21 Days of Habit Hacks-Day #3

by | Nov 8, 2014 | General Health, Healthy Eating, Helps, Lifestyle

Welcome back for Day #3 of our 21 day journey to prepare for the holidays by hacking our habits!  Now that you have cleaned out the cabinets and the fridge to make room for the great choice you made on your shopping trip, here are some helpful hints about our actual eating habits:

  • Feed your body often, about every 3-4 hours. This will keep your ‘fuel’ levels balanced and will eliminate spikes-which typically lead to unhealthy choices.
  • Good fuel choices include lean protein, complex carbohydrates and friendly fats. A simple way to remember these:
    • protein comes from animals, think meat and eggs. Lean protein helps you feel full longer.
    • Carbs come from plants, think wheat/flour and vegetables. Complex carbs are fruits and vegetables, whereas simple carbs are the sugary treats that turn to glucose and then fat. Complex carbs digest more slowly, giving your body a chance to use the nutrients.
    • Friendly fats like olive oil and avocados are not only necessary for bodily functions, they add flavor to food!
  • Avoid heavily processed foods-if it’s from a box, it’s probably not a good choice. There maybe a few acceptable choices, so read labels. Keep an eye on the list of ingredients, the fewer the better, and if you can’t pronounce it, you probably don’t need it. Also, look at fat, carb and sugar contents.  Fats should be few and ‘good’ fats, which are the monounsaturated fats that remain liquids at room temperature. When it comes to sugar, it should amount to less than 20% of the total amount of carbs.

    food pyramid image

    Feed your body every 3-4 hours and make the healthiest choices!

No need to count calories if you make the calories count.  Consider your choices and make the choice that affords your body more benefits.  As mentioned above, read labels and the nutrition descriptions of recipes.  Remember that fats have more than twice the calories (9 cal./gram) than proteins and carbs (4 cal./gram).

Great job so far!! I am so excited you are along for this ride and so proud of you for wanting to improve your health!  If you need more personalized help or have questions or concerns-leave a comment below-I would LOVE to hear from you!!

Until next time-be well!

Your Best Fitness Friend