Step Two - Nutrition
Basically your body is made from the food you eat. Nutrients such as proteins, minerals and vitamins are needed to make and repair your body bits and allow essential processes such as your immune and digestive system to function. We also need food to power this wonderful piece of kit. To say food is important to your health is an understatement, simply put if your diet is poor, and then you will be poorly. I hate the terms good food, bad food. Things are only bad if they are eaten out of balance. One chocolate bar is not going to make you fat so enjoy but eating nothing but chocolate is neither healthy nor very enjoyable. Even fruit eaten to excess can make you ill, its all about balance and variety. The ratio of nutrients you consume corresponds with the nutritional ratio of your body so if you eat to high levels of fat, then your body will be mainly fat.
Here are some simple tips to help you balance your diet -
- If you plan to lose weight, get a body fat meter. It's not all about losing calories, your aim is to achieve a healthy fat ratio and BMI and monitoring your progress will help you achieve targets.
- Cut down on foods high in sugar and fat, they mess up blood sugar levels and lead to cravings.
- Cut down on processed and highly refined foods such as ready meals and white bread. They are generally low in nutrition, high in calories and full of additives.
- The best foods to eat are pure basic food and the best way to check is look at the ingredient label. Go for foods that have less than 3 ingredients on the list, in fact the best foods are those that are so pure, they do not need an ingredient label such as meat, fish, vegetables and nuts.
- Don't make the excuse that you haven't got time to eat properly, if you are that busy then you are going to need a good diet. Anyway, how long does it take to put a piece of fish or steak under the grill and some vegetables in a steamer?
- Avoid high intakes of stimulating drinks such as fizzy drinks, those containing caffeine and alcohol, they dehydrate, drain long term energy and act as an anti- nutrient by blocking the absorption of certain essential minerals and vitamins. Water may initially seem boring but it is a great energy booster.
- Give up smoking. There are no if, buts or maybes, it does affect your heart and lungs and you will dramatically increase your chances of dying younger. It is also an illusion that it is pleasurable because it substantially raises your chances of suffering from anxiety attacks and depression.