Nutrition

Nutrition is described as getting the nutrients that your body needs to be healthy. What does that mean? Everywhere you turn you are told to do this and that, until you have no clue. You have heard it all, but do not really know what it means enough to apply it to your life. Your motto is, "If it tastes great, I will eat it!"

Unfortunately fast food restaurants and processed food manufacturers know your motto well! They add fats, sugars, and salt, to their empty nutritionally bankrupt foods to make them taste delicious!

These foods cause food cravings, blood sugar highs and lows, plus weight gain. Our culture now is a large one, with 2/3 of our people overweight or obese.

Let’s understand a bit more of nutrition: (Links will be provided as the pages are done)

Nutrition Basics

Calories - What is the mysterious Calorie, that everyone talks about? Are they something that we really need to be aware of, or worry about when we are trying to develop Healthy Diet Habits? What is the Scoop?

• Calories and Money - I love the concept of using calories and money together.  I think that counting calories the weight loss is impossible, I believe that counting calories like money can be a helpful tool in many ways.
• Calorie Counts of Foods per Pound - Calorie counts of foods per pound clearly show that real foods are much less caloric per pound than processed foods! Some of your favorite foods are almost like eating straight butter!

Half Plate Rule - The Half Plate Rule is a simple way to eat healthier if you do not want to count calories, which can be difficult to do accurately.  This is a Healthy Diet Habit to incorporate in your life!

Protein - Protein is a macronutient that is essential for health, and is considered the building block of the body.

Fats - Fats do not cause weight gain or loss, but eating the wrong type of fat can be unhealthy, and eating too much can cause weight gain. The lifestyle solution is to avoid the trans and saturated options.

Carbohydrates - Carbohydrates are vegetables, fruits, starches, and sugar products.  They are the main nutrient that gives you energy, and without them, your body would not work well.

Glycemic Index - The Glycemic Index, is a system that measures the speed at which a particular carbohydrate raises blood sugar, after that food is eaten. The GI Diet uses this rating system to control carbohydrates!

Fiber - Fiber is the miracle nutrient for losing weight and keeping it off, for regulating blood sugar & controlling hunger.  Adding more fiber is a healthy diet habit to include as a lifestyle solution!

Sugar - Sugar is a type of carbohdrate, that your body does not need to survive and is definitely not a healthy diet habit. The lifestyle solution is to lower your sugar intake for health.

Food Cravings - Food Cravings are a physiological and emotionally intense urge to eat a certain type of food.  We need to understand them, and learn healthy diet habits to end our food cravings.

Carbohydrates and Weight Gain - Are carbohydrates and weight gain related? Basic overview of what is going on, Insulin and food cravings, and tips to help!

Sugar Substitutes - Sugar Substitutes should be used in moderation. The Healthy Diet Habit would be to cut down your taste for sweet foods in general, rather than trying to eat chemically sweetened foods.

Processed Foods - Limit Processed Foods if you are eating for health! The more that you limit processed foods, the easier weight control will be for you!

Real Foods - Real foods are ones that are not highly processed, contain no refined ingredients, and do not come in a box or bag. Find tips to add these foods to your menu!

Salt - Dietary salt is out of control in this country due to the consumption of processed foods! Find simple ways to reduce your intake by altering your habits! Do you even know how much salt you eat?

Vitamins

Minerals

Phytochemicals or Phytonutrients

Food Additives, Chemicals and Nitrates - Food Additives are not natural foods, but man-made chemicals. Our culture is suffering, because our bodies are not made to be exposed to this level of food chemicals.

Nutrition Confusion - Nutrition Confusion is what you should be feeling, if you read the nutrition basics section. The goal is to learn healthy diet habits and learn healthy eating habits.

Dietary Problems - These Four Largest Dietary Problems, are contributing to the reasons that we are an overweight  population. Most of them do not involve food, but other habits, behaviors, and emotional eating.

Hopefully, as you read through some of these sections, you will begin to understand areas that are difficult for you. Nutrition can be confusing, no doubt about it! Once you find areas of difficulties, you can make a plan and practice Lifestyle Solutions.

This site, will concentrate on developing healthy diet habits, that will help you eat nutritionally well, and change the habits that have led to your unhealthy diet habits.