutrition.
Omega-3 fatty acids are one of the most well-known types of
polyunsaturated fats, and they provide a phenomenal amount of health
benefits. These benefits include: preventing and reducing symptoms of
ADHD, depression, and bipolar disorder; preventing memory loss and
dementia; reducing the risk of stroke, heart disease, and cancer; easing the
symptoms of joint pain, arthritis, and inflammatory skin conditions; and
supporting a healthy and viable pregnancy.
The best sources for omega-3s are fish, such as salmon, herring, anchovies,
oysters, and lake trout. For those who are vegetarian or do not eat fish for
other reasons, there are other options: algae, walnuts, Brussels sprouts,
spinach, flaxseed, and kale, to name a few. Given that there are restrictions
for some people – including nursing mothers, pregnant women, and children
under 12 – and the potential risk of mercury in fish, you may want to
consider focusing on the non-fish sources, if possible. If you do really want
to eat fish, check your local seafood advisories to see if the fish being caught
locally are safe to eat, or choose fish that are lower in mercury, such as
salmon, shrimp, and canned tuna.
There will be many websites and books out there that will tell you how no
fat is good fat. But you need to understand that it is not possible for all fat to
be bad, and there can be quite a lot of good ones as well. We look at those in
detail and also examine what makes them healthier choices for those looking
to lose excess body weight.
Understanding the Good Fats
It is easy to distinguish the good fats from the bad or unhealthy ones.
Overall, as indicated above, the “good” fats will be monounsaturated and
polyunsaturated fats, which include omega-3s. However, there are other
factors that need to be considered when deciding on the specific foods that
you will eat and determining whether they are providing good fats or bad
fats. In addition to trans fats, and possibly saturated fats, unhealthy fats are
those that have undergone chemical alteration or processing, especially from
plant-based fat sources. Meat or dairy fat sources that come from farm-raised
animals or mass production are also unhealthy.
On the other hand, plant-based fat sources that underwent minimal
processing in order to retain most, if not all, of their natural state are
classified as the good fats (for example extra virgin olive oil). Likewise,
animal-based fat sources from free range, grass fed (organic farm) animals
and wild game produce more healthy fats than unhealthy ones because the
meat is leaner.
That is why several diets emphasize that grass-fed butter and other such fats
should be used when dieting. It will help you lose weight faster, and you will
not feel like you are dieting.
Good Fats from Plants
Unsaturated plant-based oils are the finest sources of healthy fats because
they are composed of both monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat. If
your goal is to lose weight, choose:
● Avocados
● Almonds
● Macadamias
● Pecans
● Extra Virgin Olive Oil
These foods contain high amounts monounsaturated fats. As for
polyunsaturated fats, the best sources come from foods that have not
undergone processing, such as:
● Fish Oils
● Flax-Seed Oil
● Raw Seeds
● Nuts
It is important to have polyunsaturated fats in your diet, as your body is not
able to produce these. They contain important omega-6 and omega-3
polyunsaturated fatty acids, also known as “essential fatty acids.”
Here, we are referring to the butter that can be extracted from these
ingredients. You can find these butters at any supermarket and use them for
your everyday cooking. Just remember that you need to look for products
that are genuine and not simply marked as healthy for commercial gains.
Many nutrition experts believe that processed oils from such sources as
soybean, corn, sunflower, canola, safflower, and cottonseed should be
avoided – despite being unsaturated – because they are manufactured
through a more industrial, and less natural, process. Industrial processing is
believed by some to have the potential to alter the “good” fatty acids into
trans fats. If you are particularly concerned about the quality of the fats that
you are putting into your body, then sticking with the products in the two
lists above is the safest bet.
It is also important to remember that fats can go bad if damaged by heat,
light, or oxygen. Keep in mind that polyunsaturated oils have to be
refrigerated, and some unsaturated oils cannot be cooked at high heat as it
will damage the fatty acids. If seeds, nuts, or oils smell or taste bitter – or
more bitter than usual – then it is probably time to throw them out. You will
want to make sure that you are eating the highest quality fats so that your
body is able to get the maximum benefits.
Good Fats from Meat and Dairy
Eating grass-fed beef will nourish your body with the healthy fat called
conjugated linoleic acid or CLA, as well as omega-3 fatty acids compared
with eating grain-fed beef. As for fat from dairy, organic milk from grass-fed
and free-range animals will provide you with healthy fat as well.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of milk from pasteurized and
homogenized milk. If you do not have access to “raw” or organic milk, the
next best option would be to choose skim milk or coconut milk, almond
milk, etc. These are the types of milk that vegans prefer, as they are strictly
off dairy products. Again, you can buy these at your local departmental
store, or look for them online.
Keep in mind that saturated fats are the primary type of fat found in red meat
and dairy. While there is still some debate as to how good or bad saturated
fats are for you, as mentioned earlier in this chapter, nutrition experts
generally recommend that you limit your intake of saturated fats to less than
10% of your total calories for the day. Poultry is a good alternative for red
meat because it will still give you some saturated fat while having a lower
amount of saturated to unsaturated fats than red meat will provide.
If you are really determined to lose weight and build lean muscles in your
body, then you will have to put in a little effort to cater to your dietary needs.
If you think you can kick back and relax and expect to lose weight, then you
are completely wrong. So don’t look at these dietary changes as a tedious
task, and consider them as your mission for your war against body fat.
Stay Away from Hydrogenated Oils
The worst kinds of fat are those labeled as “hydrogenated” or even “partially
hydrogenated.” These are highly toxic to the body because they cause
arterial inflammation and, subsequently, heart disease and obesity.
Unfortunately, despite the fact that consuming these oils are detrimental to
the body, they are widely available in restaurants and grocery stores because
the hydrogenation process extends the shelf life of the oils, thus making
them cheaper for wide consumption.
The rule of thumb for eating fat is to choose sources that underwent minimal
processing and to control your portions. You do not have to concern yourself
about whether they contain polyunsaturated, monounsaturated, or saturated
fat because they will all be beneficial for your body as long as they are
natural and organic. What you need to steer clear from as much as possible
are processed foods and their trans fats.
What you will need to watch out for in particular are pre-packaged foods,
including crackers, chips, candy, and microwavable popcorn, and
commercially baked goods, such as cakes, cookies, muffins, and others.
Unless they have specifically been made with alternative sources of oils,
these types of products are likely to be quite high in trans fats and should be
avoided whenever possible. Making your own is a great way to still enjoy
the snack and ensure that you are limiting your intake of trans fats as much
as possible.
If you need to cook with oil, choose butter, coconut oil, palm oil, or fine
olive oil. Even though these are labeled as “saturated” fats, they still contain
less free radicals and toxins once they are submitted to heat and light.
However, it is highly advisable to choose non-frying cooking methods to
minimize your use of oils, such as by baking, steaming, and boiling.
Most of these junk food chains use hydrogenated oil and butter to cook and
fry. That is where your fat comes from. So don’t eat these foods in excess,
and in fact, don’t eat them at all if you wish to remain healthy for long.
Try to include a small amount of healthy fats in your regular diet to
maximize their benefits. Some food suggestions would be: a trail mix of raw
nuts (such as walnuts, almonds, cashews, pecans and macadamias), seeds
(such as sunflower, sesame, and flax seeds), and dark chocolate, yogurt,
organic, or skim milk, as well as a teaspoonful of extra virgin olive oil with
your salad or meat dish. Furthermore, you can replace mayonnaise with
avocado (or guacamole), drink coconut milk or almond milk, eat organic
peanut butter or almond butter, and take a fish oil supplement. These are not
some things that you have occasionally (although that will also benefit your
body). Instead, you need to try and include them in your diet as regularly as
possible. Remember that you are trying to not just lose fats but convert them
into lean muscles. Thus, you will need enough and more dietary help in
order to supplement your exercise routine and attain a lean and ripped body
at the earliest possible time.
Chapter 4: The Lowdown on Lean Protein
How many times have you heard someone saying that he or she is on an allprotein diet in order to build lean muscles? From wrestlers to actors,
everybody prefers to go on a protein diet, as it is the one nutrient that is
important for people to be able to start building strong and lean muscles that
do not get burned away easily.
Protein is an essential macro-nutrient or building block that is known for
repairing and creating muscle tissues. It is an essential part of fitness
nutrition because it not only helps you lose weight but also promotes lean
muscle growth. Now when you hear the saying “lean protein,” it refers to
protein sources that have low fat content.
Aside from building lean muscle mass, eating lean protein also makes you
feel full for longer periods of time, which in turn will minimize your food
consumption and help you lose weight.
In reality, if you are eating the required minimum amount of calories per day,
then you are most likely consuming enough protein. But for building lean
muscle mass, it is important to consider your sources of protein to ensure
that this nutrient is coming with a well-balanced mixture of other nutritional
elements.
Consuming protein helps your body burn more calories than fats or
carbohydrates. Approximately 20% to 30% of the calories from proteins go
toward the digestion process, while the range is between 5% and 15% for
fats and carbohydrates. This is because protein is made up of amino acids,
which are held together by very strong peptide bonds. Your body needs to be
able to break down those bonds so that it can use the amino acids to repair
tissues, move oxygen through your bloodstream, and form antibodies. In
order to break those bonds, your digestion process has to work harder, which
takes extra energy.
Remember, though, that just because you are getting more of your calories
from protein instead of carbohydrates and fats does not mean that you can
eat as many calories as you want. If you eat more calories, you will still gain
weight, regardless of whether those calories are coming from protein or from
other sources.
The best time to eat protein is about 30 to 45 minutes after your workout,
regardless of whether you were doing cardio activities or strength training.
During that window, your muscles are particularly focused on rebuilding and
on repairing the micro-tears that form when you work out. If you give your
body protein, that rebuilding and repairing process will work even better,
making you less sore the day after and improving your lean muscle mass.
In order to get the most out of the protein that you are eating, choose a snack
that has 12 to 14 grams of protein with a calorie amount of around 40% of
what you burned during your workout. So for example, if you burned 300
calories on the elliptical, choose a snack that contains about 120 calories.
Picking a snack that also contains some carbohydrates will help even more
with muscle repair and energy replenishment.
Pick Your Protein
The major sources of lean protein are the following foods: fish, soy, poultry,
eggs, mushrooms, beef, beans, peas, lentils, seitan, and dairy. You will notice
that there are both vegetarian and nonvegetarian options here, and just
because you fall into one of these categories does not mean you cannot attain
lean muscles. While meat, poultry, eggs, fish, and dairy do contain all nine
amino acids that we get from food – which is why they are often referred to
as “complete proteins” – it is very possible to get all of the amino acids from
plant-based foods if you eat a balanced variety of such foods. So stop
making excuses, and start doing all the right things for your body. You need
to keep in mind that having too much protein isn’t a good thing, especially if
you aren’t working out. In fact, you only need between 40 and 50 grams of
protein daily. If you aren’t working out, this is a lot of protein and can
actually do more harm than good. So, if you are working out, you need to
make sure to get a good amount of protein in your system every day so you
can effectively do your workouts. The protein will give you the energy you
need to get through all the workouts and will keep you going beyond that.
Let us look at each of these in detail and understand why they are important
and beneficial for your body.
Fish
When it comes to meat, seafood is the best choice because it contains lower
levels of saturated fat than beef and poultry. Many nutritionists prefer this
and suggest it to their clients, as they think the body will fare better if they
consume fish and go slow on other types of meats. Cold water fish, such as
salmon, cod, herring, mackerel, and monkfish, should be on top of your list
because they contain especially high levels of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty
acids and are quite low in calories, usually having 100 calories or less per a
cooked portion of 3 ounces. These are also great for your heart, which means
that you will prepare your body for intense workouts. Your immunity will
also improve, and you will fall sick less often. You will have the chance to
combat illnesses better, and your body will be able to undergo fitness
training for longer periods of time.
Seafood is a very convenient protein source because, in addition to the
benefits listed above, it also happens to contain all nine of the amino acids
that our bodies need to get from food. That same 3-ounce cooked serving
discussed above, which has 100 calories or less for certain types of fish, will
also provide about one-third of the average daily recommended amount of
protein.
Seafood is also a good source of protein because the protein it contains has
less connective tissue than is found in poultry and red meats, so it is easier
for your body to digest. For anyone who has stomach issues, particularly
issues with digesting food, seafood can be an excellent option.
Take note that frying fish will remove most or all of its healthy fat content.
Aim to have around 3 to 5 servings of fish for protein each week. You can
decide to bake it and season it lightly, as well as use the leftovers for a salad.
Soy
Soy is a protein-rich food which, according to The Food and Drug
Administration of the United States of America, can reduce the risk of heart
diseases. Food based on soy is proven to have a small amount of saturated
fats, which can be seen as a reason for the previously mentioned effect of
soy food. Soy food provides the human body with magnesium and protein,
and it helps in lowering cholesterol. Products made of soy, including
edamame, tempeh, tofu, milk, nuts, and many others, are becoming more and
more popular among people with healthy living habits, not just among
vegetarians or vegans. Aside from being an important source of protein, soy
is rich in fiber, vitamin B, and omega-3 fatty acids. Thus, it is a very healthy
alternative for foods that contain large amounts of cholesterol and saturated
fat.
If you are interested in introducing more soy into your diet but are not sure
how to do so, it is actually quite easy: check out the vegetarian or “health
food” section of your local grocery store. Today, there are vegetarian options
for almost every kind of meat or dairy product, including veggie dogs and
burgers, veggie ground round, soy milk and yogurt, and soy cheese. These
products can usually be easily substituted into recipes rather than using the
meat or dairy alternative. Just remember that soy products are not
automatically healthy; as with any foods, check the nutritional label to make
sure that the foods are low in cholesterol, saturated fat, added sugars, and
salt.
While rare, some people will have digestion problems with soy products, and
others may be allergic. If you are going to be introducing soy into your diet,
it is recommended that you do it slowly, in small amounts, so that you are
able to determine whether your body is going to have difficulty digesting it
or if you are allergic.
Poultry
The second best choice for animal-based protein sources is chicken and
turkey. However, both also contain high amounts of saturated fat, so choose
the leanest cuts whenever possible. It also helps if you remove the skin
before you eat it to further reduce your calories from fat. The healthiest ways
to prepare poultry are by grilling, baking, or roasting. Although they are
almost similar in taste, it is best for you to choose turkey over chicken. This
will ensure that you are having a good helping of protein without any excess
fat. It is also cheaper, and you will have a chance to consume it regularly.
You can grill the meat after marinating it in something simple like lemon
juice and fresh herbs, or you can also prepare spicy curries or fresh salads
out of chicken and turkey meat. Just remember not to take away from fast
food chains, and prepare everything at home by yourself, because the preprepared products tend to be very high in salt and added sugars, and possibly
preservatives as well.
Eggs
Although eggs are known for their high cholesterol content, they are still a
great source of lean protein because they cost less and have few calories.
Eggs have been the go-to ingredients for wrestlers since time immemorial.
There are several heavyweight champs who have lean muscles that go
through 40 to 50 eggs a day. They need to consume it in order to build newer
muscles and try and retain the old ones. Cooking eggs is almost effortless as
well, and their versatility will allow you to sneak them into almost any dish
possible. To minimize cholesterol intake, use more egg whites than the yolk.
A good ratio would be to use three egg whites with one yolk. You can
prepare an omelet with this ratio, and your protein intake through eggs is
sorted. Eggs are also consumed by most vegetarians, so you don’t have to
worry about not getting enough protein if you are a vegetarian. Just boil
some, slice it up, add to your fresh salad, and you are sorted.
Mushrooms
To the surprise of many, numerous nutritional attributes that are often found
in different meat products or grains are also found in mushrooms.
Mushrooms are proven to have a low amount of calories and fat, and they
are cholesterol-free. Mushrooms are an important source of vitamin B,
minerals, proteins, and beta-glucans. Another healthy attribute of the
mushrooms is their anti-oxidant nature, along with the ability to strengthen
the immune system. Similar to fruits and vegetables, mushrooms are proven
to be gluten free, which makes them a great choice if you are on a glutenfree diet. As regards the amount of protein that mushrooms contain, 3.5 cups
of mushrooms have 7 grams of protein. However, this amount of mushrooms
has only 56 calories. The amount of protein is not high in comparison to
some other products, such as meat, but with its low number of calories,
mushrooms are proven to be one of the healthiest choices out there.
Beef
Many people are fond of eating red meat, and while red meat is a rich source
of protein, it also contains high amounts of saturated fat. There are many
who will stop eating red meat when trying to lose weight and build lean
muscles in their bodies. In order to enjoy red meat without risking your
health and forsaking your diet, choose the “round” and “loin” cuts or the
“extra lean” ground beef, as these contain the least amount of fat. It is also
best to trim off any visible fat right before you cook it to remove even more
fat calories from your dish. These are the white areas on the meat. They give
your meat its “marbled effect,” and you will know to identify them as soon
as you see them. Use a sharp knife to cut these parts out, and don’t worry if
they are too ingrained; a small amount won’t harm you, and it is the large
portions of the fat that you need to steer clear of.
Dairy
While dairy alone contains high amounts of fat, low-fat dairy, on the other
hand, is a great source of lean protein. Dairy also contains calcium and
vitamin D and has a low amount of saturated fat. Go ahead and add some
Greek yogurt, low-fat cheese, and skim milk into your regular diet. You can
also prepare your food at home if you think buying “diet” labeled dairy is
expensive. All you have to do is to get rid of any cream from the dairy, and it
will turn low fat. You can also make your yogurt low fat by getting rid of the
foam that forms on top. The thicker that yogurt gets, the healthier it is for
you. So try and make these at home as much as possible in order to help turn
them into sustained parts of your diet.
Beans, Peas, and Lentils
Vegetarians rejoice over these plant-based sources of lean protein. They are
extremely tasty and contain loads and loads of protein. In fact, just two small
cups full of cooked lentils are enough for you to have the minimum dose of
proteins required by your body. They also contain high amounts of fiber,
which further helps keep you feeling full for longer periods of time
compared to other foods. There are plenty of ways to prepare beans, peas,
and lentils for a delicious meal. However, if you are planning to eat them
frequently, make sure that the transition is gradual so that your digestive
system can adapt, and you can avoid cramps, bloating, and gas. You can
prepare a succotash out of the beans on alternate days, and lentils are
versatile enough to be added to anything, including salads. Just cook them
and add them to your soup, and as for peas, you can boil them and consume
them as is.
Seitan
Another great choice for vegetarians looking for lean protein sources is
seitan. With its origins in Asia, where it was used by monks, seitan’s healthy
effects are what make it popular among healthy eating people. This meal is
made of the protein portion of wheat, and it contains 36 grams of protein per
half cup. It can be mistaken for meat, and in many cases, vegetarians avoid it
because the texture of seitan may resemble that of real meat. Whether it is
braised in the oven, cooked in a pressure cooker, or baked, seitan is proven
to be a great source of lean protein. For vegetarians who are looking for a
quick but healthy bite, seitan can be a great choice because it is ideal for
sandwiches. Moreover, seitan is also great for soups or any other type of
meal that requires a meat substitute. Seitan is also great for barbecues, so
even when you are with your friends having a barbecue, you are still able to
eat healthily and maintain the protein intake at a needed rate.
Protein Portions
Your gender, age, and physical activity are three important factors that will
help you determine the amount of protein that you should eat every day. For
those who live a sedentary lifestyle (those who have less than 30 minutes of
physical activity each day), the following recommendations are provided by
the USDA:
For Men:
● 19 to 30 years old – 6.5 oz.
● 31 to 50 years old – 6 oz.
● 51 years old and above – 5.5 oz.
For Women:
● 19 to 30 years old – 5.5 oz.
● 31 to 50 years old – 5 oz.
● 51 years old and above – 5 oz.
Each ounce is roughly equivalent to 1 oz. of fish, meat, or poultry, 1 egg, 1
tablespoon of peanut or almond butter, 0.5 oz. of nuts or seeds, or half a cup
of cooked beans.
As for those who live an active lifestyle (more than 30 minutes of exercise a
day), it is generally recommended that you eat about 0.5 to 0.8 grams of
protein for each pound of your body weight.
Chapter 5: Vegetarian or Vegan?
The food you eat is incredibly important, but what if you don’t want to eat
meat? Being vegetarian or vegan doesn’t mean that you can’t lose weight or
eat healthy; it just means there are different ways for you to go about doing
that.
Veganism has a lot of benefits that some believe outweigh the things you’ll
be missing out on. For those of you who don’t know, vegetarian and vegan
are different. Vegetarians generally eat certain dairy products, like eggs,
milk, and butter. Vegans, however, don’t consume any animal products,
meaning no dairy at all.
The reasons that you choose for going vegetarian or vegan are your own.
Some want to try to stop animal cruelty in big industries, and they believe
boycotting animal products is the best way to do so. Others find that going
vegan is more beneficial for their body because of an ailment or sickness that
they have. Still, others find that getting rid of animal products from their diet
just makes their body feel better. Whatever reason you have, it matters.
Changing your lifestyle to vegan or vegetarian has tons of benefits. For
example, many chronic illnesses can be avoided if you avoid a lot of the
meat that you eat. Studies have shown that eating more fruits and vegetables
actually reduces the risk of some cancers, heart disease, and Type-II
Diabetes. Those who are at a higher risk of developing these diseases might
consider changing their diet.
Different Kinds of Vegetarian
You might be unaware, but there are a few different types of vegetarians. In
fact, there are technically four different categories that vegetarians fall under.
Lacto-Ovo Vegetarians are the vegetarians most people think of. They will
not eat any types of meat. Fish, poultry, and any products derived from
animals will not be eaten unless it is part of the dairy family. Eggs and other
dairy products are still eaten.
Lacto Vegetarians are almost identical to Lacto-Ovo vegetarians, but they
won’t eat eggs. They are free to consume any other dairy product, except for
eggs. This is likely due to the fact that eggs can be hatched into baby
chickens, but milk is just a byproduct of cows. They naturally produce this
substance, and drinking milk isn’t cutting off life.
Ovo Vegetarians won’t eat any kinds of meat or dairy products, except for
eggs. This could be because a person is lactose intolerant, or it could just be
a personal preference. Eggs are jam-packed with protein and are easily one
of the best ways to get protein as a vegetarian, along with nuts and other
foods.
Partial Vegetarians have a little more leeway than others. There are also a
few types of partial vegetarians. Generally, they pick and choose what meats
they will and will not eat.
●
Peso-vegetarians (or pescatarians) won’t eat any meat except for
fish. They usually also eat eggs and other dairy products, but meat and
poultry are not on the menu.
●
Pollo-vegetarians won’t eat any meat or fish, but will gladly eat
poultry. They will also usually eat eggs and other dairy products.
It’s interesting that there are so many different types of vegetarians. For
some people, going all the way and becoming a lacto-ovo vegetarian is too
much. Having other options definitely helps. Also, if you want to take baby
steps on your way to becoming a full vegetarian or even a vegan, there are a
few ways to do that. You can slowly cut down the amount of meat you eat
and then the types of meat. From there, you can slowly cut down on the
others as well until you hit the desired end goal.
One Type of Veganism
As for veganism, there’s really only one type. All meat, dairy, and animal
products are cut out of your diet. Some go even further and refuse to wear
anything made from an animal, including wool, leather, and silk. They also
will not use soaps or cosmetics that have animal products in them.
Being vegan can be very beneficial. You won’t have to worry about needing
any fiber in your diet, as vegan diets are typically high in fiber and many
different vitamins and minerals. They are low in saturated fats, vitamin B12,
vitamin D, calcium, and other things, some of which can be raised with
supplements or finding specific foods with those things in them.
Properly Planned Diet
Having a properly planned out diet among both vegans and vegetarians is
incredibly important. If you just start eating foods you know aren’t meats but
only eat certain ones every time, then you could easily lack certain things
that your body needs. Any number of things could occur if that were to
happen, so be sure to plan out a diet with your doctor or someone else who is
a vegan or vegetarian.
The basics of a properly planned diet include having three full meals a day
plus two snacks. These snacks are there to keep your blood sugar up and
give you a boost in energy. If you are someone who generally skips
breakfast, you should start eating a good breakfast. This can prevent you
from eating the wrong foods later in the day.
Portion control is also very important. Just because you are eating a lot of
healthy foods doesn’t mean you can eat as much of that as you want,
especially when trying to lose or maintain your weight.
Specific Nutrients
With any diet, there are some concerns that you won’t get the required
amount of a nutrient that your body needs. The same goes for vegetarians
and vegans. There are plenty of nutrients that naturally occur in the foods
that you are cutting out of your diet, which could lead to issues.
There are eight nutrients you should pay close attention to. If you find that
the foods you eat aren’t giving you the proper amount, look for other foods
that contain these nutrients that you can add to your diet. If that isn’t
possible, talk to your doctor, and see if you should take a supplement.
● Calcium
This nutrient is incredibly important. It will strengthen your teeth and bones,
something that becomes even more necessary the older you get. Most people
think of the calcium that is in milk, but there is calcium in many different
foods. Some of these foods might even surprise you.
There is a lot of calcium in dark greens, such as kale, broccoli, and other
collard greens, as long as you eat a sufficient amount of them. Other
calcium-enriched foods include soy milk, soy yogurt, tofu, juices, and cereal.
They may not naturally have calcium, but calcium has been added in.
● Vitamin D
Just like calcium, vitamin D is important for your bone health. In fact, this
vitamin actually helps you absorb calcium, which makes it even more
important. This will help keep your immune system up and running, thus
preventing you from getting various diseases that you might otherwise
acquire.
The benefits of vitamin D go even further. There has been research that
suggests vitamin D can actually help fight depression. It helps regulate your
mood, which can then, in turn, alleviate some of your more severe
symptoms. It can also help with anxiety, which often comes in conjunction
with depression.
It can also help with weight loss. One study showed that people who were
taking both a calcium supplement and a vitamin D supplement exhibited
more weight loss than those who were taking a placebo pill. These two have
an appetite-suppressing ability. If you have a deficiency in either of these,
supplements can definitely help.
Vitamin D is naturally produced in your skin when it is exposed to sunlight.
Obviously, don’t stand out in the sun for an unsafe amount of time, but
standing outside for 10 to 15 minutes without sunscreen can boost your
body’s vitamin D.
There are a few decent sources of vitamin D in foods. Salmon, for partial
vegetarians, has a decent amount of vitamin D. Egg yolks also have some
vitamin D. Orange juice, yogurt, and cereal are all fortified with vitamin D,
making them not the best candidates for it, but they can still give you some
of this vitamin.
● Vitamin B-12
Vitamin B-12 is crucial for your red blood cells. Having a deficiency of this
vitamin can lead to anemia, which can cause a host of other issues.
Unfortunately, for a vegan or vegetarian, it becomes a little more difficult to
get this vitamin. This vitamin is also crucial for your nervous system health.
It is crucial for keeping your hormones balanced and ensuring that the DNA
synthesis in your body working at the full potential.
Unfortunately, many people with this deficiency have depression and
anxiety, since their hormones are not as regulated as they should be. You can
also become chronically stressed, which can take a huge toll on your body.
Finding ways to boost your vitamin B-12 intake can be incredibly important.
There are many fish that have natural B-12 in them, but for vegans and
vegetarians, there are alternatives. Breakfast cereals are fortified with this
vitamin. Milk and yogurt also have some vitamin B-12. Hard boiled eggs are
also a good choice to get more vitamin B-12. There are also some soy
products fortified with this vitamin.
● Protein
There is a myth that has been going around for a long time about vegans and
protein. Even though it’s been proven wrong, many still believe that vegans
and vegetarians, though to a lesser extent, don’t get enough protein from the
foods they eat. This actually isn’t true. There are tons of alternatives to the
protein in meat.
Protein is a vital part of your body. You need it in order for your body to
repair any damaged tissues or cells. Your hair and nails are made up of
mostly protein, so eating protein can help replenish those as well. It’s a
building block for most things in your body, including your bones, muscles,
cartilage, and skin.
There are many alternate ways to get protein. Numerous vegetables,
including spinach, French beans, peas, and kale, are packed with protein. If
you’re a fan of smoothies, try adding some hemp powder into them. This has
plenty of protein and will help you get through the day. Different kinds of
beans are also full of protein. They are part of the protein food group, so it
makes sense that they would be a go-to ingredient in the world of protein.
Lentils are an interesting seed, but they are great and filled with protein.
They can be added to rice dishes or veggie burgers to have that extra bit of
protein. Quinoa is a wonderful and versatile food that can be used in so
many different ways. Moreover, it has about 9 grams of protein a cup. Tofu
is also a great idea when looking for protein-ridden foods.
Of course, various nuts are always filled with protein. Almonds and almond
butter are great sources of protein. They can be added to any number of
different meals to enhance them and give them an extra crunch. One last
protein-filled food is chickpeas. They can be prepared in various ways,
including hummus. Hummus is delicious, but you should try to use more
actual chickpeas in various dishes. There is less sodium and more protein in
chickpeas than in store-bought hummus.
● Omega-3 Fatty Acids
You might be wondering why you should want something with the word
“fatty: in it. Make no mistake; omega-3 fatty acids are incredibly important
to your diet. There are different types of omega-3s that do different things to
help your body. They are ALA, EPA, and DHA.
ALA is mostly used to add energy to our cells, which keep us going. This
fatty acid is also the building block for EPA and DHA. So, basically, if you
don’t have enough ALA, then you definitely won’t have enough EPA and
DHA. It works in conjunction with the others to help your body in various
ways.
EPA helps with your inflammatory system, which acts when your body gets
hurt. It acts as a natural anti-inflammatory agent, making it harder to become
excessively inflamed, which can be damaging. Your body naturally reacts to
damage by becoming inflamed, which then initiates cells from your immune
system to start healing the damaged area. Some people have inflammation-
related diseases, which can lead to higher rates of inflammation. EPA will
help prevent that.
DHA specifically targets the nervous system, and the brain is surprisingly
filled with DHA. This fatty acid makes up about 15% to 20% of the total fat
in the brain, which is around 60% fat by weight. Research has shown that
children who weren’t exposed to a good amount of DHA tend to have slower
neurological development or cognitive impairment. Adults can also be
affected by the lack of DHA, with the chances of getting something like
Parkinson’s disease much higher than they might normally be.
All three of these omega-3s are important in some way to the natural
functions of the body. So, is there anything else they could help? Depression,
heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, ADHD, and many other things
can be alleviated with an increase in the consumption of omega-3 fatty acids.
What kinds of foods should you be eating, especially if you don’t eat meat?
There are a lot of foods with these in them. Flaxseed actually has the greatest
amount of this particular nutrient out of anything else, making this a great
thing to add to your vegan or vegetarian diet. Walnuts are a close second and
are also an excellent choice in food. Beyond that, there are Brussels sprouts,
cauliflower, soybeans, tofu, winter squash, broccoli, collard greens, spinach,
and much more that are great for a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle.
● Iron
Many women in particular hear about how they need more iron in their diets.
For everyone, iron is very important. Not having enough can lead to anemia,
but having too much can lead to tissue damage. So, is it still really
important? Iron is mainly used to help with oxygen transport. For women,
menstruation will bring your iron levels way down.
As you menstruate, you release a mix of different things, including blood,
which has iron in it. Girls who are just starting menstruation are at a higher
risk of developing anemia because it’s a whole new thing happening to their
body. Making sure to eat iron-rich foods can help prevent anemia during
menstruation for all women.
There are many foods that have a good amount of iron in them. For those
who don’t eat meat, there are dried beans, lentils, peas, fortified cereals, dark
leafy greens, and whole-grain products. Along with this, you should eat
plenty of foods with vitamin C. This will help your body better absorb the
iron you’re consuming.
● Zinc
Zinc is important for keeping your immune system working properly. It
keeps your cells healthy and strong. There are also other health benefits that
come from having a good amount of zinc in your body. This can help boost
your athletic performance, giving you the energy that you need to complete
these things. It can also help with fertility. Zinc is vital in maturing the egg
and helping with fertilization.
Cancer is becoming very prevalent. A zinc deficiency has been found to lead
to a multitude of different cancers, including that in the prostate, breast,
colon, skin, lungs, ovaries, and leukemia. Having a good amount of zinc in
your body can help prevent the occurrence of cancer in your body.
It’s also crucial for your cardiovascular health. If you don’t have enough
zinc, it can lead to high cholesterol and a buildup of fat in your arteries,
which can eventually lead to a heart attack. Zinc is also helpful in your
insulin production, which can help prevent diabetes.
Just like iron, you don’t want to have too much zinc in your body. It can lead
to a ton of different things, including poor immune health and infertility. If
you are thinking about taking zinc supplements, definitely talk to your
doctor first. The foods you’re eating might be giving you more than enough
zinc.
Some foods to look at if you want to raise your zinc levels include nuts, soy
products, whole grains, legumes, and yeast. Unfortunately, most vegetables
aren’t a good source of zinc, which is why many vegans and vegetarians
have a lower zinc level. Therefore, if you really aren’t getting the proper
amount of zinc, talk to your doctor, and see if you should be taking a
supplement.
● Iodine
This one may seem a little weird, but it’s something your body needs.
Having enough iodine in your system can lead to many benefits, some of
which are mental and some are physical. Either way, this will help
immensely with your overall health.
Having a good amount of iodine in your system can improve your cognitive
abilities, which includes things like how you learn, how you complete tasks,
and how you pay attention. Iodine also helps with your thyroid. Many people
who have an iodine deficiency actually have an underactive thyroid. This can
lead to weight gain because metabolism slows right down once your thyroid
stops working hard.
For those of you with hormonal imbalance, maybe you don’t have the right
amount of iodine. Given that it helps regulate your thyroid, which also
regulates your hormones, not having enough iodine can cause your
hormones to start going haywire. Iodine can also add to your energy levels.
If you’ve been feeling especially sluggish, then maybe you have low iodine
levels.
Some people have thinning hair or hair that just doesn’t grow very fast.
Iodine can promote healthy hair growth. This doesn’t mean you should get
too much iodine in your system. Too much iodine is detrimental to your
health, so you should definitely stick with a healthy amount of iodine. It’s
starting to be used as a type of antibiotic against certain pathogens. It’s been
shown to only kill off the bad bacteria and leave the good alone, which is
something other antibiotics have been known to attack.
Iodine offers some protection against radiation. Some doctors use it on
patients who’ve been exposed to too much radiation as a way to treat
radiation poisoning. In the same vein, it offers some protection against
cancer. The more regular your iodine levels are, the less likely you are to
develop cancer. That doesn’t mean you’re completely immune, but the
chances of getting cancer are reduced. Notably, iodine is crucial in
preventing thyroid cancer. Given that iodine is so closely linked to your
thyroid, it makes sense that having an iodine deficiency is more often seen in
those with thyroid cancer than those without.
There are some foods that have a large amount of iodine. The vegan and
vegetarian ones include dried seaweed, yogurt, eggs, strawberries,
cranberries, and other sea vegetables. These foods, when eaten regularly, will
keep your iodine levels in the appropriate zone.
Being vegan or vegetarian doesn’t mean you’re automatically deficient in the
nutrients you need. It’s easy to find natural ways to get certain nutrients. It
doesn’t matter what your diet is; there are always ways to find food
alternatives to get the nutrients you need for a healthy body.
It Can’t Slow You Down
Choosing a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle doesn’t mean you’ll lose out on
things that you love. In fact, you might realize that this is the lifestyle you’ve
been missing this whole time. If you have any medical condition, going
vegan or vegetarian might be able to help. The focus on vegetables, fruits,
and other healthy options might be exactly what your body needs to feel
better.
You’ll still be able to do everything that everyone else can do. You might not
eat the same foods, but you will be able to work out, write, play, work, watch
TV, and do everything else you can imagine. You might even notice that you
have more energy than you did before to do those things. In the end, it’s your
choice, and you should stick with it.
Chapter 6: Meal Frequency
At this point, you should fully be aware that weight loss highly depends on
the amount of calories you consume versus the amount you burn off on a
regular basis. You also know that lean protein is highly important for weight
loss and for gaining lean muscle mass.
Another reason why you should include lean protein in each meal is the fact
that it has the highest thermic effect among the three macro-nutrients, which
means it provides the easiest calories to burn off.
Now the next question is this: how often should you eat in a day?
The Benefit of Frequent Small Meals
Time and again, many fitness and nutrition experts stress the advantages of
eating five to six small meals instead of two to three large meals each day.
The main reason is that whenever you eat a small meal, your own body will
help you expend a certain percentage of the calories during the digestion and
absorption process.
On the other hand, if you eat large amounts of food at an infrequent and
erratic rate, your metabolism will drop because the body will start to
“preserve” its energy stores because it believes that you are starving in
between meals. Even worse, with your body in this state, it will begin to
break down the muscle tissues for energy use.
Large meals also have the effect of over-burdening your digestive system.
Our bodies were designed to graze rather than to eat large amounts all at
once, and when we introduce too much food into our system at a time, then
our digestive processes are not able to keep up. In addition to a decrease in
energy, this can also cause bloating and discomfort, which does not exactly
encourage us to participate in physical activity.
There are many times when you’ll go through the day and realize that you
didn’t stop and eat at any point. Generally, this means you’ll end up having a
big dinner because you’re hungry. This does a lot more harm than good. If
you eat small snacks throughout the day, it will actually help stop you from
eating a huge meal. There will already be something in your stomach, so you
won’t be as hungry as you would if you hadn’t eaten anything. This will
cause you to have energy throughout the day and give you the ability to
easily go and work out after your day at work.
Frequent small meals also help keep your blood sugar levels stable all day
long. Because of this, insulin is not released as often, which keeps your
insulin levels stable as well. Compare this with eating three large meals each
day, which causes your blood sugar to increase instantly and then crash later
on, thus triggering food cravings.
Adopting the approach of eating several small meals throughout the day can
also help with your body’s fatty acid levels: if you eat small amounts
throughout the day, your fatty acid levels will remain much more stable,
which gives your body a more consistent source of these vital components.
In addition to ensuring a more consistent energy source, peaks and dips in
fatty acids have been associated with a risk of heart disease, so avoiding
those ups and downs will lower that risk.
Another advantage to eating smaller meals more frequently is that it tends to
encourage people to eat a greater variety of foods, which in turns makes it
more likely that they are ingesting all of the necessary vitamins and
minerals. People who follow the “three square meals” routine, on the other
hand, tend to repeat the same types of meals over and over again, which
reduces the likelihood of getting all of the essential nutrients.
Thus, it is vital to adopt the five- to six-meal strategy in order to build lean
muscles. There are several fitness experts and also celebrities who vouch for
this theory’s effectiveness in practically giving positive results. You might
have your doubts initially, especially if someone says you need to eat two
extra meals a day to lose weight, but trust me, you will understand how
beneficial it is once you start on it.
The potential disadvantage of eating smaller meals more frequently is that
you may be more likely to turn to pre-packaged snacks. Instead of buying
your snacks throughout the day, try to make your own ahead of time. This
will help you focus on healthier and more balanced snacks and avoid
commercially prepared snacks that tend to be high in fat, salt, and sugar.
In order to maximize the benefits of the concept of frequent small meals,
create a meal plan with meals that are spaced at about three hours apart. This
means you should eat something as soon as you get up in the morning to
pump up your metabolism instantly. There are many studies that show
skipping breakfast causes weight gain. This is primarily caused by binge
eating because the body has been “starved” earlier in the day.
To know how many calories you should consume per meal, simply divide
the total number of calories that your body requires (or your target amount of
calories) by 6. For example, if you plan to eat 2500 calories per day, then
each of your six meals should be around 400 calories. For those who want to
lose weight as quickly as possible, then it is recommended that you limit
each meal to 300 to 600 calories. You may want to focus more of your
calories on the first meal of the day and less on the last meal before bedtime,
as your body requires additional energy in the morning to get going after a
night’s rest.
But remember, you are only splitting your entire day’s meal into five or six
portions while not having regular portions. You will end up getting fatter
than you were in the beginning. So don’t try and incorporate everything into
your diet, and come up with a good meal plan that helps you attain and
maintain a lean and muscular body.
A six-meal daily eating plan can vary drastically in content, and you can
create one that incorporates many different foods that you enjoy. Here is a
sample of what such a plan might look like.
Breakfast: 1 ½ cups of plain, non-fat yogurt with 1 cup of sliced berries, six
almonds, and 1 cup of unsweetened whole-grain cereal, or one hard-boiled
egg with two slices of whole-grain toast, ½ cup of orange juice, and 1
teaspoon of peanut butter (or another even healthier type of nut butter, such
as almond butter).
Mid-morning Snack: whole wheat bagel with 1 ounce of low-fat cheese and
a small apple, or a smoothie made with a small banana, ¼ an avocado, ¾ cup
of fresh pineapple, and 1 cup of non-fat milk.
Lunch: turkey wrap with 2 ounces of turkey on a 6-inch, whole wheat tortilla
with lettuce, mustard, 1 cup of vegetable soup, and an individually
portioned-size container of non-fat yogurt. You could also try 3 ounces of
grilled salmon with 2 cups of mixed greens, 3 non-fat whole-grain crackers,
and 2 tablespoons of low-fat salad dressing.
Mid-afternoon Snack: a 6-inch whole-wheat pita with ¼ cup of hummus and
1 cup of sliced celery sticks and carrots. Or try a ¼ cup of raisins mixed with
¼ cup of unsalted mixed nuts.
Dinner: You could make some shrimp kebabs, with 3 ounces of shrimp and 1
cup of mixed peppers, onions, and mushrooms, served with 1 cup of mixed
greens with 1 tablespoon of low-fat dressing and ½ cup of brown rice. Or
you could prepare 3 ounces of beef tenderloin served with one small, plain
baked potato and 1 cup of steamed broccoli.
Nighttime Snack: 1 ½ cups of unsweetened whole-grain cereal served with 1
cup of non-fat milk and a small banana, or 6 cups of air-popped popcorn (no
butter!) mixed with 30 peanuts.
There are many foods that would fit in well with a meal plan that involves
six small meals throughout the day, which means that you have the
opportunity to create a varied and delicious meal plan for yourself. Keep in
mind the various nutritional components that are important for you to be
taking in on a daily basis and avoid pre-packaged, commercial products as
much as possible. If you do all of this, you will be well on your way to
achieving a daily nutritional plan that is delicious and nutritious and that will
help you achieve lean muscle mass.
Chapter 7: Fitness Nutrition Tips
Fitness nutrition is all about eating organic, whole foods and avoiding
processed foods as much as possible. It highlights the importance of
choosing your nutrition sources wisely by picking a lean protein, whole
carbohydrates, and unprocessed monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats
so that you can lose weight and build lean muscles efficiently.
To help you transition from your old and unhealthy diet to an effective
fitness-focused diet, here are valuable tips and habits that you can start
implementing in your lifestyle immediately.
Create Meal Plans for the Whole Week
Make it a habit of planning your meals ahead of time, so that you will not
run out of meal ideas and end up eating unhealthy foods. Keep a notebook
where you can start jotting down your weekly meal plans, and create a
template that will help keep your calories in check. It also helps to record all
of your meal plans because you can use any set whenever you don't have the
time to create a new one. It is important that you remain as prepared as
possible in advance in order to remain on schedule every single day. When
you are not prepared, you will be tempted to eat out; this will only harm your
diet plan.
Another advantage of creating meal plans is that will encourage you to eat a
wider variety of foods rather than just relying on what is already in your
cupboards. If you come up with meal ideas ahead of time and go out and buy
the necessary ingredients, you will be able to get more creative with your
meal options. With greater variety in your diet, the more likely you are to get
all of the vitamins and minerals that your body needs. It will also make you
more likely to stick to the plan because you will not get bored as quickly or
easily.
Hunt For Reliable Sources of Nutritious Whole and Organic Foods in
Your Area
Oftentimes, there are cheap and easily accessible food stores and markets in
your area that you have not explored yet. On a free weekend, go out on an
adventure to search for places that sell affordable yet high-quality fresh cold
water fish, whole grains, and other carb sources and healthy fats. Make sure
to take note of the prices and availability of these ingredients; you will find
these notes to be very useful as you create your meal plan.
Your local farmer’s market is a great place to start, as it will have a variety of
foods for you to purchase and will also show you the local vendors from
whom you can buy your food even when the farmer’s market is not open or
available. You might also want to consider local orchards and farms that
often sell their products at their location or in local grocery stores.
In addition to helping you ensure that you are eating healthily and getting the
necessary nutrients for your body, eating more locally will also benefit your
community and the environment. It is a win-win situation for everyone
involved.
Store Healthy, Whole Foods in Your Pantry and Throw Out Processed
Foods Filled with Preservatives
At this very moment, open up a box, throw in all of the junk food and other
processed meals in your home, and donate them to a local shelter. Next,
create a list of your staple foods, including snacks, and then brainstorm for
healthy alternatives to them. For instance, if you enjoy eating chocolate chip
cookies every afternoon, you can replace them with whole wheat oatmeal
cookies. If you are obsessed with soft drinks, replace them with soda water.
If you love potato chips, substitute them with a bag of kale chips or sweet
potato crisps.
There will also be a healthier and more natural alternative to your favorite
snacks, which will be better sources of the essential vitamins and minerals
and will almost certainly be lower in fats, sugars, and salt. Pre-packaged and
commercially prepared foods are rarely the best option in terms of
healthiness or nutrition, and the sooner that you remove these items from
your pantry and your diet and start eating healthy and nutritious foods, the
sooner that you will start to achieve your goal of increasing your lean muscle
mass and being fit.
Be Conscious of the Calorie Content of Your Foods
Now that you know the impact of calories on your weight, you should start
to become aware of the calorie content of the food that you eat. However, it
might be inconvenient to whip out a calculator every time you have a meal,
what you can do instead is to be more conscious of your portions and food
choices. Try to imagine the foods in grams, and then remind yourself that
proteins and carbohydrates have 4 calories per gram, whereas fats have 9
calories per gram. In this sense, you are more likely to choose baked salmon
with a side of vegetables instead of a cheeseburger and some fries whenever
you eat out.
There are many applications and programs that will make it easy for you to
keep track of the calories that you are consuming and how many you are
burning. These programs have databases that include the caloric content of
most foods and the calories burned for different exercises, but you can also
add the information manually most of the time. Once you start to keep track
of the calories that you are eating and which foods are better or worse in
terms of calories, you will be more inherently able to assess foods and
determine whether or not they fit into your diet.
Stay Away from Refined Oils, High Fructose, and Trans Fats No Matter
What
Whenever a food product includes the words “hydrogenated,” “partially
hydrogenated,” “trans fats,” and “fructose,” stay away from it whenever
possible. Do your best to prepare meals at home, and pack them for lunch
instead of buying from a store or restaurant, as these places tend to have
foods containing unhealthy oils (they are more cost-effective, after all). For
snacks on the go, keep an apple, an orange, a banana, or a small bag of trail
mix in your bag, and you will never have to eat fast foods.
Making your foods from scratch and using fresh ingredients – including
fruits, vegetables, meats, and grains – will automatically ensure that you are
avoiding these items because you will be aware of what you are putting into
the dishes that you make or the snacks that you prepare. This will also allow
you to be more accurate when you are keeping track of the calories that you
ingest because you will be able to include the ingredients rather than guess at
the calorie content of pre-packaged foods that do not always include a
nutritional label.
This is another advantage of shopping at your local farmer’s market; often,
even the pre-packaged products sold at this type of location are a healthier
alternative than the store-bought kind. Plus, you will be able to speak
directly to the producers of the food to find out what ingredients are
included, which will give you a better idea of the caloric content.
Have One Cheat Day per Week
This must sound like a relief to many of you, but did you know that a cheat
meal will actually help you with your weight loss goal?
While you do need to eat less than what you burn off every day in order to
see significant weight loss, you will eventually hit a plateau wherein you
cannot seem to drop any more weight.
Unfortunately, lowering your daily calorie intake even more will only cause
you to lose the lean muscles that you have been working so hard to gain.
This is caused by a hormone in the body called leptin. Low leptin levels will
increase cortisol production and lead to muscle loss, a low metabolic rate,
and an increase in appetite.
Now this is where your cheat day comes in. A “cheat day,” which is the
layman's term for infrequent overfeeding, is when you can eat whatever you
want without counting calories. This will increase your leptin levels and
bring them back to normal. During a typical cheat day, it is recommended
that you add approximately 1000 calories more to your usual daily calorie
limit. For example, if you have limited yourself to 1500 calories a day for 6
days a week, your cheat day should have 2500 calories. However, keep in
mind that you should still stay away from soft drinks and other foods and
beverages that are high in fructose because these pack a lot of calories
without really giving you that satisfied feeling of eating.
You should also try and avoid eating trans fats on your cheat day as much as
possible, because aside from the weight loss issue, trans fats can cause
serious health problems. The important part of a cheat day for weight loss
and muscle development is that you are not worrying as much about the
amount of calories that you are eating, but you should still be paying
attention to the types and quality of food that you are consuming if you
really want to give your body the best health benefits possible.
Drink Tea to Help You Lose Weight
Hot tea, especially green, white, and oolong teas, is known to help promote
weight loss because of the presence of caffeine, catechins, and polyphenols
in them. These are substances that stimulate thermogenesis, which is a
bodily process that converts fat to heat. This triggers an increased metabolic
rate, enabling you to burn even more fat as you undergo physical activity.
Furthermore, green and oolong teas help slow down the digestion of
carbohydrates, thus keeping blood sugar levels stable and letting you absorb
fewer calories with each meal. Include at least 3 cups of tea into your diet
every day to maximize these benefits.
Always remember, though, that you need to keep track of anything that you
are putting into your tea, either as a sweetener or in terms of milk products.
If you are sweetening your tea with any kind of sugar, including honey,
agave, or unrefined sugar, those do have a caloric content and will need to be
included in your calorie count for the day. The same goes when you happen
to add milk to your tea – remember to include the calories in your daily
count. Each individual cup of tea may add minimal calories, depending on
how much milk and/or sweetener that you use, but the calories can add up if
you are having several cups per day.
Chapter 8: Calculating Your Daily Calorie Needs
to Lose Weight
For our example on calculating your daily calorie needs, we are going to
calculate calories and set a 10 lb weight loss goal using stats for the average
American male:
Height: 69.3" OR 5 feet 9 inches
Weight: 195.5 lbs
Age: 25 years
Goal: Lose 10 lbs
And for the average American female:
Height: 63.8” or 5 feet 3.8 inches
Weight: 166.2 lbs
Age: 25 years
Goal: lose 10 lbs
BMR Formula
Harris–Benedict Formula
As a reminder, the BMR is the amount of energy required for a person’s
body to function. To calculate this, we use the current weight (195.5lbs),
height in inches (69.3”), and age (25). Below are the calculations following
the Harris–Benedict formula:
Male: 66 + (6.3 x body weight in pounds) + (12.9 x height in inches) – (6.8 x
age in years)
= 66 + (6.3 x 195.5) + (12.9 x 69.3) - (6.8 x 25)
= 66 + 1,231.65 + 893.97 - 170
= 2,021.62 Calories Needed
Female: 655 + (4.3 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) – (4.7 x
age in years)
= 655 + (4.3 x 166.2) + (4.7 x 63.8) – (4.7 x 25)
= 655 + 714.66 + 299.86 – 117.5
= 1552.02 Calories Needed
Mifflin St. Jeor Formula
Male: (10 x weight in kg) + (6.25 x height in cm) – (5 x age in years) + 5
= (10 x 88.7 kg) + (6.25 x 176) – (5 x 25) + 5
= 887 + 1100 – 125 + 5
= 1,867 Calories Needed
Female: (10 x weight in kg) + (6.25 x height in cm) – (5 x age in years) –
161
= (10 x 75.39) + (6.25 x 162.05) – (5 x 25) – 161
= 753.9 + 1012.81 – 125 – 161
= 1480.71 Calories Needed
Depending on which formula you choose to use – which is likely best
determined by consulting with your doctor – the man would need to ingest
between 1867 and 2021 calories per day, whereas the woman would need to
ingest between 1480 and 1552 calories per day.
Physical Activity
For this example, we will keep it simple and focus on two main activities a
person may complete in a given day: walking and exercising.
Walking: Based on a pedometer study completed in 2003, the average
American walks 5,117 steps in a day, which is equal to 30 to 40 minutes of
walking.
30 Minutes of walking = 228 Calories Burned for a 25-year-old male who
weighs 195.5 pounds and is walking 4 miles per hour. For a 25-year-old
female who weighs 166.2 pounds and is walking the same speed, she will
burn 194 calories per hour.
Exercising: The general average amount of calories burned for exercises,
such as fast walking, aerobics, fast biking, and running, in an hour is 419.
1 Hour of general exercise = 419 Calories Burned
Based on these two activities, the total number of calories required is:
Male: 228 + 419
= 647 Calories Needed
Female: 194 + 419
= 613 Calories Needed
Thermic Effect of Food
As a reminder, the thermic effect of food is the amount of energy that the
body utilizes in order to digest the food that you consumed. To calculate this,
we use the total number of calories consumed within a day multiplied by 10
percent. For our sample, we use the same calories from the Harris–Benedict
BMR calculation, 2,021.62 for the man or 1,552.02 for the woman, or the
Mifflin St. Jeor calculation, 1,867 for the man or 1,480.71 for the woman.
Male:
2,022.62 x .10
= 202.26 Calories Needed
Or 1,867 x .10
= 1.87 Calories Needed
Female:
1,552.02 x .10
= 155.20 Calories Needed
Or 1,480.71 x .10
= 148.07 Calories Needed
Total Calories Required
Based on the three completed calculations, the total number of calories per
day required in our example is BMR + Physical Activity + Thermic Effect of
Food
Male:
2,021.62 + 647 + 202.16
= 2,747.78 Calories Needed
Or 1,867 + 647 + 187
= 2,701 Calories Needed
Female:
1,552.02 + 613 + 155.20
= 2,320.22 Calories Needed
Or 1,480.71 + 613 + 148.07
= 2,241.78
As you can see, after you consider the various calculations to be made, the
numbers end up being quite close, regardless of the formula used. So the
man would need to ingest somewhere around 2,700 to 2,750 calories per day
in order to maintain his weight, whereas the woman would need to take in
between 2,240 and 2,320 calories per day in order to maintain her weight.
Calorie Guideline to Lose Weight
For our example, the goal is to lose 10 lbs of body weight. As mentioned
earlier, to achieve a 1lb weight loss, an additional 3,500 calories need to be
burned in a week by reducing your portions, increasing your physical
activity, or both; this is the only way to naturally change a pound of fat into
energy and lose weight.
A simple guideline to follow is to reduce your calorie intake by at least 500
and no more than 1000 calories below your total daily required calories.
Reducing your daily calorie intake by 500 each day for a week equates to a 1
lb loss in body weight per week. Therefore, to lose 10 lbs, calories will need
to be reduced by 500 each day for 10 weeks.
Always keep in mind that even if you have done all of the proper
calculations and are determining your required caloric intake to lose weight,
your body does require a minimum amount of calories to carry out its basic
functions. This is different from the amount of calories required to maintain
your weight; this minimum amount is what your body absolutely cannot do
without if it is to keep up with the necessary functions.
For women, that minimum amount is 1,200 calories; for men, it is 1,500
calories. So if, as a woman, your daily caloric intake would fall below 1,200
calories, if you were aiming to lose 1 lb per week, you should absolutely
consult with your doctor before deciding to start a diet where you will be
taking in less than that basic minimum amount.
If you do not make sure to eat the basic minimum requirement, your body
will go into starvation mode, where it starts to break down your stored body
fat for energy. Once it runs out of stored body fat, other body tissues will be
broken down, and your bodily functions will start to break down.
If your body does not get the calories that it needs for its basic functions, you
will start to experience nausea, fatigue, dizziness, and malnutrition. Diets of
lower than 800 calories per day have been associated with the development
of gallstones. In addition, when your body starts to break down bodily
tissues for energy, which will include lean muscle mass, it will defeat the
purpose of starting this reduced calorie diet in the first place. The
disadvantages of reducing your caloric intake beyond the minimum
requirement are far, far greater than the advantages.
Final Reminders
To lose weight as quickly as possible, each meal should be limited to
between 300 and 600 calories. Carbohydrate intake should fall within 100 to
150 grams each day. To increase and speed up weight loss, carbohydrates
can be limited to the 50- to 100-gram range reach day, or to really rev up
your metabolic rate, go with 20 to 50 grams of carbohydrates per day. Those
living an active lifestyle (more than 30 minutes of exercise a day) will need
to eat about 0.5 to 0.8 grams of protein for each pound of body weight.
Chapter 9: Best Upper Body Workouts for Lean
Muscles
Remember that you need to supplement your diet with an exercise regime
that will allow you to build lean muscles. You cannot rely on diet alone, as
your body needs to work out in order to shape your muscles. For this, you
can undertake upper body workouts that are beneficial to the muscles present
in your chest, shoulders, forearms, biceps, triceps, and upper back.
The main muscles, or muscle groups, that you will want to focus on in this
area are the deltoids, pectorals, trapezius (also known as traps), latissimus
dorsi (also known as lats), triceps, and biceps. The deltoids and pectorals are
found in your chest, the trapezius and lats in your upper and middle back,
and the triceps and biceps, of course, in your arms.
We will look at exercises that target these specific areas and make sure that
you attain a thorough burn each time. These exercises are a combination of
equipment-based and non-equipment-based exercises, and you will reap the
benefits of both once you start performing these.
There is also a segment on CrossFit training as it will help your body to
indulge in some high-intensity interval training.
Let us start.
Chest Exercises
Before you start with any of these, you need to warm up. For this, you can
take up 30 minutes of cardio, such as running or jumping, and get your body
warmed up to start with the exercise routines.
Barbell Bench Press
Barbell lifts allow you to generate the most power, which means that this
bench press will let you move the most weight. Barbells are easier to control
than dumbbells and thus serve as a great starting point if you are new to
these kinds of exercises.
How to perform: Lie on the bench, and take hold of the barbell in the starting
position. Lift the barbell, and bring it down slowly, while breathing in, until
the bar touches in the middle of your chest. After pausing briefly, push the
bar back to the starting position while breathing out.
Breathing is very important when doing this exercise. It gives your body
enough energy to bring down and lift it back up. If you don’t properly
breathe, there’s a good chance you could drop the bar on yourself.
Be sure to have a spotter, especially if this is your first time doing it or you
are lifting a heavy weight. If there isn’t anyone available, then make sure to
lift a lower weight and not push it. Not having a spotter can cause a lot of
issues, especially if you can’t lift the weight back up. You should definitely
know exactly how to do this workout before you attempt it. Not knowing
how could result in you doing this incorrectly and hurting yourself or worse.
Dumbbell Bench Press
This exercise is great for all those trying to firm up their chest muscles. You
will have positive results in no time. Dumbbells allow for more of a workout
than barbells because dumbbells require each side of your body to work
independently, which makes your stabilizer muscles work harder. This also
means that not only does your chest get a workout, but so does your back,
making this a great double-whammy workout.
How to perform: To perform this exercise, lie on the bench, and hold
dumbbells (weight depends on your body type and strength) next to your
chest. Next, turn them around slowly, such that your clenched fingers now
face you. Slowly raise them upwards; you must feel the pressure on your
chest. Hold for a couple of seconds before lowering it again and getting into
the initial position.
Bent-Arm Barbell Pullovers
This exercise is especially great for building up your lats. It works the lats
much better than the straight-arm barbell pullover because it works
completely different muscles. This exercise still works some other muscles,
like the pecs, triceps, and deltoids, but the main focus is on the lats.
How to perform: Lie on a flat bench, holding a barbell shoulder-width apart
with your arms at a 90-degree angle from your body. Make sure that the
barbell is held directly over your chest, with a bend in your arms. With your
arms locked in the bent position, lower the weight slowly backward behind
your head. Stop moving backward once you feel a stretch in your chest.
Bring the barbell back up to the starting position using the same arching
movement.
Dumbbell Chest Flyes
After doing this one a few times, you’ll feel it in your chest. This exercise
specifically strengthens your chest muscles along with your shoulders. You
should do this one slowly, and make sure to not let the dumbbells touch at
the top of the exercise. This not only adds to the exercise to make it harder,
but it also forces you not to take too long of a pause.
How to perform: Lie on a flat bench with a dumbbell in each of your hands.
Bring your arms up over you, shoulder-width apart, with your palms facing
each other. Keeping a slight bend in your elbow, start to lower your arms in a
wide arc to each side until you feel a stretching in your chest. Then bring
your arms back up to the starting position, squeezing your chest muscles
while you do it. Remember that this exercise’s movement occurs through the
shoulder joint, so keep the rest of your arm stationary.
What’s great about this exercise is you can actually do it on either an
inclined bench or a flat bench. This changes some of the muscles that you’re
working, so you can easily get two workouts just by changing the position of
the bench.
Weighted Push Up
The push-up is a great exercise for your back and is one that will help in
strengthening your chest muscles as well. Don’t try this if you don’t already
have some upper body and back strength. There’s a very good chance you
could hurt yourself in the process. You have to modify the regular push up in
order to make it beneficial for your chest, and here is how.
How to perform: Start by getting into the push-up plank position, and bring
your hands closer, such that there is a 5-inch distance between them. Ask
someone to place a weight on your upper back. Remember that the weight
needs to be stable and something that puts equal pressure all over your back.
Slowly lower your body and get perform the regular push up. Do as many
reps as is comfortable.
It’s pretty interesting that you can modify a regular push up to make it more
of a muscle workout. It’s a simple exercise that does require another person,
but it can really send your muscle training above and beyond.
Low Cable Crossover
This exercise requires you to use a double cable pulley machine, which can
be found in most gyms. It targets your deltoids and chest muscles at the same
time, making it a great exercise to do when trying to build those muscles.
How to perform: Place the pulleys in the low position, and take one handle
in each hand. Step forward so that the tension increases in the pulley. Turn
your hands so that the palms face forward, keeping your hands below your
waist and your arms straight. Bring your hands upward to the mid-line of
your body while bending your arms slightly. At the highest point, your hands
will be in front of your chest with your palms up. Then, bring your arms
back down to the starting position.
Shoulder Exercises
Shoulder muscles need to be trained in order for you to have firm and goodlooking shoulders. It can also help with any shoulder muscle pain that you
may have. This could come from just having weak shoulders, which is why
you would want to strengthen them in any way you could. Here are four
exercises that will help you attain lean muscles in no time.
Seated Shoulder Press
This exercise looks extremely simple but gives your shoulders a good
workout. It affects all the muscles in your shoulders, and you will start to
feel the burn in no time. After doing this exercise consistently, you’ll notice
that you are more balanced in your upper body. You might even stand a little
straighter because your shoulders have more muscle to them.
How to perform: Start by sitting on a chair, which should curve back a bit.
Now hold dumbbells in both hands (weight of your choice), and hold them
next to your shoulders. You need to have your fingers facing the other way.
Now raise them up, and touch the two dumbbells together. Hold the position
for a couple of seconds, and then the dumbbells them again, such that they
are on par with your shoulder. Continue for 5 to 10 minutes or as per your
convenience.
Battle Ropes
This exercise is best for those looking to strengthen their front deltoids. You
will have strong deltoids if you perform these. It’s also kind of fun to do,
which is something that you should always look for in a workout. It’s a good
way to spice up your usual workouts and can be done at home if you wish.
How to perform: To start, buy yourself good quality battle ropes. Stand
straight with the ropes in your hand and then squat, such that your butt is
parallel to the floor. Now start moving the ropes up and down with full force.
Remember to control the ropes; they should not control you. Do this for 5 to
10 minutes or as long as is comfortable.
Upright Barbell Row
The upright barbell row works quite a few muscles in your back, as well as
your side and your deltoid. As you lift up, the muscle called serratus
anterior is worked. It goes from your armpit down and is a good muscle to
strengthen.
How to perform: Grab the barbell with an overhand grip, with your arms
slightly less than shoulder width apart. Rest the bar on top of your thighs,
with your arms extended and a very slight bend in your elbows. Keep your
back straight. While exhaling, raise your elbows up and to the side, and use
your shoulders to lift the bar. Keep the bar as close to your body as you can.
Lift the bar until it almost reaches your chin, then lower the bar down slowly
while inhaling. Remember that your elbows drive the motion in this exercise,
and they should always be higher in the air than your forearms. Your torso
must remain stationary for the whole exercise.
Side Lateral Raise
The side lateral raise is a great way to work your deltoids and other shoulder
muscles. With strong shoulders comes less chances of hurting yourself when
carrying heavy objects or doing anything that requires some shoulder
movement. This can easily be done at home if you have a few dumbbells
sitting around.
How to perform: Stand straight with the one dumbbell in each hand and your
arms at your side, palms facing in. While exhaling, lift the dumbbells to your
side while keeping a slight bend in your elbows and your hands tilted
slightly forward. Keep raising your arms until they are parallel to the floor.
Pause for a second, and then lower the dumbbells back to the starting
position while inhaling.
Forearm Exercises
The forearm is a difficult area to train, and most people don’t concentrate on
it. But you need to consider each and every part of your body when you
choose to build lean muscles. You might not realize it, but having strong
forearms means you’ll have a stronger grip. This is especially important in
the law enforcement field, as those without a strong grip could easily lose
their lives if they can’t hold on to a suspect. It’s also important for working
out, because a stronger grip means you’ll be able to hold on to weights much
better. Not to mention that your forearms are the first thing many people see
when they look at your arms, so you want them to look good. Let us look at
a couple of effective forearm exercises that will help you build lean muscles
in no time.
Plate Pinch
This is probably the best forearm exercise for you as it affects the forearm
and helps you attain toned forearms without much effort. Be sure to start off
with a lower weight, and slowly make your way up as you do this more and
more. You don’t want to hurt yourself right when you start to make a
difference in your forearm strength.
How to perform: Start by holding two pinch plates that have been joined
together. You can choose the weight that is apt for you. You can add more if
you need to have a better burn. Hold it for 30 seconds, and then move to the
other arm. Do three sets. It is best to do this after your shoulder exercises.
Barbell Hold
Performing the barbell hold is a great way to train your forearm muscles.
Given that you have to focus on holding it for as long as possible, gravity
plays a huge part, making this a very effective forearm exercise. Here is how
you can do it.
How to perform: Start by choosing a weight of your choice. The barbell
needs to have a thick rod for easy grip. Now stand in front of it, lift it from
the stand, lower it back down, and allow your arms to stay normal. Hold for
30 seconds, and place it back. Do three reps.
Farmers Walk
This seems like a super simple workout. All you do is hold some weights in
your hands and walk around. You shouldn’t do it for longer than a minute,
but even something like 30 seconds will be a pretty good exercise. Of
course, you need to make sure to have dumbbells that you are able to carry
around for an extended period of time. Don’t start with 45 pounds if you
have little to no arm muscle, as you’ll only end up hurting yourself.
How to perform: Pick up a dumbbell in each hand. With a straight back and
your arms hanging down at your side, keep the dumbbells at your side. Then
start to walk back and forth. This exercise seems to be very simple, but what
makes it a great workout is the time that you put into it: it is recommended to
start with 30 seconds and work your way up. Your forearms and other
muscles will start to burn faster than you might think.
Biceps Exercises
For all that who not aware of what biceps are, they are the three muscles that
lie between the shoulders and the elbows. This is a problem area for many
people as they do not lift heavy weights on a regular basis and end up having
a lot of fat built up. These are also the muscles that are commonly used when
lifting heavy objects. If you don’t have strong biceps, you might not be able
to carry all that much and definitely not for long periods of time. Here are
two effective exercises to help you attain toned biceps.
Chin Ups
Chin ups are exercises that you perform in order to firm up your bicep
muscles, and this particular exercise affects all three of the muscles involved,
viz. the biceps brachia, the brachialis, and the brachioradialis. These are
similar to pull ups, but they have many differences. A pull up has a much
wider grip than a chin up and also uses different muscles. Generally, with a
pull up, you want to get up above the bar a little higher than just your chin.
However, with a chin up, you need only touch your chin to the bar in order
to succeed. These are great to quickly build up your biceps.
How to perform: Start by finding a tall enough bar that helps you pull
yourself up fully. Now hold it tightly by keeping a 12-inch gap between your
hands, and pull yourself up such that your chin touches the bar. Lower
yourself down again. One rule of thumb is to always follow the 2:2 motion
for your biceps. So for every 2 seconds you spend in the chin-up position,
you need to spend 2 seconds in the chin down position. Repeat as many
times as is comfortable.
Barbell Curls
This exercise is mainly for the biceps brachia, but you will feel the burn in
your forearms and the rest of your biceps as well. This is a very effective
exercise and can make a difference in all of your arm rather than just your
biceps, which makes this a great exercise.
How to perform: Start by choosing a heavy enough barbell. Now stand
straight, and hold it in your hands. Don’t hold it like you normally do; your
thumbs should be on top. Now pull it up by curling your arms, and make
sure the rod touches your chin. Hold the upward pose for 2 seconds and the
downward pose for 2 seconds. Continue for as long as is comfortable.
Dumbbell Curls
This exercise is similar to barbell curls, but of course uses dumbbells instead
of a barbell. Try to keep the dumbbells level as you bring them up and then
back down. This will make this exercise the most effective. It’s a great
alternative to the barbell curl if you would rather use dumbbells.
How to perform: Standing straight, take a dumbbell in each hand at arm’s
length. With your elbows kept close to your torso, rotate the palms of your
hands until they face forward. Keep your upper arms fixed, and curl the
weight upward, contracting your biceps. Make sure to exhale during this
part. Keep raising the weights until the dumbbells are aligned with your
shoulder, and you have fully contracted your biceps. Hold this position for a
brief pause, then while inhaling slowly, lower the dumbbells back down.
Triceps Exercises
Triceps are the muscles on the back of your arms between your shoulder and
elbow. The triceps are a set of three muscles that are known as the lateral
head, the medial head, and the long head. You must perform exercises that
will affect all three in order to build lean triceps. Having stronger triceps
means you’ll have more shoulder stability, which in turn makes it so you are
able to do a lot more. Let us look at a couple of the triceps exercises that will
give you the best results.
Dips
Dips are great for both men and women looking to work on their triceps.
Having toned triceps helps your hands look muscular and healthy. You will
not need any equipment to perform these, and they can be easily done at
home. However, there are pieces of equipment at a gym that will allow you
to do dips. This is generally attached to a machine where you can also do
pull ups. Often, this machine has a seat to help assist you with pull ups and
dips, but it can be moved out of the way if you don’t need assistance.
How to perform: Start by finding two parallel benches with a little gap
between them or just a low enough chair. Start by sitting on the chair,
placing your hands next to you, and gripping the edge tightly. Now get your
butt off of it, and lower it below the level of the chair. Now go down and up,
down and up, and make sure you are using your triceps to assist you in the
motion. To add leverage to it, you can place your legs on top of the bench in
front of you or another chair.
Overhead Extensions
Overhead extensions are best for your entire triceps region. It is important
for you to develop the “horseshoe region” in order for your triceps to look
good. Be sure to have a good grip on the dumbbells, or you might drop them.
Moreover, make sure you don’t hit your head as you do these, as that could
result in a very bad injury if hit hard enough. You can affect these by
performing overhead extensions, and here is how you can do it.
How to perform: Start by holding a dumbbell in your hand (weight of your
choice), and stand straight. You must do this one hand at a time. Now lift it
up and over your head. Hold the position for a couple of seconds and release.
Do as many times as needed, and you need to feel a proper burn in your
triceps.
Seated Dumbbell Press
This can be a very effective triceps workout that can build your muscle
beyond where you thought it could be. If you mix this with a few others,
your triceps will be more than strong enough.
How to perform: Sit on a bench that has some back support, and place the
dumbbells upright on top of your thighs. Using your thighs for support, place
one dumbbell in each hand, and lift each dumbbell up one at a time until it
reaches shoulder height. Turn your wrists so that your palms face forward.
This will be your starting position. While exhaling, push the dumbbells up so
that they touch over your head. Pause and then bring the dumbbells down to
starting position while inhaling.
This exercise does not have to be performed on a bench with back support,
but it is recommended, especially for people who experience lower back
issues.
Upper Back Exercises
The upper back muscles are slightly hard to train, and not many perform
exercises that are apt for this area. Thus, many people ignore this area
because they think of their arms, chest, and core first. The upper back is
incredibly important. If you have a stronger upper back, you’ll be able to
have better posture, and you’ll be less likely to injure yourself. Your back is
what keeps you upright in the first place, so neglecting it doesn’t seem like a
very smart idea. You don’t need to put all of your focus on the upper back,
but you should give it some focus to make sure it’s strong enough for your
needs. You can choose the following for your regime:
Barbell Pull Over
The barbell pullover is quite basic but affects your upper lats, which are in
your upper back. This exercise is incredibly useful, especially since you can
use a barbell. Barbells, in many ways, are actually more efficient and easier
to control than dumbbells are. You don’t need to focus as much on having
everything parallel, as all of the weight is on a single bar, rather than you
holding two separate things. Here is how you can use this exercise to your
advantage.
How to perform: Start by lying on the bench. Now hold a barbell in your
hand and over your face. Now push it backward over your head, such that it
is lower than your head level. Hold for a couple of seconds, and then lift it
back up over your head.
Arm Pull Down
This is another exercise that is great for your upper back and works on the
entire region to give you well-toned muscles. This specifically targets the
lats and will make your back much stronger. This is a great exercise to do
when you find that other exercises are more of arm exercises and don’t help
your back, even if they should help a little. This one, however, will make it
so you have very strong lats.
How to perform: Start by standing in front of the pull-down machine. You
can also make yourself one by tying ropes to dumbbells and pulling them
over a high rod. Now stand straight, and jut your chest out. Pull the weights
down. and make sure your upper back is feeling the burn. You can do around
15 reps and four sets.
CrossFit Training Regime
The CrossFit training regime is a good way for you to exercise all the
muscles in your body, and the short bursts give it a good burn. You can try
out these upper body CrossFit routines to have a mean and ripped upper
body. These workouts are meant to be challenging and varied. Your body
won’t know what hit it after every exercise. Of course, doing different
exercises is the best way to lose weight and get fit. If you do the same
exercise for too long, then you’ll be stuck at a plateau and won’t know how
to continue on from that. Doing the CrossFit training regime might just be
one of the best things you could ever do, as long as you’re up for the
challenge.
You will always start out doing a warm up. This is simply meant to get your
body moving and warmed up so it will be a lot more difficult to hurt yourself
while doing something in the program. The best thing about this program is
that it’s meant to take your body and make it able to do anything. It won’t be
just strong or just fast, but it will have an even mix of every possibility.
These classes will be incredibly intense, but they are more than worth it in
the long run, so don’t be afraid to go out and try it.
Many of the workouts are given names, and one of the examples we look at
is called LYNNE.
For this, you perform bench press and pull ups alternately. You do five
rounds, and each one should contain maximum repetitions. These max
repetitions are up to you, and you must do them until you feel the burn in
your chest, arms, and entire upper body. You can try and outdo yourself
every time, but don’t push yourself too hard. You can take a 5-minute break
between the rounds.
You should ideally be done with this in 30 minutes.
FRAN
Fran is an easier workout routine if you are unable to do Lynne.
This follows a pattern where you alternate between thrusters and pull-ups.
Here is the Fran pattern for you:
21 thrusters, followed by 21 pull ups
Then 15 thrusters, followed by 15 pull ups
Then 9 thrusters, followed by 9 pull ups
You can take a 2-minute break between each and be done with it within 10 to
15 minutes.
Remember that these are performed in short bursts with rest allowed only
after the set workout is done. If you are feeling too tired, then don’t continue,
and try to reduce the work out time.
There are tons of different workouts within the CrossFit training regime. If
you find a class and go to it, you’ll likely do many different sets of workouts
every time you go. Maybe you’ll find a few that you’ll easily be able to do at
home or at a gym. Then, you can do it there instead. If you want to continue
in the class, you’re more than welcome to do that as well. Nothing is
impossible with the CrossFit training regime.
Chapter 10: Best Lower Body Workouts for Lean
Muscles
Now that we looked at the upper body exercises in the previous chapter, we
will shift our focus on lower body exercises. The lower body, specifically the
legs, is sometimes an afterthought for someone who’s trying to look his or
her best. It absolutely shouldn’t be. Your core and your legs are the
foundation to your body. If your legs and core are both weak, you’ll have a
lot more trouble doing things than others might. These exercises will help
you build up the muscles you need and start on the right path.
Abs Exercises
Abs refer to the abdominal muscles, which can be toned to look like small
square blocks. Most people looking to build a lean body are also looking to
build strong abs. In general, this is the part of the body you hear most people
talk about when getting into shape. Everyone marvels at the abs. There is a
stereotype that people are truly fit when they have a six pack, which is the
name that’s usually given to abs. You can be fit without having noticeable
abs, but that doesn’t mean you can ignore the abs.
Having abs is incredibly important to the overall structure of your body.
Given that it is in the core of your body, having abs makes it much easier to
do certain things and also makes your body much more balanced and
structured, as long as the rest of you is as well. Although it is slightly tough
to chisel out washboard abs, it is easy to firm them up and get rid of belly fat
by performing these ab exercises.
Crunches
There are several crunches that are building blocks for firm abs. Performing
crunches daily can help in building lean and strong abs. Crunches are great
because they can literally be done anywhere that you can lay down. If you
travel a lot, you can still do crunches every day. They don’t require a gym.
There are many types of crunches, but we will look at the three main ones
that aid in fixing your belly fat problem.
Basic Crunch
This is the most basic crunch that you can perform to firm up your abs. You
need to perform this daily if you wish to strip your belly off of fat and firm
up both your upper and lower abs. This crunch is super easy to do, and
anyone can do this crunch. All you need to be ready is some space on the
ground. This crunch is great for people who don’t really have any abs. It’s a
great place to start building your ab muscles. However, if you already have
some established abs, it might be best if you skip doing this crunch. It will
likely do little to nothing for you.
How to perform: Start by lying on the floor. Next, bend your legs and put
your hands behind your head. Now slowly put enough pressure on your
upper torso to lift it up. You must remain there for 1 second and then go back
to neutral position. Do 50 to 60 (or lesser) reps, depending on your level of
comfort. If you are finding it tough to do this, then you can hold out your
hands instead of placing them behind your head.
Twist Crunch
The twist crunch is great for your lower abs, which are generally hard to
reach. You can perform this to chisel out your lower abs, as well as your
laterals. This one might be a little harder for some people, as there is a
twisting element to it. Anyone who has any hip issues may want to avoid this
one and focus on something else instead.
How to perform: Start by lying on the floor and placing your legs over a high
platform like the bench or stool. Place your hands behind your head and raise
yourself up to twist to one side. Go back to neutral, and repeat on the other
side. Then go back to the right side. If you wish to add an extra level of
difficulty, then place a weight on your chest. You can perform this on
alternate days. Do 50 to 60 reps (or lesser), depending on your level of
comfort.
Bicycle Crunch
The bicycle crunch is a variation of the twist crunch. It is meant to help you
strengthen your abs. This ab workout definitely works more of your body
than just your abs. You’ll get a leg workout, along with an ab workout,
which can be very satisfying. Let us look at how it is performed.
How to perform: You need to lie down on your back and bend your legs.
Bring your knees towards your chest while lifting your upper torso. Now
place your hands behind your head, and while turning to the right, straighten
your left leg. While turning to your left, straighten your right leg, and so on.
You should really feel the burn in your ab area. You can do 10 repetitions
and 5 sets.
Leg Raises
Leg raises are great for your lower body. They will tone and give your lower
body a good structure. This workout is one of the best non-machine ab
workouts there are. It really forces you to tighten your abs to be able to not
let your legs hit the ground or stop moving. You should do this workout
slow, as going quickly won’t help you in any way. This is a great one to do
on a yoga mat, if you own one. The extra bit of support might be very
helpful. Here is how you can perform this exercise.
How to perform: Start by lying down and lifting your legs 90 degrees in the
air. You can place your palms under your butt and slowly lower your legs,
but don’t let your legs hit the ground. Raise them again and then lower again.
Continue until you feel a good burn in your abs.
Circle Raises
This is a more complex ab workout than some of the others on this list. Your
legs will be in the air for a while, so you need to have a strong core to keep it
up. This would be best done after you begin to form abs. This way, you’ll be
able to up the difficulty of your ab workout, giving you the ability to grow
your ab muscles even more.
How to perform: Start in the same position as before. Now lift both legs, and
lower them slightly. Keeping the right leg stable, turn the left leg clockwise
and then anti-clockwise. Repeat it with your other leg. You can then join
both legs and do the same. You can do 5 reps for each leg.
¾ Sit-Ups
This is another more difficult ab workout. This one can be hard to
understand at first, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll likely be able to do
this one without any issues.
How to perform: Lie on the floor, and with your legs bent at the knees,
secure your feet. Put your hands on the side of or behind your head. Starting
with your back flat on the ground, flex your spine and hips, and raise your
torso to your knees. At the height of the contraction, your upper body should
be perpendicular to the ground. Start moving back toward the ground, but
only go ¾ of the way down.
Air Bike
This exercise sounds fun, but it is a lot of work and will do wonders for your
abs. You need to keep in mind that if you pedal too quickly, you will lose
any of the work that you tried to do. It will feel like you did barely anything.
Keep a constant pace that isn’t too crazy fast or too slow. You need your abs
to get somewhat of a workout, and they won’t get them if you’re too fast or
too slow. Make sure to tighten your ab muscles while you do this as well;
otherwise, you won’t be doing much of anything.
How to perform: Lying flat on the floor with your lower back against the
ground, put your hands beside your head. Lift your shoulders so that you are
in the crunch position. Bring your knees up so that your lower legs are
parallel to the floor, and your knees are perpendicular to the floor. Now
imitate a cycling motion: kick forward with your right leg and bring your left
knee toward you, while bringing your right elbow forward to your left knee.
Go back to the starting position, and then repeat on the opposite side.
Continue alternating until you have performed the recommended number of
repetitions for each side (not total!).
Barbell Side Bend
This can be a very satisfying exercise. It will require your body to move
back and forth, giving your abs a side workout, which is something they
don’t get very often. People with hip or lower back problems should
probably stay away from this exercise. There’s a good chance it will only
cause further injury, which is not something you want.
How to perform: Standing up straight, hold a barbell on the back of your
shoulder, just below your neck. Make sure that your feet are shoulder-width
apart. Keeping your head up and your back straight, bend right at the waist
as far as you can while inhaling. Hold that position for a second, and then
return to the starting position while exhaling. Repeat the movement to the
left side.
You should not try this exercise if you have lower back problems, as it can
cause further damage.
Barbell Ab Rollout
This exercise is quite challenging and should only be tried by people who
have strong and healthy backs. If you have lower back problems, avoid this
exercise. For less advanced athletes, you can try this exercise on your knees
rather than standing on your feet. If you are having any trouble
understanding how to do this one, find someone who knows how to do it or
find any video of how to do it. This way, you’ll know for sure whether
you’re doing it right or not.
How to perform: Starting in a push-up position, grab on to a barbell that is
lying on the floor in front of you. Keeping an arch in your back, lift up your
hips, and roll the barbell toward your feet while exhaling. Keep your abs
tight, your back slightly arched at all times, and your arms perpendicular to
the floor. Pause at the peak of the contraction, with the barbell as close to
your feet as you can get it. Then, roll the barbell back to the starting position
while you inhale.
Thigh Exercises
Thighs are a problem for several people. A lot of fat can get stored there, and
normal exercises don’t help in eliminating this fat. The idea is to perform
exercises that will target this area of the body. The thighs are particularly a
hotspot of fat in women. Once a woman goes through puberty, it’s pretty
easy for her to get a buildup of fat in that area depending on the foods she
eats. For men, the stomach area is a higher concern with fat than the thighs,
although men can still have their thighs as the main problem area. Here are
exercises that help in targeting thigh fat.
Jump Squats
Jump squats are meant to help people tighten their thigh muscles. These can
be very intense, but you need to make sure to fully come down before
jumping again. You can easily lose your balance with this exercise, which is
why it’s crucial to center yourself before you jump again. You can easily lose
a lot of thigh fat by doing this exercise in conjunction with other exercises.
How to perform: Splay your legs a bit, and crouch down. Next, jump up with
your arms in the air, and jump back down. You need to land with a crouch.
Repeat it until you feel your thighs strengthen and burn. Continue until your
thighs are fully firm. You can jump up and down 15 times and gradually
increase it to 20 and so on. This exercise might look simple, but it is not. You
need to put in effort to jump up and land on your feet fully. You must stand
on your toes and jump to make it easy for yourself. If it is too strenuous on
your feet, then you can choose to stand and simply squat in the same place.
Then get up and go down again.
Walk Squats with Weight
This is a great thigh workout that gives your body a nice amount of stretch.
It’s always good when a workout can actually stretch you out along with
helping you build muscle or lose some weight. This doesn’t require you to
hold a weight, but it does give it a bit more of a challenge, so you might
want to do that.
How to perform: Start by placing one foot in front while pushing the other
backward to squat. You can hold a weight in your hand if you like. Repeat
with the other foot, and keep walking forward. You need to keep the motion
going until you feel stiffness in your thighs.
Ball Leg Lifts
This exercise requires an exercise ball, which is an excellent way to add a bit
of a challenge to the standard basic exercises. The extra work that is required
to keep the ball in place uses multiple muscle groups, in addition to the focus
muscle group of the exercise that you are doing. This particular exercise will
work your thighs, particularly your inner thighs, as well as your core. Make
sure to be relatively cautious with this exercise. You don’t want to
overextend something or hurt yourself, so be sure to take it easy and know
exactly what you are doing before you attempt it.
How to perform: Lying on your side on the floor with your arms crossed in
front of you, place the exercise ball between your feet. Slowly lift the ball
toward the ceiling using your butt and hips only. Pause at the top, then lower
the ball to the floor. This is one repetition. This exercise works well if you
complete 3 sets of 15 reps.
If you are uncomfortable with your arms crossed in front of you while lying
on your side, you can try bending your bottom elbow and resting your head
on your hand.
Glider Side Lunge
While this exercise officially calls for using an exercise disc designed for
this type of activity, in reality, you can use a paper towel on a wood or tile
floor or the lid of a plastic container on a carpet. This exercise focuses on
one side in particular, but it really works that one side. Given that you are
sliding with this one, make sure you are careful. You don’t want to over slide
or slide too fast, as that could result in you falling or injuring yourself. Keep
the object you’re sliding on steady as you go into the squat.
How to perform: Standing with your feet several inches apart, place your
right food on the disc (or lid, paper towel, etc.). Make a fist with one of your
hands, and then cup the other hand over it. Make sure to keep your hands in
front of your chest while doing this exercise, as it will help you to stay
balanced. Put your weight on your left leg, and then bend your left knee and
squat while sliding your right foot out to the side. Then straighten your left
leg, and slide the right foot back into the center. Do 3 sets of 10 reps with
each leg.
Gate Swing with Cross
This exercise provides a deep inner-thigh stretch and will tone your quads,
glutes, and your inner and outer thighs. There is a lot of stuff going on in this
exercise, even if it seems rather simple. It’s a pretty intense exercise that
requires you to really keep your balance and take care of yourself. You could
easily mess up and hurt yourself, so start out slow. As you feel more
comfortable, go faster. Of course, as your muscles grow, you’ll be able to do
this exercise more effectively and make the most of it. Just make sure not to
go into it too fast.
How to perform: With your feet in a wide stance and your toes pointed
outward, bend your knees and lower into a squat. Use your hands to push
your knees further apart, which will deepen the stretch. Pushing off of your
knees to get leverage, jump your right leg in front of your left leg so that you
end up standing cross-legged. Then immediately jump back out into a wide
squat, with your hands at your knees. Repeat with your left leg going in front
of your right leg. For sets and repetitions, just repeat this exercise with the
right and left leg alternating for at least 40 seconds.
Lower Leg Exercises
Lower legs have calf muscles that need to be trained and shaped. You need
to exercise and train your calves into attaining a toned look. Your calf
muscles are incredibly important to your body. There are many risks
associated with weak calf muscles, especially for athletes. You are more
likely to tear your Achilles tendon, which is crucial for your leg to work
properly. For non-athletes, there are still risks associated with weak calf
muscles, including poor blood flow and not having a full range of motion in
your ankle. Let us look at exercises that help you tone your calf muscles.
Leg Raise with Weights
Leg raises are the best way to tone your calf muscles. They will target the
exact muscles that need to be toned. All this exercise requires is a weight and
some sort of stool or chair with a proper height. It can be easy to do this
incorrectly, so make sure you are careful with keeping everything straight
and controlled. Let us look at how you can perform these to tone your calf
muscles.
How to perform: Choose weights that are appropriate for your body. Now
turn away from the stool, and place your leg on it by lifting it backward.
Hold the weight in your hand, squat forward, and then alternate with the
other leg. Continue alternating until you feel a burn in your calves. Don’t
stop until you are completely tired.
Similarly, you can do dumbbell step ups. For this, hold the dumbbell in your
hand, and place one foot on the step. Alternate with your other leg, but don’t
step too fast. Continue until you feel a burn in your calves.
Seated Calf Raise
This exercise can be done at home or at the gym using the calf exercise
machine. Given that it is a versatile workout, it is much easier to do. This
calf exercise not only strengthens the calf muscles but also stretches out the
front of your ankles. You might be a little sore afterwards, but it is definitely
worth it. Of course, if you have any ankle problems, make sure you can do
this exercise safely before attempting it.
How to perform: If at home, sit on a sturdy chair with your feet flat on the
floor and your knees directly over your feet. Lean forward, and place your
hands on your thighs near your knees, pushing down to add resistance. Press
the balls of your feet down slowly while raising your heels as high as you
can. Once you have raised your heels as high as possible, slowly lower them
again.
At the gym, sit on the calf press machine, and place the balls of your feet on
the platform. Use the machine to release the weight onto your calves, lower
your heels as far as you to get the weight at its lower starting point, then
press the balls of your feet down, and raise your heels as high as possible.
Barbell Squats
Barbells are used to help the body feel greater weight while you squat to tone
your muscles. This can be considered an advanced exercise, and you must
take it up only if you have been exercising for a long time and have already
dealt with all the fat in these areas. This is almost solely a muscle-building
exercise because of what you’re doing. The weight from the barbell is
pushing down on your entire body, so when you go back up, you need to
push against not only the weight, but gravity as well. This is what makes this
exercise so successful. This can also be done on a machine where the barbell
is attached. That will make this and any other barbell exercises much safer,
as there are clips on the barbell to stop it if necessary.
How to perform: Choose an appropriate barbell. Now hold it behind your
shoulder. You can ask someone to hand it to you. Balance yourself, and squat
down. You need to feel the burn in your calves and other muscles in your
body.
Hip Exercises
Hip exercises are meant to strengthen your hips and the muscles around it.
These exercises are especially important for women to take up, as they need
to maintain strong hips. Some of these exercises will also be very helpful for
people who have had a hip injury or surgery, as these will help strengthen the
hips and prevent the issue from happening again. Even if you are someone
who hasn’t had any hip injuries, it is always good to keep your hip muscles
well-formed and strong to prevent any potential future injuries.
Hip Lifts
Hip lifts are a great choice if you have a lot of fat accumulated there and
need to get rid of the majority of it. It is best that you perform these if you
have a strong back, and steer clear if you have back problems. This will also
help strengthen the abs, given that you need to have something that will keep
your torso and leg in the air.
How to perform: Start by lying on your back. Now bend your legs. Lift your
right leg in the air, and balance your left leg with the heel. You must raise
your lower torso as well. Do this 10 times, and keep alternating your legs.
If you would like something a little easier to start with, you can ignore lifting
your leg. Lay on your back with your legs bent 90 degrees. Lay your hands
on either side of your hips and slowly lift your hips up, making them in line
with your knees. Hold this for a few seconds, and lower your body back
down, but don’t touch the ground. Repeat this for a total of 10 times and 3
sets. Just like with the other exercises here, this will utilize your hips and
your abs, making it a great workout.
Lateral Squats
Lateral squats are slightly easier, and you can perform these even if you have
a back problem. These will also effectively deal with your hip muscles. This
is one of those exercises that are deceptively easy. You might not think you
are doing a whole lot, but it’s really working your hips and strengthening
them, which is exactly what you want. Just make sure to not push too far to
either side. You don’t want to tear anything in your hips.
How to perform: Start by standing straight. Now put your hands out in front,
and hold them parallel to the floor. Squat a little, and shift all your weight to
one side. This can be your left. Maintain your balance while doing so. Now
shift to the other side, and keep alternating. You will feel both your hips and
your hands tighten. Continue until you feel comfortable.
Standing Side Kick
This exercise targets your glutes, quads, and inner thighs, as well as your
outer hips. This is a great exercise that can also stretch you out. If you can’t
quite make it to be parallel with your hip, that’s okay. As you progress, you
might be able to make it there, as this exercise both stretches and strengthens
the hips. This will initially be a lot easier for people who already have a lot
of flexibility.
How to perform: Stand with your feet hip-width apart, and place your hands
on your hips. Slowly extend your right leg out to the side, eventually getting
to hip height (or as close as you can get). Make sure that your inner thigh is
kept parallel to the floor. Hold the leg at the peak for 1 count, then lower
back to the floor. The raising and lowering should each take 3 counts. Do 15
repetitions, then switch to the left side and do 15 repetitions on that side.
Side Jump
This is a fun little exercise. If you wanted and had kids, you could do this
with them and make it a sort of game. Maybe you could try to psych them
out and jump when they least expect it. This is one of those exercises that is
easy to do, even when you have kids running around. It might be a little hard
at first, but once you get the hang of it, it will be a great exercise to
strengthen your hips.
How to perform: Stand with your hands on your hips and feet slightly less
than shoulder-width apart. Hop 3 feet to the left and land on your left foot
with your left knee slightly bent. Then bring your right foot down onto the
floor. Repeat the exercise to the right. Continue the repetitions until you have
done 15 on each side.
Butt Exercises
Butt muscles are easy to train if you get into the right positions. Your butt is
a pretty important part of your body. If you’ve ever noticed that it gets
uncomfortable when you’re sitting, it likely means that your glutes aren’t
very strong. If that’s the case, getting your glutes into a muscular state will
definitely help. Moreover, it will make your body look much more balanced.
If you have a strong upper body, you should definitely have a strong butt as
well if you want your body to look proportional. Let us look at some of the
exercises that you can take up to train your butt.
Kick Back Squats
This exercise helps your butt stretch out and contract. You will feel really
good once you are done with this exercise. This will not only help you get
your butt into the state you want it to be in, but it will also give you a nice
cardio workout along with your toning workouts.
How to perform: Start by standing straight. Now bend forward by putting
both your hands in front and lifting back your right leg. Hold this pose for a
couple of seconds. Return to neutral position, and jump up and down into a
squat. Now bend forward and lift your leg. Continue doing this until your
butt feels firm.
Backward Leg Raises
This exercise is meant to help you tone your butt. This is a great exercise that
will definitely tone your butt to the look and feel you want. It relies on you
using your core and making sure that you have good balance, as you don’t
want to fall over. Let us look at how you can perform this exercise.
How to perform: Start by sitting on the floor on all fours. Have your palms
in front of you and your legs next to each other. Now look straight and
upwards, and lift your right leg high in the air. Point at the sky with your
foot, and raise it as much as possible. Hold the pose and feel your butt
muscle stretching. Now bring your leg back down. Repeat with your other
leg. Do 10 repetitions and 2 sets on each leg.
If you want a bit more balance in this exercise, experiment with holding out
the arm opposite of the leg you have raised up in front of you. Try to keep
your leg and arm steady, and use your core muscles to help keep yourself
straight. Hold this pose for a few seconds before bringing both back down
and switching to your other side. This will also help strengthen your hip
muscles.
Pigeon Pose
This is a simple exercise that will help in toning your muscles. You need to
perform this after performing the other two in order to add leverage to your
work out. This is a great exercise to help stretch and tone your body. The
more exercises you do for both stretching and toning, the better. It will help
keep you loose in the middle of your workout and prevent you from getting
too tight, which will only inhibit your movements.
How to perform: Start by sitting on the floor. Now fold your right leg, and
place it in front of you. Push your left leg backward. You can stop here or
continue to bend forward, and stretch your hands out in front of you fully.
Now get up and alternate your legs. You should feel your butt completely
stretching out. This should firm up your butt, and you must feel a good burn.
CrossFit Training
Just like CrossFit for the upper body, you can take up CrossFit for the lower
body. CrossFit exercises are some of the most intense workouts you’ll likely
ever do, but they are incredibly rewarding. Let us look at some workouts for
you.
Jack Squat – jumping up in the air and landing with a squat
Lunge – bending forward with one foot in front and the other sliding
backward
Clock Lunge – performing regular back and forth lunges and alternating with
side lunges
Single Leg Deadlift – bending forward to touch toes while raising alternate
legs backward
Twisting Squat Jump – jumping up and turning mid-air to land on the floor
facing the opposite direction
Scissor Squat – jumping up and landing in a lunge with alternate legs
Do this within 5 minutes, if possible, with 5 repetitions of each.
If you feel like your body is getting used to it, then you can choose to
continue with it for a longer period of time. There are many other workouts
for this, which you can easily find online or by going to a class. The classes
for CrossFit training are incredibly intense, but they can be incredibly
beneficial. This will allow you to try new things that are varied with every
workout that you do. Your body will easily transform in front of your eyes as
long as you go to these classes consistently. Once or twice a week is a great
way to start, and you should definitely also workout outside of class times.
This way, you’ll be able to stay in shape and be ready for the next class.
They really are intense, but these classes are held in many places all around
the world, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find one near you.
These make up the various lower body exercises that you can perform in
order to tone and strengthen the muscles present in your lower body. Doing
these exercises in conjunction with other exercises will make your body look
the way you have always wanted it to look. You will have toned muscles and
a figure that makes you happy, which is all that truly matters. As long as you
feel healthy and happy with your body, then you are all set.
Chapter 11: Alternative Exercise Choices for Lean
Muscles
You must remember that you do not always have to indulge in cardio
exercises to maintain a lean body. You can also take up less intense
exercises, such as Pilates and yoga, to attain lean muscles. Both of these
workouts are wonderful and are more beneficial than some people believe.
Many people look at yoga and think that it’s girly and that it’s not something
that could possibly help them. Others look at it and think that there’s no way
they’d ever be able to do the poses that others can. Both of these beliefs are
wrong. Yoga is incredibly beneficial to not only women, but also to men. It
is beneficial to anyone who wants to get in shape, lose weight, or become
more flexible and balanced in their life. All of these are good reasons to give
yoga a try. If you want to try something else, Pilates is also incredibly useful.
Pilates aims to do very similar things to what yoga does, but in very different
ways. That doesn’t make it any better or worse, but it is definitely interesting
to look at both of them. Here are the best exercises from each for you to try
out.
Best Pilates Moves
This set is best for women who cannot hit the gym and have only a little time
to exercise. You can use this set to achieve a lean upper body. Pilates is a
way to get a great workout in not too much time, because it focuses on
developing good posture, flexibility, balance, and strength all at the same
time. It’s not quite a full body workout, but it definitely works a lot on your
body. It works your legs, your core, your glutes, and your back. The only one
it doesn’t work is your arms, but with the other benefits that Pilates has, it
doesn’t matter. You can work your arms doing different things after your
Pilates workout.
It’s a low impact exercise – one that anyone can do. It focuses on working
your muscles strongly, but that doesn’t mean it can’t also be gentle. If you’re
at home and just really can’t make it to the gym, doing this workout can be a
great thing.
All you need to perform this is a resistance band that you can buy from any
sports equipment shop or order online.
There are 4 exercises that you can perform to achieve a good burn. Let us
look at these 4 in detail. Remember that the quality of the moves is more
important than quantity: make sure that each repetition is done as cleanly and
strongly as possible, rather than focusing on the number of repetitions. For
beginners, focus on moving slowly and using the correct form; for those who
are more advanced, you can try holding 1 to 2 lb dumbbells while you
perform the moves.
Exercise 1: Start by standing with your feet spread out but your heels
touching. Hold the resistance band in your hand. Now raise your heels and
stretch the band over your head and then push it behind your head. You need
to completely stretch each and every possible muscle in your body while
doing so. Hold the position for a couple of seconds, and then release. You
can do 15 repetitions and 3 sets of this exercise. You can increase it if you
think it is possible for you to push your body more.
Exercise 2: Next, sit on the floor or the mat. Maintain a straight back, and
splay your legs slightly. Place the resistance band across the arches below
your feet and hold it stretched out. Now bend your knees slightly, and bend
forward to try and touch your chest to your knees. You need to push the
resistance band backward in doing so. Maintain this pose for 5 seconds and
release. You can do 15 repetitions and 5 sets of this exercise.
Exercise 3: Lie on your back, and place the resistance band on an anchor that
is placed 1 foot above the ground. Now lift your legs in the air and bend
them at the knees, such that your lower leg is parallel to the floor. Hold the
resistance band, and pull it down while lifting your head, neck, and shoulder.
This will help the muscles in your head, neck, and shoulders burn. You can
do 15 repetitions and 3 sets of this.
Exercise 4: Sit on the floor, and stretch your legs out. Wrap the resistance
band around the arches below your feet. Now tilt back a little, and lift your
legs up. Don’t lose balance and fall back; the idea is to balance yourself on
your butt. Now bend at the knees, and have your lower legs parallel to the
floor. Stretch the resistance band, and try and bring your hands over your
shoulders. You can do 15 repetitions and 3 sets of this and increase the
number if your body is capable of taking on more.
If you do not have an exercise band and do not want to invest in one, or if
you want to see whether Pilates is for you before you purchase an exercise
band, you can try the following moves at home using only a workout mat or
some other similar surface.
Exercise 1: The Pilates Curl
Lie on the floor face up, with your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor.
Have your arms at your sides. While exhaling, curl your chin to your chest
and bring your shoulders completely off the mat. Hold this position for 1
breath, then lower back down slowly. Lift from your breastbone to make sure
that you are engaging your abs; this will also help you to avoid injuring your
neck.
Exercise 2: The Hundred
Lie on the floor face up, and bring your knees toward your chest. Lift your
head, neck, and shoulders off of the mat, and stretch your hands out to your
sides with your palms facing the floor. Extend your legs out at a 45-degree
angle, with your heels together and toes apart (this is called the Pilates
stance). Pump your arms up and down while breathing in and out through
your nose for 5 counts each. Repeat the move for 10 sets.
Exercise 3: The Roll-Up
To do this move, lie face up on the floor with your arms extended toward the
ceiling. While exhaling, curl your chin down to your chest and roll up to a
sitting position with your arms reaching toward your feet. While inhaling,
reverse and roll back down to the floor one vertebrae at a time. Make sure
that you move slowly and smoothly, and that there is no forward jerking or
lunging.
Exercise 4: The Ball Roll
Sit on your mat with your knees drawn toward your chest and your arms
wrapped around your legs. Rock back onto your tailbone, with your feet just
a few inches above the mat. Inhale and then roll backward until your
shoulder blades touch the floor. Exhale and roll forward to the starting
position. Use your abdominal muscles to control your momentum, and make
sure that you stop your movement forward before your feet touch the mat.
You can do these exercises on a daily basis, and try to do them twice a day
for the best results.
Best Yoga Poses
Yoga is an ancient Indian exercise program that has been performed for
hundreds of years. The poses that yoga prescribes are capable of massaging
your body from the inside. All of the poses that you do in yoga will benefit
you in some way. There are poses that relax you after having done some
more intense poses, but even those will stretch you out and let your body
take in everything it had just done. Yoga also has many benefits outside of
the obvious. It can truly be a life-changing workout that can not only make
your body stronger, but also relax you. Let us look at these poses in detail.
Pose 1:Downward Facing Dog
This pose is meant to help your back, abs, and legs have a good burn. You
can start by lying flat with your face to the ground. Now use your palms to
push your upper body upwards and your feet to push your lower body
upwards. You, along with the floor, need to form a triangle. Now look in
front, and raise your left leg high in the air. Push as much as you can. Hold
the pose for 2 seconds and return the leg back to the ground. Now raise your
right leg and hold for 2 seconds before returning it back. You can do 10 reps
and 2 sets.
Pose 2: Surya Namaskar
The Surya Namaskar is a pose that helps the entire body and requires you to
perform intense exercises successively. There are 12 poses in all, and they
are as follows:
Start by standing straight and joining your hands to do Namaste. Now lift
your hands and push them upwards and backward, and do the same with
your back and neck. Now quickly bend and touch your toes. Bend down and
push your left leg backward, and perform a forward lunge. Push your right
leg back, and get into the upper plank position. Now quickly lie on the floor
and look up. Push yourself up to attain the downward facing dog neutral
pose. Now perform the forward lunge with the left leg forward, and quickly
get up to touch your toes. Bend backward, and come back to the Namaste
position again. Do 5 sets.
Pose 3: Wheel Pose
The wheel pose will stretch out your spine completely and work on your abs
to firm them up.
To perform this pose, start by lying face down on the floor. Now bring your
heels towards your butt and raise your head, neck, and shoulders. Bend your
hands backward to grab your feet, and pull them towards your bent head.
Remain in this pose for 5 seconds, and then go to the neutral position. You
can do 5 sets of this pose.
Pose 4: Warrior Pose
To perform the warrior pose, start by standing straight with your hands on
your side and legs joined. Now place your right leg forward, such that your
thighs are parallel to the floor. Push your left leg backward simultaneously.
Now join your hands, and lift them above your head. You can stare at your
palms. Hold for a couple of seconds, and go back to the neutral position.
Repeat this 5 times.
Pose 5: Bridge Stand
To perform the bridge pose, lie flat on your back. Now bend your legs, and
place your heels as close to your butt as possible. Lift your lower torso and
balance your upper body with your head, neck, and shoulder. Join your
hands between the gap that is created under your lower back. Hold for a few
seconds and release. Do this 10 times.
For beginners, you can make the pose easier by placing a stack of pillows
under your tailbone.
Pose 6: Mountain Pose
To perform the mountain pose, put your feet together and stand tall. Relax
your shoulders and make sure that your weight is distributed evenly through
the soles of your feet. Start with your arms at your sides, then take a deep
breath and lift your arms over your head, palms facing each other and arms
straight. Reach toward the sky with your fingertips.
Pose 7: Tree Pose
To perform the tree pose, start by standing with your arms at your sides.
Stand with all of your weight on your left leg, and be sure to keep your hips
facing forward throughout the entire movement. Pull your right foot up to
rest on the inner part of your left thigh. Once you feel that you have balance,
bring your hands in front of you in a prayer position, with your palms
together. While inhaling, extend your arms over your shoulders, palms
separated but still facing each other. Stay in this position for 30 seconds, then
lower your arms and repeat the pose on the opposite side.
This position can be difficult at first. For beginners or those with difficulties
balancing, you can bring your right foot to the inside of your left ankle,
rather than your left thigh, and keep your toes on the floor. This will help
with balance. As you improve in doing this pose and develop better balance,
you can move your foot to the inside of your left calf, then eventually up to
your thigh.
Pose 8: Triangle Pose
For the triangle pose, stand with your feet about 36 inches apart, with the
toes on your right foot turned out to 90 degrees and the toes on your left foot
turned out to 45 degrees. Extend your arms out to your sides, and then bend
over your right leg. Let your right hand touch the floor or rest on your right
leg just above or below your knee. Extend your left hand’s fingertips toward
the ceiling. Look up to the ceiling and hold the pose for 5 breaths. Stand and
repeat the pose on the opposite side.
Pose 9: Seated Twist
This pose stretches your shoulders, back, and hips, as well as increases your
circulation and strengthens your abdominal muscles and your obliques. To
perform the seated twist, sit on the floor with your legs extended in front of
you. Cross your right foot over the outside of your left thigh, and bend your
left knee. Keep your right knee pointed up to the ceiling. Move your left
elbow on the outside of your right knee, and keep your right hand flat on the
floor behind you. Twist to the right as far as you can, moving from your
abdomen. Make sure to keep both sides of your butt on the floor. Stay in this
position for 1 minute, then switch sides and repeat the pose.
For beginners, you can make this position easier by keeping your bottom leg
straight and placing both of your hands on your raised knee. If you find that
your lower back is rounding forward, sit on a folded blanket.
Pose 10: Cobra Pose
For the cobra pose, lie on the floor face down, thumbs placed directly under
your shoulders. Extend your legs out, with the tops of your feet flat on the
floor. Tighten your pelvic muscles, and pull your hips downward, squeezing
your glutes. Press your shoulders down toward the floor and away from your
ears. Push down with your thumbs and index fingers while raising your chest
toward the wall in front of you. Relax and repeat the pose 4 more times.
Pose 11: Pigeon Pose
This pose works on your piriformis, which is one of your deep gluteal
muscles. To perform the pigeon pose, start in a full push-up position with
your palms aligned under your shoulders. Place your left knee on the floor
near your shoulder, with your left heel by your right hip. Lower down onto
your forearms, and bring your right leg down with the top of your right foot
on the floor. Keep your chest lifted to the wall in front of you, but stay
looking down. Pull your stomach in toward your spine, and tighten your
pelvic floor muscles while contracting the right side of your glutes. Curl
your right toes under while pressing the ball of your foot into the floor,
pushing through the heel. Bend your knee to the floor and release. Do 5
repetitions in total, then switch sides and repeat.
For more advanced or more flexible practitioners, instead of keeping your
chest lifted toward the wall in front of you, you can bring your chest down to
the floor and extend your arms in front of you. This will provide a deeper
stretch and will work the target muscles more.
You can perform these poses twice a day to receive their full benefits.
Chapter 12: Six of the Best Lean Muscle-building
Recipes
In this chapter, we look at meals that are loaded with protein, which will help
your body attain maximum protein intake.
Easy Egg Breakfast
Ingredients:
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5 egg whites
1 egg yolk
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons mustard
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
Salt to taste
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh basil, chopped
2 teaspoons fresh oregano, chopped
Fresh coriander leaves, chopped
Method:
● Start by placing the egg whites in a bowl and beating until firm.
● Add in the yolk, and beat until well combined.
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Now add the crushed garlic, mustard, cayenne pepper, salt, basil, and
oregano, and give it all a good mix.
● Heat a pan, and add in a little oil.
● Add in the egg mix.
● Allow it to scramble before making a large omelet out of it.
● Place it on a serving plate, and sprinkle with coriander leaves on top to
serve.
● You can add in tomatoes and chopped avocado if you wish to consume
this meal as a weight loss recipe.
Cucumber Tartine
This recipe is an easy, quick snack that provides a lot of nutrition. It is a
great choice for a mid-afternoon snack. It does not require any cooking, so
you can pack the ingredients separately and put them together when you are
ready to eat, ensuring that it is as fresh as possible.
Ingredients:
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2 tablespoons part-skim ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
1 slice whole grain bread, toasted
9 to 12 cucumber slices, very thin
Sea salt or truffle salt
Method:
● Mix the cheese together in a small dish.
● Spread the cheese mixture on the toast.
● Layer the cucumber slices on top, and sprinkle with the salt.
See? Easy!
Beef Balls in Pasta
Ingredients:
For the meatballs
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6 pounds lean ground beef (supervise the trimming yourself)
1/2 cup fresh spinach, chopped
1/4 cup red onion, chopped
1 tablespoon garlic clove, minced
1/2 tablespoon cumin seeds
Sea salt to taste
Pepper to taste
For the pasta
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2 ounces wheat spinach pasta
1/8 cup low-sodium marinara
2 cups fresh spinach
5 cherry tomatoes
1 tablespoon low-fat parmesan cheese
Method:
● Preheat the oven to 405 degrees Fahrenheit.
● Place the oil in a pan, and add in the onions.
● Sauté until golden brown.
● In a bowl, add in the minced beef, fresh spinach leaves, sautéed onion,
garlic, and various spices.
● Mix them together using your hands, and make small balls out of the
mixture.
● Place the balls on a greased baking tray, and place in the oven for 10 to 12
minutes.
● Meanwhile, prepare the sauce by mixing the marinara, spinach, tomatoes,
and cheese.
● Cook the pasta until it is al dente.
● Assemble everything on a plate by first placing the pasta, followed by a
layer of the sauce, followed by the meatballs, and spoon over the sauce on
top.
Chicken Breast Stuffed with Spinach, Tomato, and Feta Cheese, Served
with Brown Rice
Ingredients:
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6 ounces of chicken breast
½ cup fresh spinach
2 tablespoons feta cheese
1 Roma tomato, sliced
½ cup brown rice
Method:
● Set the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
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Cut the chicken breast down the middle so that it spreads out like a
butterfly. Make sure that you do not cut all the way through the chicken
breast; it should still be attached.
● Season the chicken with your choice of spices and seasonings.
● Spread the chicken breast. On one side, layer the tomato slices, spinach,
and feta cheese.
● Fold the chicken breast up like a sandwich, using toothpicks to hold it
closed.
● Back the chicken for 18 to 20 minutes or until the chicken is completely
cooked.
● While the chicken is cooking, prepare the brown rice. You can add diced
onion and garlic for extra flavor if desired.
● Serve the chicken and rice together.
Chickpeas and Lentil Soup
Ingredients:
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1 can chickpeas, drained
1 can black-eyed peas, drained
1 cup yellow lentils
1 green onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 green chili, slit
Salt to taste
1 large tomato
Cilantro to sprinkle
Method:
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Start by placing the chickpeas, beans, and yellow lentils in a large pot of
boiling water to which a little salt has been added.
Once it comes to a boil, cover it and allow the peas and lentils to cook
completely.
Meanwhile, you can sauté the onion and garlic in a little oil and allow
them to brown.
Now add in the chili to the onions and switch off the heat.
Uncover the peas and stir.
You can mash them up a bit if you like.
Add in the onion and garlic, and add 1 cup of water.
Add in the tomatoes, and cook the soup for around 10 minutes.
Serve with a sprinkling of cilantro on top.
Chicken Sausage with Peppers
This dish provides a lot of muscle-building power, thanks to the chicken
sausage. Plus, it’s easy to make and only requires one dish for baking. You
can serve it with a salad and some whole grain bread, and you can mix the
leftovers with whole grain pasta for a different (but still delicious) second
meal.
Ingredients:
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1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound chicken sausage
2 bell peppers, sliced into strips
1 red onion, sliced
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup marinara sauce
¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
Salt and black pepper to taste
Method:
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Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add the sausage, and cook until it is browned on all sides.
Add the pepper and the onions.
Season with salt and pepper, then cook for 5 minutes.
Add the Worcestershire sauce and the marinara sauce, and cook for
another 5 minutes or until the sausage is thoroughly cooked and the
vegetables are tender.
● Garnish the dish with fresh basil and serve.
Baked Fish with Sesame
Ingredients:
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1 salmon fillet
2 tablespoons black sesame seeds
1 garlic pod
4 to 5 fresh basil leaves
1 red onion
Sea salt to taste
2 jalapeño chilies
1 tablespoon olive oil
Fresh cilantro to sprinkle
Method:
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Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Place the salmon on a greased tray, skin side down.
Toast the sesame seeds in a pan and allow them to cool.
Chop the garlic cloves into small pieces and place into the salmon’s body.
Sprinkle the basil leaves all over the fish.
Sprinkle some of the onion slices on top of the fish, and tuck some under
it.
Sprinkle the jalapeno peppers all over the fish.
Drizzle some oil on top, followed by the toasted sesame seeds.
Place the tray in the oven, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until fish is
fully cooked.
Serve hot with a sprinkling of fresh cilantro on top.
Sesame and Ginger Tofu with Scallions
This recipe is great for those on a vegetarian or vegan diet, or if you just
want to add some variety to your food options. Serve this dish with brown
rice for a complete meal.
Ingredients:
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1 cup extra-firm tofu, diced
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup scallions, diced
2 teaspoons fresh ginger
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 teaspoon smoked paprika (optional)
Salt to taste
Method:
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Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat.
Add the ginger and the scallions, and sauté for 1 minute.
Add the tofu, pressing on it with a fork to crumble it.
Cook until the tofu starts to turn a golden brown.
Remove the skillet from the stove, and sprinkle the dish with sesame
seeds, paprika, and salt.
● Serve the dish directly from the skillet while it is still nice and warm.
Mushroom Sandwiches
Ingredients:
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5 large Portobello mushrooms, stalks removed
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 eggs
1 avocado
2 teaspoons mustard paste
Salt to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste
2 fresh lettuce leaves
Method:
● Start by smearing the oil over the mushrooms and baking them in a 400degree Fahrenheit oven for 15 minutes or until they are properly baked
● Meanwhile, boil the eggs, and make sure they are hard boiled.
● Once the mushrooms are done, allow them to cool.
● Cut the eggs in half, and scoop out the yolk.
● Scoop out the avocado flesh, and mix it with the yolk.
● Sprinkle the salt and pepper, and give it a good mix.
● Add the mustard, and mix until well combined.
● Place the mixture in the center of the egg whites.
● Now take one-half of the Portobello and place it upright.
● Place one lettuce leaf over it and one egg half.
● Place another leaf on top, and then cover with another Portobello.
● Serve hot.
Body Cleansing Smoothie
Ingredients:
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1 scoop protein powder of your choice
1 cup chopped kale
1 small avocado
1 small banana
1/4 cup pineapple
¼ celery stalk
3 strawberries
Small bundle of wheatgrass
¼ cup cooked oatmeal
1/4 cup water
Ice for desired thickness
Method:
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Place the chopped kale, avocado, banana, and pineapple in the blender,
and make a smooth paste.
Add in the protein powder, celery, and wheatgrass and then whizz.
Now add the oatmeal, water, and ice, and continue to blend.
The idea is for the flavors to separate and not become one big mess.
Place in the refrigerator and serve in place of a meal.
Peanut Butter Granola Bites
If you thought that you were going to have to avoid dessert from now on,
think again! There are plenty of dessert options out there; you just have to
look for ones that will give you beneficial nutritional content while still
tasting delicious!
This recipe provides a variety of nutritional benefits: carbs, protein, and
omega-3 fats. At only 100 calories per piece, you can eat a piece or two with
some fruit for a perfect mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack.
Ingredients:
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1 cup instant oats
1/3 cup natural, creamy peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon chia seeds
Method:
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Mix all of the ingredients together, making sure that they are thoroughly
combined.
● Refrigerate the mixture for about 30 minutes.
● Once cooled, form balls of about 1 tablespoon each from the mixture,
rolling each piece between your fingertips to shape it.
● Store the leftovers in the refrigerator.
Chapter 13: Best Natural Supplements for Lean
Muscle Building
It is obvious that we do not get all the needed nutrition through food alone,
and so we need to consume supplements in order to supplement our dietary
intake.
Let us look at some of the best natural supplements to consume on a daily
basis to attain a fit and slim body. These spices and herbs will help you
maintain your body weight or lose weight and build muscle by shrinking fat
tissue, improving your metabolism, and suppressing your appetite. In
addition to these benefits, some of these herbs and spices are sources of
antioxidants and could also help to fight heart disease, premature aging, and
other chronic diseases.
Remember to always research any product that you are buying, and review
the nutritional label if one is provided. Organizations such as the Food and
Drug Administration, the Natural Products Association, and the Office of
Dietary Supplements will have information about the different products
available as well. Always follow the dosage recommendations; more is not
necessarily better and can, in fact, be dangerous. Do not hesitate to consult
your doctor before introducing any of these supplements into your diet.
Cayenne Pepper
Capsaicin is a chemical found in cayenne pepper that helps in cutting down
on fat. It is possible for you to consume a little pepper every day and cut
down on the amount of fat present in your body. Cayenne is native to Asia
and is extensively used in their cuisine. All you have to do is sprinkle a
teaspoonful on your daily meals, and the pepper will do its job, but don't use
it in excess as it can burn your throat, and if that happens, then it is best to
consume some milk.
Ginger
Ginger is a spice plant that is also native to Asian countries. The plant is
fully edible, but the root is dried and used to flavor foods. Ginger is said to
help correct ailments of the stomach and encourages the body to dispose of
fat instead of storing it. You can chop a little ginger, and add it to your salads
or curries or to your smoothies. The idea is to draw from the root’s chemical,
which helps in transporting fat outside the body. Remember that it is an
acquired taste, and you can add a little ginger powder to your tea to reap its
benefits.
Cumin
Cumin seeds are also native to Asian cuisine. The seeds have been used in
ancient India since time immemorial. They are used for relief from flatulence
and for help in eliminating indigestion. Adding a little toasted cumin to your
food helps in digesting it better. You will also feel less heavy. You can add it
to foods that you think might be fatty. You will end up eating only a little as
the cumin seeds will promote a feeling of fullness. Just chewing on a
teaspoonful of seeds after dinner can help you lose excess weight and
promote digestion.
Cardamom
Cardamom is a spice known for its fragrant aroma and sweet taste. The spice
is mainly grown in Asia and is used to flavor sweets and savories alike. All
you have to do is acquire some seeds, pound them, and add them to your
food. You can also chew on the seeds once you are done eating. The seeds,
membrane, and outer skin are all edible and provide the body with ample
fiber. You can add some into your daily tea to reap its full benefits.
Ginseng
Ginseng is an herb that has been used in ancient Chinese medicine since time
immemorial. The herb comprises the root and bulb of the ginseng plant and
is known to possess a whole host of benefits. Metabolism is boosted when a
person consumes ginseng, and he or she starts to digest consumed food
faster. So the body is left with no time to process the fat and store it, such
that the person will not become fat. You can purchase ginseng capsules that
have concentrated ginseng. It is also available in powder form, and you can
mix some with water and consume.
Fo-ti
Similar to Ginseng, Fo-ti is a Chinese plant that will help to boost your
stamina and longevity and will encourage the building of muscle. Fo-ti is
most easily obtained by shopping at Chinese markets; while it is a bit more
difficult to obtain than Ginseng, its benefits make it worth the extra effort.
Isoleucene
Isoleucene is a compound that is found in many different foods, including
soy milk, egg whites, lamb, turkey breast, chicken, tuna, and cottage cheese.
Isoleucene helps build your body’s protein and is essential for building up
muscle mass.
Oats
Oats help build muscle and also are very filling, so they help make you feel
full more quickly, dampening your appetite. Not all oats or foods made from
oats will provide health benefits. Instant oatmeal, for example, does not
provide nearly as much nutritional benefit as regular oatmeal. Preparing your
own oatmeal from scratch is a great way to get all of the nutritional benefits
and ensure that you are not adding any undesired items to your diet.
Coleus Forskohlii
Also known as Indian coleus, this tropical plant native to India has been used
for centuries for a variety of health needs, from heart problems to digestive
concerns. Recent studies have shown that coleus forskohlii can help reduce
body weight, fat accumulation, and appetite, as well as prevent weight gain.
Coleus forskohlii has been reported to sometimes cause increased heart rate
and lowered blood pressure, so it may be best to consult with your doctor
before trying it out.
Sesamin
Sesamin, which is found in sesame seeds, is a type of compound called
lignin. Recent studies have shown that ingesting sesamin can improve the
fatty-acid oxidation process by promoting enzyme activity in your liver. As
discussed in Chapter 1, fatty acids are a great source of energy for your body,
so ingesting sesamin will increase the energy available to your body for
muscle building. Combining sesamin with omega-3 fatty acids will improve
its effects even more.
Cinnamon
Cinnamon helps enhance your metabolism and also assists in blood sugar
regulation. It has also been found to significantly decrease blood sugar
levels, LDL (bad) cholesterol, triglycerides, and total cholesterol levels,
especially in people with Type-II Diabetes. Regulating blood sugar and
decreasing cholesterol levels will help your body function at peak efficiency,
which will provide you with the energy and health needed to maintain your
exercise plan and build your desired lean muscle mass.
Black Pepper
Black pepper is useful because it contains piperine, a substance that blocks
the formation of new fat cells. When black pepper is combined with
capsaicin, it has been found to burn as many calories as you would from
taking a 20-minute walk. Black pepper has the added benefit of improving
the bioavailability of other foods so that your body is able to access as much
nutritional value as possible from the foods that you are eating.
Green Tea
The effects of green tea on the body are well known. It is no secret that green
tea helps in reducing the free radicals in the body and promotes the growth
of healthy cells. Moreover, green tea also helps in reducing body weight and
aids in maintaining a slim and trim figure. It is possible for you to lose quite
a substantial amount of weight by drinking green tea regularly. You can also
consume green tea supplements which will only increase the benefit that
your body receives from the herb.
Guarana
Guarana is a tropical fruit with extracts that are said to help build lean
muscles in the body. It is an appetite suppressant that curbs hunger pangs,
which aids in reducing stress eating. It is used in combination with turmeric
to aid in digestion, and it improves the rate of metabolism. You can take it in
tablet or capsule form and consume it on a regular basis.
Nettle Leaves
Nettle leaves are loaded with antioxidants and other beneficial nutrients that
help build a strong mind and body. It contains Vitamins C and K, which help
promote good health. The leaves aid in cleansing the blood and also assist in
burning fat.
Turmeric
Turmeric is a spice that is heavily used in Asian cuisine because of its high
medicinal value. Curcumin is the chemical present in turmeric and is known
to burn fat. You can add a little to your curries or sprinkle a little on your
salads. You can also add it to your soup or to your bread dough, and knead it
in. Turmeric is also an antiseptic that will strengthen your immunity by a few
folds. If you suffer from any internal injuries while performing any of the
exercises, then turmeric will help by healing you from the inside.
Dandelion
Dandelion flowers are great for the body. The flower, plant, and leaves are
all full of many nutrients, and they are all edible. Dandelion aids in digestion
and helps in digesting even the toughest of fats. It is used by several
celebrities to lose weight and remain slim for long. It is loaded with betacarotene and Vitamin K1, which help bring the blood sugar levels down and
control insulin levels in the body. You can consume dandelion tea and also
chop and add the stalks and leaves to your salads.
Mustard Seeds
Mustard is extremely beneficial in fighting off fat in the body. Mustard seeds
are said to boost the body’s metabolism by 25%, and in fact, it is probably by
the highest margin. It is possible for you to improve your digestion just by
consuming a teaspoon of mustard paste or adding 2 tablespoons of the seeds
to your curries. According to recent studies, consuming a little will help you
burn 45 calories of fat an hour.
Chapter 14: What to Avoid – Food Edition
So far, we have been dealing with what is healthy for you, your body, and
your fitness and nutrition plans. However, this chapter with deal with the
opposites or what is unhealthy and bad for you and your body and what can
nullify all the effort you have been putting into healthy living.
Among the things that are proven unhealthy or even devastating in the long
term, food is the first that comes to mind. Unhealthy food includes sugary
drinks, pizzas, white bread, margarine, vegetable oils, pastries, cookies and
cakes, French fries, ice cream, candy bars, processed meat, cheese, artificial
sweeteners, and many others.
Sugary Drinks
If we were on a mission to find the unhealthiest product today, we would
definitely end up with added sugar. However, it must be emphasized that not
all sources of sugar are bad. In the sea of unhealthy products full of sugar,
the most important or the unhealthiest are sugary drinks. Many people don’t
actually realize that drinks also have calories, and because of that, they fail
to understand that drinks can also be bad for health. Sugary drinks include
sodas, fruit punches, lemonades, energy drinks, and other drinks with added
sugar. Constant consumption of sugary drinks leads to obesity, which can
have devastating effects on the human body. Surprisingly, fruit juices are
also included in this category. Although they have more nutrients, they also
contain very high levels of sugar and calories, which can be very easily
neglected by people.
In order to avoid what was previously mentioned, people must totally
abandon the practice of consuming sugary drinks and search for alternatives,
such as water, soda water, tea, and many others. Among the drinks with the
most sugar per ounce are the fruit juices with a range of 4.75 to 7.15 grams
of sugar per ounce, followed by regular sodas, energy drinks, ice tea/coffee,
and sports drinks.
While you may think that drinks with artificial sweeteners would be a great
alternative to sugary drinks, artificial sweeteners can actually be just as
harmful. In fact, artificial sweeteners have been shown to increase one’s
appetite for sweet food. While the cause of this has not been confirmed, it is
likely due to the body increasing insulin secretion when sweeteners are eaten
in anticipation of the glucose that will appear in the blood. When the glucose
does not come because the sweetener is artificial, your blood sugar will drop,
and you will experience increased hunger.
Pizzas
Pizza is the ultimate favorite food of so many of us. However, only a few of
us understand the danger that pizza poses on our health. Similar to sugary
drinks, pizza is also one of the reasons for the growing rate of obesity in the
world. As regards the number of calories, 100 grams of pizza contain 266
calories, which is for sure a number you don’t want to be a part of your daily
eating habits. Aside from calories, some pizzas contain 1,620 mg of sodium
and 33 grams of fat. One slice of cheese pizza also contains 5 grams of
sugar. However, not all pizzas are marked as unhealthy. In order to avoid the
high intake of calories, fat, sugar, and other unhealthy nutrients, people often
choose a vegetable pizza. Vegetable pizza contains Vitamins A and C and
more fiber in comparison to cheese or meat pizza. Add to this some veggie
toppings, such as mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes, or onions, and you will get
not only an amazing pizza but also a healthy intake of vitamins and other
healthy nutrients.
White Bread
In the majority of cases, white bread is made of wheat, which contains
gluten, and because of this, white bread is not good for people who are
sensitive to gluten. However, white bread is not bad only for gluten-sensitive
people but also for everybody else. White bread is mostly made of refined
wheat, the healthy nutrients of which are reduced to a minimum because of
the refining process. What you get in the end are pure calories, which can
result in high blood pressure for some people. If you want to use bread, it is
better to use whole grain bread instead of white bread. Whole grain bread
contains a lot more vitamins, minerals, and fiber than white bread. All of this
provides you with more energy throughout the day. One slice of white bread
has 66 calories, 0.82 grams of fat, 12.65 grams of carbs, and 1.91 grams of
protein. Yes, you do get some protein with white bread, but the damage the
white bread is causing is much bigger than the benefits of the proteins it
contains.
Margarine
Can you imagine a time when margarine was considered to be healthier than
butter? Well, that was the case until recently, when it was proven that
margarine is much more dangerous for your health than butter. There is a
debate about whether butter is good for your health on not, but it is definitely
healthier than the margarine, and the reason for this is that butter is made up
of natural ingredients while margarine, on the other hand, is made of
artificial ingredients in order to look and taste just like the butter. Some
margarine contains trans fats that, just like saturated fat, elevate blood
pressure and have negative effects on your health. There are several types of
margarine: stick margarine, light margarine, margarine with phytosterols,
and several others. Only one teaspoon of stick margarine already has
between 80 and 100 calories, between 9 and 11 grams of fat, and 2 grams of
saturated fat. Butter or margarine it is not really important because there is
no big difference in their effects on your body. Both are unhealthy and may
cause some serious problems.
Pastries, Cookies, and Cakes
The majority of products from this category are proven unhealthy. Often,
pastries are made of refined sugar, butter, refined flour, and added fats. The
combination of all of these can cause serious problems for the human body.
The biggest danger that can be caused by such products is diabetes. All
pastries, cookies, cakes, ice cream, and other desserts contain a large number
of calories, and if you are not able to burn those calories at the gym or
through some other exercise, they will be stored in your body as body fat.
However, just like every other unhealthy food, there is a healthy counterpart
for desserts. Some desserts provide you with healthy nutrients. Those
healthy nutrients can be found in fruits. So if you want to have dessert, try
and find one that does not contain a large amount of sugar, fat, or butter.
Your body will thank you for it.
Instant Ramen
Wait, what? Instant ramen is bad? But that’s all I’ve been eating in college!
No, but seriously, instant ramen is definitely not healthy. If you think about it
for a second, instant ramen has a ridiculous amount of salt in it. It can have
up to 2,000 mg of salt, which is definitely not healthy for your body. On
average, your daily intake should not exceed 1,500 mg of sodium. Most
people already eat some foods with sodium before dinner time. Having
instant ramen to help you get through finals week or just as a quick meal is
the last thing you should be doing. If you regularly eat instant ramen and
then cut it out of your diet, you’ll notice a lot of differences in your body,
including not being as thirsty and feeling better overall. Sodium is okay, just
in moderation.
French Fries and Potato Chips
One of the unhealthiest foods out there is definitely French fries. Potatoes, in
general, are healthy, but potatoes in French fries are everything but healthy.
Several studies conducted recently in different parts of the world identify
French fries as one of the reasons why people are gaining more and more
weight and, due to that, are becoming more and more unhealthy. One of the
reasons why fries are unhealthy is because they contain bad fats, and by now,
we all know what kind of danger bad fats are for our health. The second
reason why fries are considered unhealthy is because they are made of bad
carbohydrates. In the body, potato converts to sugar, and if we are not able to
spend that sugar through exercise, it remains in the body in the form of fat.
Another reason why we consider fries unhealthy is because they contain
trans fats, which are dangerous when in relation to heart diseases. Also, these
trans fats are linked to diabetes and certain types of cancer. In the process of
making French fries, all good or healthy elements are removed from the
potato, and what is left are only the unhealthy elements that have no
nutritional value. As regards the number of calories, a medium portion of
French fries has 365 calories and 17 grams of fat.
Much of the information above also applies to potato chips, unfortunately.
While potato chips are a favorite snack for many, they are very high in
calories and provide virtually no nutritional benefit. In addition, potato chips
tend to come in servings that make it far too easy to eat way more than you
should.
Instead of potato chips, you can eat plain popped corn, whole grain crackers,
or cut-up vegetables.
Alcohol
You may not want to hear it, but alcohol is one of the first things that should
be eliminated (or at least greatly reduced) from your diet if you are trying to
lose weight and build muscle. Like potato chips above, alcohol provides very
little, if any, nutritional value – it is essentially empty calories. As with
potato chips, it is hard to regulate the amount that you are taking in; drinking
some alcohol tends to lead to drinking more alcohol. The type of alcohol is
important: beer is definitely associated with weight gain, whereas wine (in
moderation) can be beneficial.
Ice Cream
While ice cream does have some nutritional value, unlike many of the food
items discussed in this chapter, it is still very unhealthy. Ice cream is very
high in calories and is usually full of sugar. As with the other foods on this
list, it is also difficult to eat just a little ice cream, and it usually comes in
servings that make it hard to limit your intake. If you absolutely need to have
ice cream every once in a while, try making your own; you can use less
sugar and healthier ingredients, like fresh fruit and yogurt.
Specialty Coffee Drinks
Fancy coffee drinks with a variety of delicious flavorings are a popular
option for many people, but unfortunately, these drinks tend to be extremely
high in calories. The problems with these coffee drinks are the same as those
with sugary drinks discussed above: empty calories and little, if any,
nutritional value. Moreover, we tend to add sugar (or artificial sweeteners)
and milk or cream to these drinks, increasing the caloric content even further.
Plain, black coffee can actually help with weight loss because caffeine will
boost your metabolism. Adding low-fat or part-skim milk is fine, but try to
avoid adding sugar or sweeteners.
Candy Bars
Eating candy regularly can have negative effects on your health. Eating too
many candies can result in the body having too much sugar and fats. Candy
bars and candies, in general, are full of sugar, and we have already seen what
kind of consequences too much sugar intake can have on your body and on
your health. Aside from sugar, candies contain a large number of calories.
Some candies may contain between 250 and 280 calories per portion. For
example, a Snickers candy bar has 280 calories, 14 grams of fat, and 30
grams of sugar; a Twix candy bar has 250 calories and 12 grams of fat; and a
Mars candy bar has 230 calories and 8.6 grams of fat. Consequently, eating
too much candy every day will result in too many calories in your body
which would have devastating effects on your health. Of course, it is
impossible to abandon candies, just like any other food previously
mentioned, for good, but it is necessary to have control over the intake of the
aforementioned food. Otherwise, the consequences to your health may be
devastating.
Any Foods High in Added Sugar
While this applies to most of the foods discussed above, sugar is added to
many foods, and some of these may surprise you. This can include breakfast
cereals, low-fat products, and granola bars. In fact, low-fat and fat-free foods
are often supplemented with additional sugar to make up for the flavor lost
from removing the fat content.
Other food products that likely contain much higher amounts of sugar than
you would expect include commercial salad dressings (make your own for a
healthy alternative), whole wheat products (look for whole grain instead),
sports drinks, and foods advertised as “low-carb.” You should also keep in
mind that just because food is labeled as organic, vegan, or gluten-free does
not automatically mean that it is healthy: many of these foods are processed
and contain high levels of sugar.
The bottom line is that you should always look at the nutritional label before
picking food in order to avoid surprises, such as higher than expected sugar
content.
Processed Meat
Unlike unprocessed meat, processed meat is proven to have negative effects
on your health. Several studies around the world indicated that some serious
diseases, such as colon cancer, diabetes, and heart diseases, could all be the
result of the consumption of the processed meat. If we were to look for a
definition of processed meat, it would state that processed meat refers to
meat that has been cured, salted, dried, canned, and smoked. In the category
of processed meat, we can include hot dogs, sausages, salami, bacon, and
ham. According to some studies, processed meat contains N-nitroso
compounds that are proven to be cancer-causing elements. The most
important thing about the intake of processed meat is self-control. You must
be able to determine the maximum amount of processed meat you are going
to eat, and decide on what type of processed meat you will be eating because
not all types of processed meat are equally unhealthy.
As we have seen from this chapter, it is hard to live or, in this case, to eat
healthy because all of our favorite foods seem to be the most dangerous
ones. All of the food previously mentioned in this chapter bears a level of
danger that can have serious consequences in the future. Limited
consumption of the mentioned food doesn’t necessarily have bad effects on
your health, but the constant, everyday consumption of such food has been
proven to be devastating. Sometimes, it is important to have a “cheat day” –
a day where you will eat this kind of food, but the consumption of such food
needs to be limited to as little as possible.
Chapter 15: What to Avoid – Exercise Edition
Just like not all food is healthy, not all exercises are beneficial for your body
and your health. In order to get perfect muscles, we often neglect the advice
of influential people who are constantly warning us about the dangers of
certain exercises in the gym and outside.
The following chapter provides a list of several exercises that were marked
by experts as dangerous because of poor performance or negative effects that
they have on the human body.
Bench Dips
While doing this exercise, your arms are by your side, and your palms are
facing forward. The problem with this exercise is that your shoulders
become more vulnerable to injury the further you move from your position.
Some consequences of this exercise include abrasions to the deltoid, cuff
muscles, and bursae.
If the goal of this exercise is to train our triceps, then there is a better
exercise than doing bench dips. Instead, you could use parallel bars where
your hands are parallel to each other, and your head leans behind where it
belongs.
Chin-Ups and Pull-Ups
The problem with this exercise is that many people try to do chin-ups before
they are physically and mentally ready for such an exercise. In such cases,
doing this exercise results in injuries that prevent you from doing any other
workout.
An even more dangerous exercise would be pull-ups. The difference
between chin-ups and pull-ups is that pull-ups don’t involve lifting the body
up with your hands but rather lifting the body up with the help of your hips.
This exercise became popular with the introduction of CrossFit. CrossFit,
being a high-intensity combination of several exercise interval training is not
for everybody. CrossFit requires extreme physical readiness. Consequently,
every exercise from CrossFit can be dangerous for people who are not
physically ready for such a regimen.
Deadlifts
Deadlifts are very demanding and technically complex for the entire body,
and they are often done incorrectly. The biggest danger coming from this
exercise concerns the spine. It is possible for you to damage your disks if
you do deadlifts in the wrong manner, and damage to the spine is always
devastating. One of the most common mistakes when doing deadlifts is the
fact that people often lift weights using their backs or only their hands
without using the core and the entire body. Just like all other exercises,
physical readiness is crucial for this exercise. A lack of physical readiness
often results in back, hand, or muscle injury.
Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown
This exercise is used to train the muscles of your back. Although a lot of
people would say that this exercise was very useful for them, they would
neglect to mention the problems that occurred during or after that exercise.
The biggest risk with this exercise lies in the consequences that it can have
on your shoulders.
In order to perform this exercise, you must rotate your shoulders as much as
you can so that you are able to pull down the lat behind your neck. Here
again, the muscles of your shoulders are exposed the most, and this can
result in neck strain or strain on the top of your shoulders.
Once again, adequate preparation is crucial if you want to perform this
exercise successfully. However, as is the case with many of the previously
mentioned exercises, there is a replacement exercise that you can do instead
of a wide-grip lat pulldown and reduce the risk of injury, and that exercise is
the front pulldown.
The Seated Rotation Machine
The seated rotation machine is an exercise that works your hips and abs
while sitting. This exercise is proven to be very stressful to your lower back
because all emphasis is on the lower back, and a sitting position is not
something suitable for doing exercises. When doing this exercise, your body
sits while you twist your hips or torso from one side to another, which results
in significant pressure on your lower back.
Instead of putting such pressure on your lower back by doing such an
exercise, you could do a standing twist of your torso that, unlike seated
twisting, would not put so much pressure on your lower back.
Upright Rows
The problem with this exercise is that it places a lot of strain on the shoulder
joint, which exposes the shoulder and upper arm to injury. If you are going to
do this exercise, try initiating the lift by driving with your legs and turning it
into a high pull movement instead of a rowing movement. This will allow
you to move the weight differently, thus placing less strain on your shoulder
joint.
Curtsy Lunges
This type of lunge is different from the traditional lunge in that your knee
travels across the body in front rather than forward and backward. While it
provides a great burn for your thigh muscles, the movement involved in this
exercise violates the basic principle that your knee, hip, and shoulder joints
should be kept in alignment when you are doing load-bearing exercises. This
exercise introduces stress to the hip socket, as well as the iliotibial (IT) band
and tensor fasciae latae (TFL) muscle in your knee.
Stick to traditional lunges instead. If you want to make it more challenging,
you can add a height differential: stand on a low platform and lunge forward
or backward off of the platform.
Ab Machines
While this is a machine rather than a specific exercise, it is still a good idea
to avoid it. The problem with ab machines is that they encourage poor
posture and can cause muscle imbalances because they tend to target only
one or two muscles in your core when there are many different muscles in
that area that need to be targeted for a proper, balanced workout.
Anything That Causes Actual Pain
Yes, working out can be uncomfortable, and it can (and should) cause your
muscles to ache or burn – that means that you are using your muscles and
building your strength. But anytime that you feel actual pain – sharp and
sudden – you should stop immediately. Either you are pushing your body
past its limits, or you are doing something that your body is not meant to do,
and both of those should be avoided if you do not want to injure yourself.
As we have seen in this chapter, not all exercises are good for your body and
your health. Several of them actually seem to have more negative than
positive effects. The most crucial thing to know before going for a workout
is your physical readiness. It is crucial to know whether your body is ready
for such training and to understand the limits of your own body. Doing
exercises that your body can’t handle is a path that leads towards imminent
injury. No amount of pull-ups or twisting can compensate for a permanent
back or muscle injury.
Remember, just because you see people doing it on TV does not mean that
you and everybody else can do the same exercises. People who are very
experienced and have a high level of fitness will be able to do certain
exercises and movements properly, whereas a beginner will likely injure him
or herself. Try and stick to the exercises that were discussed in earlier
chapters of this book, or work with a professional trainer – at least at the start
– to make sure that you are doing your exercises properly and that you are
not pushing your body further than is healthy. You can work your way up to
more difficult and challenging exercises, but if you injure yourself by doing
too much too soon, then you are not going to achieve your fitness goals.
Chapter 16: The Importance of Water for the
Human Body
Although water is a crucial element in sustaining life on Earth, many of us
fail to recognize how important water is for the human body and what
devastating effects the lack of water consumption can have on our health.
Given that the human body is composed of more than 50% water, it is really
unbelievable how some people just disregard this fact. Without water, there
is no life, and without water in the human body, it is impossible for the body
to perform its functions in a proper way. Humans are capable of surviving
several days without any food, but when it comes to water, the human body
is only capable of surviving a few days before shutting down permanently.
Every single cell of the human body uses water in order to regulate cell
temperature. Although some experts claim that there is a certain amount of
water that every person should drink every day, there are also those who
claim that water intake depends on several factors. Some of these factors are
the climate in your location, how much do you exercise, how much you
weigh, you age, and several others. As regards the amount of water every
person should drink on a daily basis, the number differs for every person, but
many agree that it should be between 2 and 2.5 liters of water per day.
However, both of these groups of experts agree on the following: Water is
crucial in maintaining a healthy body. To preserve the health of our body, we
have a duty to drink enough water. Our body uses water for the removal of
dangerous elements from our organs through sweating, urination, and other
body functions.
Every human organ demands a certain amount of water. However, three
areas that are affected the most by the lack of water intake are the brain,
blood, and muscles. Notably, 85% of the human brain is made up of the
water, and the lack of water strongly influences our brain, which can result in
terrible headaches or other more dangerous consequences. Headaches caused
by the lack of water sometimes transform into a migraine, a terrible
headache for which scientists have not yet found a cure. Given that a
migraine results in terrible pain, the human body is forced to shut down
certain functions, which is one of the reasons why people feel dehydrated,
tired, and exhausted after the pain of a migraine has passed. Moreover, the
lack of water in the human brain can result in such problems as short-term
memory, inability to solve simple mathematical problems, as well as issues
with concentration.
On the other hand, human blood is made up of 80% of water. Blood, being
one of the crucial elements in the human body, is then strongly affected by
the lack of water. Given that blood is responsible for maintaining the health
of our brain, the lack of water poses a serious threat to our health. Blood that
is affected by the lack of water is not able to protect our body, which
consequently gets infected by many kinds of viruses or bacteria. Weak blood
means a weak body. It has also been proven that the lack of water can lead to
high blood pressure and all the problems that come with it.
The muscles of the human body are 70% water. In trying to build stronger
and better looking muscles, we often forget to consume enough water. In
order to maintain a certain level of muscle strength, it is necessary to
consume water constantly. With the lack of water, muscles in the human
body lose their strength, and consequently, the body becomes progressively
weaker. As a consequence, the human body gets tired more quickly, it takes a
longer time to fully relax, and coordination and balance become weaker.
Common Misconceptions
There are several misconceptions as regards water. One of the most prevalent
is that certain types of drinks can replace water. Some people believe that
such drinks as soft drinks, alcohol, tea, energy drinks, and coffee are an
adequate replacement for water. However, no other drink has the same
qualitative values as water. A bottle of soft drink cannot replace a bottle of
water. Moreover, soft drinks are bad for your health because they contain
sugar and other additives, which can have negative effects on your heart and
blood pressure. Unlike water, soft drinks are unable to quench your thirst.
What they actually do is they make you even thirstier than before, creating a
cycle involving soft drinks, water, and thirst. Moreover, coffee and tea
cannot be an adequate replacement for water, as they are actually diuretics.
With the frequent intake of coffee or tea, your body loses the water that is
required for its maintenance.
It is important to remember that sports drinks are also not a replacement for
the water that your body needs. While sports drinks are useful in that they
can replenish the electrolytes that your body may lose during high-intensity
workouts during which you sweat a lot, they will not replenish your body’s
supply of water. Only drinking water will give your body the water that it
needs to maintain its functions.
Energy drinks, unlike sports drinks, do not really provide any health benefit
and are most definitely not a substitute for drinking water. Energy drinks
tend to have very high levels of caffeine, which is why people drink them in
the first place. Some caffeine is beneficial, as it can boost your metabolism,
but too much caffeine can cause an upset stomach, diarrhea, nervousness,
and headaches. If you need some caffeine, try to stick with coffee, as its
caffeine content is much lower than that of energy drinks.
Main Functions of Water in the Human Body
If we were to write down all the functions of water in the human body, it
would take a lot longer for this book to be published, and there would not be
any foreseen deadline. Here, we will mention only a few of the most
important functions of water in the human body. One of them is bringing
oxygen and other nutrients to every possible cell. Without water, the cells in
the human body would be rid of their food, and after some time, those cells
would die out. Another important function of water is the regulation of
temperature. Water in the human body maintains the optimum temperature,
but if that system of protection is endangered by the lack of water,
temperature can have devastating effects on the human body and your health.
One of the crucial functions of water relative to the human body is related to
the kidneys.
The function of the kidneys is to extract waste and other potentially
dangerous elements from the human body through urination. In order for the
kidneys to do their function, they require a sufficient amount of water. When
water intake is insufficient, the kidneys will not be able to perform their
function properly. In this case, waste and other potentially dangerous
materials remain in the kidneys and other parts of the body. This can later
cause serious health issues. Even the skin is affected by the lack of water.
Water keeps human skin moist and healthy. The lack of water results in dry
skin and other problems. There are many more functions of the water in the
human body, but as previously mentioned, it will be almost impossible to list
them all.
Water and Exercising
Drinking water is important, but drinking water before, while, or after a
workout session at the gym, in nature, or at home is even more important.
Exercising and other activities like watching TV or being at work are
different in terms of how much effort it takes to perform them. Exercising is
physically demanding activity, and as such, it results in much more sweat
being lost. Consequently, exercising is an activity that demands a much
bigger water intake. The problem with sweating as a result of exercise is the
loss of not only water but also some other elements important to the proper
functioning of the body. These elements need to be replaced, and the best
way to do this is by drinking water. Water will replace lost elements in the
majority of cases. However, in some cases, additional fluids will be
necessary. Through sweating, we also lose electrolytes, which are important
to replace, but water does not contain such elements. Some drinks, such as
sports drinks and coconut water, contain these much-needed electrolytes and
have been proven to be helpful in hydrating while working out. Another
solution for the replacement of lost electrolytes is to eat fruits. However, not
all fruits have the same amount of electrolytes. Bananas are an excellent
choice as a source of electrolytes.
However, it is also important to drink some water even while eating fruits
because, although fruits contain a certain amount of water, it is still not
enough. One of the signs that your body is losing water and electrolytes and
that it needs those elements to be replaced is when your muscles get easily
tired. Even if you aren’t exercising, you should definitely still be drinking
plenty of water. Without water, you can easily become dehydrated,
especially if you work out. Drinking water while working out is important,
but it doesn’t diminish the significance of drinking water when you’re
lounging at home and relaxing. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ever drink
any other drink other than water; it just means that you need to be conscious
of how much water you are consuming outside of your typical workouts.
Dehydration
Dehydration can be characterized as the lack of an adequate amount of fluid,
mainly water, in the human body. There can be many reasons why
dehydration occurs, that is, there are several ways in which body can lose
such a large amount of fluid that it would lead to dehydration. Some of these
reasons are frequent urination, diarrhea, or diabetes. Aside from these
reasons, sweating and vomiting can lead to dehydration.
In professional sports, dehydration is a common thing because professional
athletes exert so much effort that their bodies quickly lose fluids. However,
when they are constantly consuming fluids, the balance in their bodies is
maintained.
Dehydration is also a common state that occurs in intense workout sessions
not only among the professional athletes but among common people as well.
One difference between professional athletes and common people getting
dehydrated through a workout is that professional athletes know the dangers
of dehydration, and they have a team of people who look after them, so
dehydration for them does not represent a real danger. On the other hand,
common people do not really pay much attention to the amount of fluids
consumed during a workout session, and because of that, they are in real
danger of dehydration.
Dehydration occurs when the body has lost 2% of its total weight while
doing exercise or some other related activity. When dehydration occurs,
indicators of physical performance are reduced, heart beat rate often goes up,
and a person loses the focus and coordination. Basically, dehydration occurs
when the intake of water or other electrolyte-rich fluids is less than the
amount of fluid lost through sweat during the workout session.
According to medical professionals, there are several signs that indicate that
the body has come to a critical moment relative to the presence of fluids in
the body. Some of those signs include a lack of sweat, small or negligible
amount of urine, dark-colored urine, general weakness, dizziness, fatigue,
dry mouth, dry skin, increased body temperature, elevated heart rate,
constipation, headache, muscle cramps, and many others. Dehydration
occurs more with such activities as running, swimming, and cycling than
with such activities as lifting weights, chin-ups, or pull-ups because the
former are much more demanding activities that causes the body to lose
more fluids.
One of the consequences of dehydration is related to the kidneys and their
function. With the lack of fluids in the body, it is possible for kidney stones
to appear. This comes along with certain problems with the liver, muscles,
and others. Dehydration does not only occur as a consequence of hard
training or by being a professional athlete. Dehydration can also be symptom
or consequence of some medical conditions, such as diarrhea or fever.
People with these types of symptoms are much more prone to dehydration.
One of the ways in which dehydration and all its effects can be avoided is to
carry a bottle of water with you wherever you go. Regular intake of fluids,
especially water, will replace the fluids lost through sweating, such that your
body will not feel any consequence of the lack of water.
Some people believe that soft drinks are a good and adequate choice when
faced with the challenge of choosing a replacement for the lost fluids during
workout sessions. Soft drinks cannot replace water relative to dehydration.
In order to overcome the effects of dehydration, a person must drink fluids
that are rich in electrolytes. However, a large majority of soft drinks do not
contain any electrolytes. Those that contain a certain amount of electrolytes
often have added sugar as an ingredient, such that the effects of electrolytes
are nullified. Often, after drinking soft drinks, your body feels even thirstier
than it previously was. Thus, soft drinks must be avoided at any cost. If you
are among those people who cannot stand the plain taste of water, there are
several solutions for you. In this case, the best choice to replace the fluids in
the body is by consuming juice made from freshly grown vegetables and
fruits. However, you must be careful not to use too many fruits and
vegetables because the juice might contain a lot of sugar and calories, which
no longer make it healthy for your body.
Medical professionals keep reminding us that in order to stay healthy, we
must drink enough water, and this is not only when we feel thirsty. Small
sips of water should be taken during the entire day. A bottle of water must
become first thing we grab when we go outside. In this way, we will prevent
our body from becoming dehydrated so that we avoid all the dangerous
effects that come with dehydration that can sometimes even be lifethreatening.
Sufficient intake of fluids is crucial in keeping our body healthy and in
shape. The consequences of insufficient water intake are truly devastating. It
affects sight, muscle strength, kidney and liver function, heart beat rate,
blood flow, and many others. We are constantly being reminded of the
importance of clean, drinking water and yet people come to gyms for
workout sessions or are running or cycling in nature without a bottle of water
as if they came just to stand there and not to perform any kind of activity.
The purpose of exercising is lost if the body ends up being dehydrated.
Electrolyte-filled drinks and plain water are often what the body really needs
to survive workout sessions.
Chapter 17: How Important is Motivation for
Your Workout?
So far, we have talked about several aspects of healthy living, as well as
several aspects of exercising. However, one very important thing was not
previously talked about in depth, and that is motivation. Every single one of
us has been in a situation in which motivation for a workout was an issue,
and all of us struggled to find motivation to return to training or take up
some new activity. This section will try to explain what motivation is and
how it can be reclaimed.
Sometimes, staying healthy or losing weight is not good enough motivation
to get up early in the morning when it is raining outside and the temperature
is freezing cold. In such cases, additional motivation is needed in order to
follow you workout schedule and not fall behind in your exercise routines. It
often happens that one skipped workout session can lead to a second, a
second one leads to a third, and without you even realizing it, you have lost
the habit of exercising and all the good things that came with it.
There are times when people will say things that will only make you doubt
yourself. They might say things about you that you’ve been thinking for a
long time. These types of things will make you lose all motivation to work
out or do whatever it is that you are trying to do. You need to block those
people out. If all they can say to you is about things you need to work on or
things you aren’t good enough at, you shouldn’t be talking to them. Most of
the time, their aim is to bring you down. They don’t care if it what they say
hurts you; they would rather make you feel bad about yourself. Sometimes,
they are the ones doubting themselves. You should try your hardest to stick
with your gut feeling, and don’t give up. It will only lead to failure, and
that’s the last thing you want.
Another reason you might have a lack of motivation is if you have
depression. Battling with depression is something so many people have to
undergo on a daily basis. It is a lot of hard work, and sometimes, it’s hard for
them to get out of bed in the morning. If you have even an ounce of energy,
you should put that towards something you want to be able to do, whether
it’s a hobby or a goal that you are trying to achieve. Every day will be a
struggle, but it doesn’t have to be the thing that holds you back from
everything you can do in life. If you can find that ounce of energy, and you
really want to get into shape, try putting this energy into working out. There
are many workouts that have had positive effects on people who have
depression. This isn’t to say that working out will cure your depression, but
there’s a possibility that you will be able to deal with some of your
symptoms more easily or simply feel relief from your symptoms. If there is
something in your life that has that kind of effect on you, you should try your
hardest to get out of bed to go do it.
The important thing to have in mind as regards motivation is that we must
have a goal that makes us do more in order to achieve more. Doing one thing
and not seeing any improvement or new results will cause the situation to
quickly become tiresome, and people very often lose motivation to
persevere. Continually reinventing goals is something that makes us
motivated and provides us with reasons to do certain things, whether to read,
study, work, or even exercise.
Reward Yourself
One of the best ways to keep yourself motivated to exercise or do some other
type of work is to reward yourself after the completion of the activity. If you
have problems with getting out of bed and going for a run, get out of bed and
prepare a healthy fruit shake or some other type of delicious meal or drink,
and condition yourself to run in order to enjoy the prepared meal or drink.
Keep reinventing the rewards so that you will be able to keep it interesting
without losing motivation. Go shopping, go to a movie, have a drink with
friends, or take a nap, but only do so after you have finished with your
exercise activities or any other activities. This positive conditioning enables
you to create a positive habit of doing something, and in this way, the given
activity will become a routine part of your day after some time. Soon, you
will not need any motivation for this activity. The reason for this is that you
are not doing daily activities in the same way, and your brain looks forward
to new things.
Exercise with Friends
Another excellent way of staying motivated to do some exercise is to
perform that exercise with a group of friends. Often, doing certain things
with a group of friends makes it interesting and prevents us from feeling like
the activity is the same old boring routine, which will eventually result in the
lack of motivation for that activity. Friends are also great because they can
get you out of bed and encourage you to exercise with them. While you do
not necessarily want your friends to guilt you into going exercising with
them, as this could create a negative attitude toward exercising, you will be
more likely to show up to a previously arranged meeting to work out if you
know that other people are depending on you to be there.
Surround yourself with ambitious people whose goal is to improve their lives
in every aspect because soon, your will realize that you have also started to
think similarly and to aim at an improved life. It is always important to have
someone to remind you of what your goals are because sometimes, you get
lost in the world, and you forget the reason why you do certain things.
Exercising with friends who have a positive attitude towards exercising and
towards life, in general, is one of the best ways to realize your full potential
and to be happy with what you have accomplished up to that point and with
what you want to accomplish in the future.
Step-by-step Approach
For so many of us, it is sometimes hard to even get out of the bed. In those
moments, going out and exercising seems like the last thing we want to do.
The best solution is to start your day step by step. Do not set a goal of
exercising as soon as you open your eyes. Instead, take one step at the time.
Wake up, get out of bed, have a cup of coffee, have breakfast, put on your
workout clothes and shoes, and only after you have fully enjoyed the
morning should you go and do some exercise. A step-by-step routine helps
you to overcome the lack of motivation; it gets your heart beat rate slightly
elevated, and you will feel much better knowing what you have
accomplished that morning.
The step-by-step approach also applies to your exercise routine overall. Do
not expect that you will be able to launch yourself into complicated,
challenging, or high-intensity workouts right away if you are just starting
out. Focus on beginner exercises that are easy to learn and perform, and
make sure that you are doing these exercises properly. As your fitness level
improves, you will be able to take on new and more complex exercises and
increase the challenges offered by your workout routine.
If you start out with unrealistic goals, then you will not achieve those goals,
and you will be discouraged. Set realistic goals for yourself, such that each
goal that you accomplish will encourage you to reach your next goal. In this
way, you will continue to improve and advance your fitness level.
This step-by-step approach does not have to be limited only to exercise and
workout regimens. It can be applied to all aspects of our lives. It does not
matter if you need the motivation to exercise, to do your work, to study, or
anything else. A step-by-step approach is something worth noting and
remembering because you can only benefit from it.
Keep Your Workout Clothes in Sight
One of the most specific ways of maintaining and recapturing motivation to
do some exercises or to go to the local gym is to keep your workout clothes
in sight. In this way, you will constantly be reminded of exercising and its
benefits. Keep your workout clothes or your running shoes somewhere in
plain sight so that you get constantly reminded of the training. You can keep
your clothes or your shoes next to your bed, in front of the bathroom door, or
near the doors of your closet – it really does not matter. What matters is that
your brain gets constant information about exercising, which will create a
habit of exercising. Soon, you will be in a situation in which you will not
need any motivation boosts in order to perform certain activities.
This technique also helps because if it is easier to get into your workout
clothes and out to wherever you are exercising – whether it is the gym,
running track, yoga studio, or your home workout station – then it is more
likely that you would actually put on the clothes and go. Having everything
immediately available takes away one obstacle on those days when your
motivation may be low, and just one obstacle might be enough to prevent
you from getting to your workout.
Motivational Quotes Work, Too
One of the biggest clichés as regards motivation or the lack of it is
motivational quotes. However, for many people, motivational quotes do the
job. Find people who inspire you, read and listen what they have written or
said, and implement that in your daily routines, whether it has to do with
exercise or something else. Find quotes on the Internet, write them down,
and leave them next to your mirror so that you can see them every time you
looked at yourself in the mirror. These motivational quotes will give you the
positive energy boost that you require and will make you feel much better,
especially if they are about the goals that you set for yourself. Do not run
away from motivational reading material. Use it to make your own
experience better and easier. Watch motivational videos because after
watching or reading material like that, your brain will want to accomplish
similar results, and it will encourage you to perform whatever activities you
need to perform. Do not limit yourself to your own experience. Broaden
your experience and world view by conducting research on other people’s
lives and experiences. See what they did that made them successful in life,
and try to apply that in your own life.
Do What You Like
Another important thing is to do what you like and not what others expect
you to do or what anybody else wants. In the end, nobody else matters but
you. If you find yourself in a situation in which you do something that is not
a pleasure for you, try to look around and see if what you have been doing is
for you or for someone else. What you need to realize is that you are the
master of your destiny. You decide on what you want to do. If you want to
go swimming, do it because you like it, and you think that it is beneficial for
you. Otherwise, you might get into a situation where your life feels
miserable just because you do not want to say no to a friend when he or she
invites you to a weightlifting workout when you actually hate weightlifting.
Do not be afraid of having your own opinion and saying “no” to things you
do not like and that you think might harm you, your body, or your health.
Life is short – too short to spend on doing things you do not like. When you
do things you actually like to do, your need for motivation will be reduced to
a minimum. This happens because your brain ties things you like with
positive effects, and because of that, you will be willing to do such activities
without any problems.
Part of doing what you like is adding variety to your workout. Even if you
start out doing an exercise that you absolutely love, chances are pretty good
that if you do that exercise repeatedly, you might eventually start to get tired
of it. This will not exactly encourage you to keep going, especially if you are
bored with what you are doing. Changing up the type of exercise that you are
doing can keep you excited and interested in your workouts, which makes it
much more likely that you will keep the exercise routine going.
If you feel like you are starting to get bored, you might want to consider
trying out a new class at your gym, buying a workout video, looking up
some new floor or weight exercises, or trying out a new type of exercise that
you’ve never considered before.
Positive Thinking
Although this way of being motivated may be characterized as something for
people from the hippie movement, the power of positive thinking has been
proven to help, even in some cases of diseases. There are numerous cases in
which terminally ill people managed to overcome their diseases when
everything else failed because they refused to give up. They kept their heads
up and kept being positive, and they were rewarded for not giving up. To
keep a positive attitude towards people and life, in general, is to live a
healthy and fulfilled life.
Positive thinking provides you with enough positive energy to fulfill your
daily responsibilities without getting tired or exhausted. Negative thinking
equals negative energy. When you are thinking positively, everyone around
you feels that, and they feed off that positive energy, which makes their days
and lives more positive. On the other hand, negative thoughts create negative
energy, which makes everyone around you feel negative and bad. By staying
positive, you do not only have a positive attitude towards life, but your body
and brain also do not need any additional motivation for your daily activities.
Positive thinking may actually be one of the best ways to remain motivated
for your daily activities, including exercising. With positive thinking, you
might actually be unstoppable because it makes you believe that you can
overcome any kind of obstacle that life throws at you. Positive thinking is
not just an idea put forward by some hippies from the Beatles era. Positive
thinking is much more than that. It is a life philosophy and a way of life.
Realistic Goals
One of the crucial things for you not to lose motivation and maintain it
throughout the entire workout process is having realistic goals. Do not start
exercising, or anything else in life for that matter, with big goals that are too
high because that is a definite road to failure and feeling miserable. Instead,
set your goal to be more realistic in nature. Create a list of short-term goals
or those that are possible to achieve in a short period of time. Basically, what
you need to do is to create a “to-do list.” In this way, you will be able to
cross out the goals that you have achieved so far. Achieving goals has a
tremendous psychological influence over the human brain and the human
body, such that it makes you immediately go for another goal on the list.
Instead of creating a goal of losing 60 pounds in 4 months or any other
unrealistic time frame, create a goal of losing 5 to 10 pounds per month. In
this way, you won’t have to wait 6 months to cross out this goal. Instead, you
will be able to cross out one goal every month, and we already mentioned
the psychological effects of achieving short-term goals. If you keep doing
this, you will always have the motivation to perform certain activities, and it
will provide you with the boost of positive energy that can only help you in
further fulfilling of your goals. However, in a situation in which you wait for
a long time in order to achieve your goal, your motivation decreases as time
passes by. This is because if it takes you too long to achieve a goal, then the
improvement is hardly visible, and you lose motivation when wondering
what the point of all this is.
Lower your Expectations
Strongly correlated with setting realistic goals is lowering your expectations
as regards certain activities that you perform in your life. By lowering your
expectations, you are taking the pressure off, which makes you perform your
activities much more effectively and productively. When your expectations
are too high and you fail to meet such expectations, your level of motivation
will be very low, and it will become a problem for you to start doing
something else.
On the other hand, every fulfilled expectation gives you a motivational boost
that keeps you on the right track. Fulfilling your expectations also gives a
boost of positive energy, which makes everything else feel better. No matter
how small expectations are, the psychological effects of fulfilling such
expectations do wonders relative to staying motivated for any other kind of
activity in the future.
As mentioned previously, the issue of motivation can be crucially important
in achieving goals and fulfilling your plans. However, there are often
situations in which motivation is lacking, and we need to find a way to raise
that level of motivation in order to fulfill and achieve previously determined
plans. Several solutions to this kind of problem were given in this section.
However, that does not mean that these solutions can be applied to your case
because every person is different, and different things and customs make
people motivated.
The aforementioned list is just an example of what some people have done to
overcome their problems that were caused by the lack of motivation. The
most important thing in all of this is that you do what you like and what
makes you feel happy. This is the best possible way to stay motivated and
avoid the problems caused by the lack of motivation.
Chapter 18: Stay in Shape Even When You are on
a Vacation
Everybody needs a vacation at least once a year. In those 10 to 15 days, the
body and mind go through completely different processes than the ones they
were used to before you go on a vacation. For people who are used to regular
exercising, going on a vacation can be slightly problematic because their
daily routine will be interrupted, and that can sometimes prove to be bad for
the body. If you spend a lot of time working out and exercising, your body
has already gotten used to the physical effort that has been put into the
workout. However, a sudden change of routine – from daily workouts to 10
to 15 days of no workout – can be slightly problematic for the body. There is
no evidence of the medical consequence of pausing workout sessions.
However, psychologically, it might feel at least a bit unusual to spend 10 to
15 days without any workout being done. With the lack of adequate
equipment, the lack of time, or any other reason, working out when on a
vacation has proven to be a challenge not everyone is equipped to face.
In order to stay in shape when you almost have no means of doing that, you
must look for alternative ways of exercising. Your standard workout might
seem difficult after returning from vacation, but do not worry because while
you were on vacation, your body got used to slightly fewer sessions, but you
will be in the same old form after only a couple of days. Make sure that you
find an exercise that suits you and the needs of your body because
sometimes, mistakes can lead to injuries and a total pause from workout
regimes. All the things you did for preparation before the workout must be
done again when you are on a vacation because doing any type of exercise
without proper pre-warm up exercises is risky, and you can end up suffering
from injuries that can cause a lot of problems and keep you out of the gym
for a longer period of time.
Eat Enough Protein
One of the ways in which you can maintain the strength of your body while
on vacation is to eat a lot of proteins. Food that contains a lot of protein can
be found in every store, so you do not have to worry about whether you will
be able to find any protein-rich food. When talking about protein-rich food,
it is important to emphasize that the greatest amount of protein can be found
in meat, cheese, fish, different kinds of seeds, nuts, and eggs. That being
said, it is important to emphasize that you must be careful with this kind of
food because too much of anything can have completely different results
than what is desired. It is also very important to stay properly hydrated or to
drink enough water, because the lack of water in human body takes its toll on
muscle strength. When there isn’t enough water in the human body, muscles
lose their strength, and the body becomes tired very quickly. Having a
hydrated body might also give you some motivation to go to the gym. You’ll
feel good, but you know that you’ll feel even better once you’ve completed a
workout.
Improvise
When all fails, your improvisation and imagination might help you in a way
you would never expect. When faced with the lack of opportunity to work
out, similar effects can be simulated by doing some other activities. For
example, start walking more. Go out for longer walks. In doing so, your
body will work out just enough to maintain the level of readiness you had
before going on a vacation. Heavy traveling bags can sometimes be used to
train your biceps and triceps for them to remain lean and strong. If it happens
that you are vacationing near a mountain, go for a hike. The effort you put
into hiking will get your heart beat rate up, increase blood flow, and enable
you to sustain the level of physical readiness you had before going on a
vacation. If it happens that you are vacationing somewhere on the seashore,
swimming is the best option for you and your muscles. Another great
vacation exercise is playing different sports. There is likely to be a sports
court within the vicinity. Whether it is basketball, football, soccer, beach
volleyball, tennis court, or something else, sports are a great way of staying
in shape and maintaining muscle integrity.
Find a Local Gym
A local gym is always a great idea for continuing your workout sessions. In
this case, there is no need to change any aspect of the workout just because
you are traveling. One of the problems with finding a local gym in the place
where you are staying is the fact that you will have to pay a membership fee
in order for you to use its services. Everything that you did in the gym in
your hometown, you can also do in the gym where you are on vacation. Ask
around, and see whether the hotel you are staying in has a gym or pool.
Swimming would be an excellent activity for preserving the strength of your
muscles while providing you with the opportunity to work on your cardio.
Finding a local gym would be an ideal replacement when you go on a
vacation. However, that is sometimes impossible, so you would be forced to
find another way to work on your physical readiness.
In recent years, another type of workout has become more and more popular,
and that is the street workout. Using bars and other elements placed publicly
on the streets, it is possible to maintain your form, as well as build stronger
and leaner muscles from scratch. The street workout is an efficient way of
working out, but it is also very demanding, and it requires adequate
preparation just like the case with all other exercises.
Fitness Classes
If you are staying at a resort, or even if you are on a cruise ship, there are
often fitness classes that are offered to guests. In addition to being a great
option for getting in some exercise, it is also a good way to meet fellow
guests and some locals and to make friends during your vacation. Moreover,
you might be exposed to the local culture if it is incorporated into the fitness
classes. For example, in Cuba, many resorts offer classes that introduce
traditional Cuban dances, such as salsa and rumba, as part of workout
routines. There are almost always fitness classes available, no matter where
you are. These can open your eyes to a whole new realm of exercises that
you can try out. Some of them might feel strange, but there will be some that
will connect with you, and you might bring that into your workout,
enhancing it with something fun and exciting. This can help bring your
workout routine from just a routine to something that will make you smile.
Work Out in Your Hotel Room
Your hotel room is also a very good place where you can do a certain
number of exercises that will enable you to maintain your fitness and
workout sessions. Several pieces of equipment used for exercising are
portable, so you can bring them with you on your travels. One such piece of
equipment is a jump rope, the role and importance of which have been
mentioned previously. Notably, 30 minutes of exercising with a jump rope is
sometimes more useful than an hour of running, swimming, or cycling.
Aside from jumping rope, you can do a lot more exercises that will make
your muscles strong and lean, as well as preserve the level of their strength
until you can return to your previously determined workout regimen. Some
of these exercises include squats, burpees, pushups, crunches, and many
others.
Moreover, if you have enough space in your traveling bags, you could carry
a bar for chin-ups. Sometimes, chin-ups can be done by only using a door
frame. As discussed earlier in the book, resistance bands are a great option
for exercising while traveling because they are very light and take up
virtually no room in your luggage. These exercises will not only preserve the
strength of your muscles but will also improve your heart beat rate and blood
flow, as well as increase the intake of oxygen necessary for the proper
functioning of the human body.
Jumping jacks are also a very good choice, not only for working out when
you are on vacation, but also when you are not because your whole body
gains benefits while doing jumping jacks, as almost every muscle is involved
in the performance of this exercise.
Aside from the already mentioned exercises, push-ups are also among the
most effective one, yet they are very simple, and because of that, they can be
performed almost under all circumstances and in all locations. This makes
them a great exercise to perform while on vacation. Moreover, many hotels
have a fitness room, so you should definitely utilize that. They generally
come with a treadmill, maybe an elliptical, a bike, and maybe some free
weights, but this is more than enough to do a simple workout.
There are also hotels that have pools. If the pool is indoors, you don’t have
to worry about the time of year. Swimming is a wonderful exercise, and if
you have access to a pool or any body of water to swim in, you should
definitely try to take advantage of that. You’ll feel better about not being
able to perform your typical routine if you get a good workout doing
something.
While you are on vacation, the intensity and duration of your workout are
significantly reduced because you are limited in term of the resources that
are available to you at that time. Depending on whom you are with while
vacation, it is always better to spend more time with friends or family than
doing too much exercise that is not adjusted to your needs. If you decide that
you would continue with the workout while on vacation, you need to make a
commitment because it is very easy to find excuses for not working out, and
this is especially easy when you are visiting new cities or new countries.
There is one problem with working out while you are on vacation. Give that
you are on vacation, you should be relaxing and enjoying some free time.
Otherwise, the purpose of the entire vacation seems pointless. You should
work out, but you should also have a lot of time to relax and enjoy the
scenery, food, company, and everything that comes with vacation because
without a healthy mind, the health of the body has no purpose. If your
vacation is somewhere that you’ll be spending a lot of time on a beach or
somewhere that you’ll be swimming, you should take full advantage of that.
Swimming is a workout, yes, but you’ll have fun doing it. If you’re with
your family, then going to a beach or a pool is even more beneficial.
Everyone can have a fun time, and you can still get your workout in without
leaving them.
Although the medical aspects of interrupting continuous workout sessions
reveal no serious problems, it may be hard for you to find motivation to get
back to training after you have returned from a vacation where you have not
spent any time exercising. Given that the lack of motivation can be crucial in
maintaining a healthy lifestyle, it is important to have at least the smallest
habit of waking up early, eating healthy food, doing some cardio, and
preserving the strength and integrity of your muscles.
While it can be difficult to resist overeating or eating unhealthy foods while
you are on vacation, you should try and avoid doing so for the most part. It is
okay to indulge every once in a while, but if you indulge in every meal the
whole time that you are traveling, it is going to have a significant negative
impact on your diet and can set you back quite a bit. Focus on eating
vegetables, fruits, and baked or grilled foods, and remember that you do not
need to eat dessert after every meal. Healthy options are almost always
available. You just have to pay attention to your options, and pick the foods
that will fit in best with your dietary plan.
A vacation is a time to enjoy and relax, but that does not mean that you have
to give up your fitness goals completely while you are away. You will feel
better about yourself and enjoy your time more if you try and stick with your
regimen as much as you can while still taking advantage of the opportunities
that present themselves during your vacation.
Key Highlights
Weight loss is a very important aspect of life. If you are fat or obese, then it
is high time that you decide to put your health back on the right track. The
best way to know whether you are overweight is by checking your body
mass index. You should be within your minimum limits. You need to check
your weight and then calculate your BMI. Even if you are in the right range,
it is important to take care of your body. It does not take a lot to tone your
body; all you need is a little dedication. Once you get the hang of it, you will
continue to pursue it and get your body into good shape. Your confidence
level will increase, and you will have a chance to live a better life.
Nutrition is key when you wish to lose weight or maintain a slim figure. You
must look at what you are putting into your body. You cannot blindly follow
a diet just because someone else is seeing positive results with it. You must
come up with a meal plan that is beneficial to you. As mentioned in this
book, you need to calculate the calories needed by your body and consume
no more than necessary. You must also take care of the fat that you are
consuming, and try to limit the bad fat while promoting the good fat. Try and
eat as much healthy and nutritious food as possible, and don’t include any
junk food. If you are finding it tough to stay away from junk food, then
consider having just one cheat meal per week.
Being vegan or vegetarian doesn’t mean that you can’t be just as lean and fit
as everyone else. In fact, many people have switched to this kind of lifestyle
and have had some really amazing results. Many times, it changed their life
so much that they start losing weight because they cleansed their body of a
lot of the processed foods they had been eating. Being a vegan or vegetarian
is a huge change in your life, but you can still work out and lose weight. You
can feel really good about yourself and know that your reasons for going
down this route are your own. No one will be able to change that fact.
Exercise is a must, no matter how fit you already are. By exercising, you will
do your body a whole host of good. You will have the chance to have better
heart health, increase your immunity, and remain active for longer periods of
time. You can choose any cardio exercise, like running or swimming, if you
do not have the time to perform the prescribed exercises in this book. If you
do decide on this, remember that there is no point in not taking them up. It’s
now or never, so it is best that you start exercising at the earliest possible
time, and reap its benefits.
Supplements are necessary to consume as your body might not get the
needed nutrition solely through the food you consume. You need to
supplement your food with supplements loaded with nutrients and
multivitamins. You can choose any of the nutrients mentioned in this book to
help boost your weight loss and muscle gain. However, you might have to
consult a physician first in order to remain safe from any side effects.
Overdosing will not help you see faster results, so it is important to remain
within the prescribed limits.
The recipes mentioned in this book will be great to start with, but you must
not limit yourself to just those on the list. You must come up with recipes
that suit your taste and palate. The ultimate goal is to remain healthy for life,
so you need to make the consumption of healthy foods a lifestyle choice. If
you are having difficulty understanding what needs to be added to your
meals to benefit your weight loss regimen, then you can work with a
nutritionist and come up with a list of foods that are good for you.
Meal frequency needs to be worked on if you wish to reduce your weight
and increase your metabolism. You really should get over the “eat three
meals a day” to remain healthy theory, and take up the five to six meal plan.
You can split your three meals into five to six meals, and make sure you are
not overeating. Again, you can work closely with a nutritionist and come up
with a meal plan that works best for your body.
Stopping with bad habits, such as smoking and drinking, will go a long way
in helping you remain fit and healthy for life.
Alternative exercises, such as Pilates and yoga, are a must for all-around
body development. Sticking to hardcore exercises alone will not do your
body any good. You need to focus on mixing it up with relaxing exercise
routines that will work on your brain and body. Try and do yoga at least five
times a week. You can choose alternate days. You can also introduce
breathing exercises that will help you feel relaxed and remain motivated.
It is extremely important to have all your vital statistics checked and
recorded before you choose to take up weight loss as a mission. You should
have your weight, blood pressure, glucose levels, and other such important
statistics measured and recorded. You must tell your physician that you are
taking up a diet and an exercise routine to lose weight. Once you get the go
signal, you can start practicing the exercises and reel in good health.
Remember to monitor your stats from time to time, and it is best that you
buy yourself a weight machine, a blood pressure monitoring machine, and a
blood sugar monitor to remain healthy.
Remember to never give up on anything that you take up. It is a tough task to
lose weight and remain fit, no doubt, but you must persevere and not give up
just because you seek faster results. If you put in the hard work, then you
will definitely see good results. It’s just a matter of time, and once you see
results, you will continue to work hard. If you are having problems
continuing, then convince someone to take up the diet and exercise program
with you. The two of you will motivate each other to continue doing the
good work. You can also join a group session, like a yoga class, or simply
join a gym to motivate you.
Rewarding yourself from time to time is vital. You need to give yourself a
gift in order to remain motivated. You can gift yourself something material
or simply hit the spa. As long as you look forward to getting the gift, you
will be motivated to put in the hard work. However, you must remember not
to do it often, as it might end up becoming a common thing. So set yourself
yearly or half-yearly goals in terms of your weight loss, and once you
successfully achieve these goals, buy yourself something valuable.
Conclusion
Thank you again for purchasing this book!
I really hope this book was able to help you understand how fitness nutrition
works so that you can achieve your weight loss and fitness goals. I have tried
my best to motivate you into taking up nutrition to attain a healthy body.
The next step is to start making improvements in your diet and daily routine
by putting all that you have learned from this book into action. There is no
better time than now to get started on a healthier and more active lifestyle.
If you’ve enjoyed this book, then I’d like to ask you for a favor. Would you
be kind enough to leave a review for this book on Amazon? It’d be greatly
appreciated!
Click Here To Leave a Review for This Book on Amazon
Thank you, and good luck!
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