Nutrition in Basics

Eat Real Food. Period.

Submitted by journeygym on Wed, 09/01/2010

When Michael Pollan wrote his various food-related books (Food Rules most recently), he was trying to simplify the challenges we face when trying to select food for a healthy lifestyle.  While he provided some examples and more specific rules, his primary recommendation is:

“Eat food. Not too much.  Mostly plants.”

Simple enough. Right?  Well, yes and no.

For those that are happy with such a simple answer, then it is just that.  Your health will notably improve if you:

● Eat real food: Avoid food that makes health claims or has more than 5 ingredients.

● Not too much: Your body takes 20 minutes to recognize it is full and you know how much food you can eat in 20 minutes.  A lot!  So slow down and stop eating well before you feel full.

Spring Fitness Tune-up

Submitted by journeygym on Thu, 04/01/2010

Ahhh Spring.  As the the sun and teasing warm weather bring us out of Winter hibernation, many are motivated to get in back in shape.  If you have been working out all Winter, nice work! For the majority of us who have not, keep these five tips in mind over the next few weeks.

Stretch - Remember to stretch smart.  Instead of stretching at the beginning of a workout when your muscles are cold and stiff, do a warm-up first.  Running, step aerobics, jumping jacks...whatever you want to do to get your muscles warmed up. Once warmed, stretch away!

Eat - When you are exercising more, you are going to work up a healthy appetite.  This is natural and it is important to eat well so you have the energy to keep up your exercise plan.  However, don’t use exercise as an excuse to eat more junk food.  A recent news article described a couple women who would run 3 miles in the morning and then, as a reward, buy a large pastry and coffee at Starbucks.  Their run burned less than half the calories that they consumed afterwards. So eat more, but stay away from the junk.

How To Make Exercise A Daily Habit

Submitted by journeygym on Fri, 01/01/2010

We love this article and the blog it is from.  Please visit Zen Habits if you enjoy this article as their blog is chock-full of articles about productivity and self-improvement.  Recently my friend and fellow blogger Scott Young did a great post entitled, “New to exercise? Make workouts daily“ as it was an excellent post, and perfectly timed as it mirrors my own recent efforts at making exercise a daily habit.

The problem with trying to make exercise a habit, and it’s something that we’ve all faced, is that you usually try to exercise 3 or 4 times a week…and that makes creating a new exercise habit difficult.  The reason is that the more consistent an action is, the more likely it is to be a habit.

Therefore, as Scott points out, and it’s something I fully agree with, exercising every day is more likely to result in a habit — something that becomes almost automatic, and much easier, instead of a constant struggle.

Nutrition Basics

Submitted by journeygym on Tue, 12/01/2009

It is easy to become swept up in health trends: the miracle pill, that super antioxidant, the flat ab diet, you name it.  There can be value in these trends, but they can also deter you from the following the essentials to a healthy lifestyle.  You really don’t need to know it all.  Follow these guidelines and you will be well on your way to great health.

Step One - Understand the Basics

There are three major nutrients you should consume every day:

● Protein is the body’s main structural element as all muscles and tissues are made from this nutrient and the immune system uses protein.  Primary sources are eggs, meats, fish, beans, dairy products, and soy products.

● Carbohydrates is the body’s preferred energy source.  Primary sources are grains, pastas, cereals, breads, vegetables, fruits, and sugars.

● Fat is the energy storage nutrient in the body and is also used a source of energy for low-intensity activity.  Primary sources are butter, all oils, and meats.

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