HEALTHY EATING HABITS

How many of us find ourselves on the struggle bus when it comes to controlling what we eat? We often think the fitness journey is all about working out, drinking up the protein shakes and lifting heavy weights. Its’ so much more than that. The big part of whole body transformation/maintenance is what you put inside the body, what you eat…. In most cases, it’s proven that women eat a healthier diet than men.

photo: Scharad Lightborne Photography

In a Massachusetts survey, for example, women were about 50% more likely than men to meet the goal of eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. The masculine ideal of meat and potatoes should give way to vegetables, fruits, grains, and fish.

source: harvard university

It’s obvious that we are very different beings in every sense of the way. It’s crazy how men could swallow cows, sheep, horse, duck, i mean almost anything and not gain weight and here we are as women counting our grapes , slicing our oranges in half and measuring how much wine to pour in a glass (ahh well not really lol) but you get the point. It is super hard biologically for us women to get to the place we want as it relates to our weight, physique and appearance. But we are winning at some things though. No, it’s not a competition buuuutttt the way men eat finally does catch up with them in the long run and as women we train ourselves into good habits that stick in the long run don’t we?!. Besides the good genes, insane metabolism at an early age and bottomless pit, men aren’t so lucky later in life…

…At younger ages, men face a greater risk of heart disease than women. On average, a first heart attack—the most common manifestation of this prevalent disease—strikes men at age 65. For women, the average age of a first heart attack is 72

source: Harvard University

This is huge reality check for men and women. We are both exposed to NCD’s (non-communicable diseases) at some point in life if we don’t maintain a healthy diet and workout. So now that we have some facts, lets discuss the ways we can curb our health towards the right direction, live longer, look and feel better and embrace a new way of living. Let’s talk the benefits of dieting and the various diets. I’ve compiled a list of my top researched diets and jump starts for you to consider adding to your fitness journey.

Green Juice ingredients

TYPES OF DIETS:

1. WHOLE 30
   The Whole30 diet is a month-long elimination diet used as a nutrition reset. The central premise of the diet is that food should make you healthier, but it says many common foods found in Western diets—including sugar, alcohol, grains, dairy, legumes, and certain food additives—can be harmful to your health, well-being, and energy. During the 30 days, you will eat whole, unprocessed foods, like fruits, vegetables, animal protein, nuts, and healthy fats. After the 30 days, you will slowly reintroduce off-limits food groups to check for reactions. The program is not a weight-loss plan, but many people find they lose weight on Whole30. The goal is better health, so it is recommended to not weigh yourself or take body measurements during the full 30 days.
   
   KETO
   The ketogenic diet is an eating strategy where you power your system on fat, rather than carbohydrates. A standard ketogenic diet consists of 75% fat, 20% protein, and 5% carbohydrates, though there is some room for modification to meet your personal goals. If you eat 2,000 calories per day, this breaks down to about 167 grams of fat, 100 grams of protein, and 25 grams or fewer of carbohydrates.

By minimizing your carbohydrate intake and consuming healthy fats instead, the ketogenic diet puts your body into ketosis. This is a metabolic state where the liver converts fats into acids called ketone bodies that it uses for fuel. This process simulates fasting conditions to switch up your energy supply. Naturally, there are some significant side effects from this process; some positive and others less so.

Mediterranean
This balanced, heart-healthy diet is well-researched and advocates an active lifestyle, a healthy weight, and less sugar, red meat and saturated fat and more fruits, vegetables and nuts. This is another kind of vegetable-heavy diet that avoids a lot of meat, but does not eliminate it altogether. This diet has been proven to help with depression, in addition to controlling blood sugar levels and helping with weight loss. The Mediterranean diet recommends the use of oil as much as possible and that means as an alternative to butter, salad dressings or marinades. It also emphasizes adding vegetables to each meal and favors fish over chicken. Whole grains, nuts and herbs are also used in larger amounts.

Paleo
In recent years, the paleo diet (which only allows foods that can be hunted, gathered or fished) has become more popular. It’s based on the theory that our bodies are designed to eat like our caveman ancestors — they’re not designed to digest the processed foods that are the basis of most modern diets.T his is a natural way of eating, one that almost abandons all intake of sugar. The only sugar in a Paleo diet comes from fruit. However, abandoning sugar is not the only stipulation. Processed foods and grains are also eliminated from the Paleo diet. The fewer number of carbohydrates in your system leads to a decreased amount of glucose. So your system will then begin to use fat as its fuel source. In a Paleo diet, dairy is also eliminated. So what can be eaten? A Paleo diet consists of fish, fowl, vegetables, fruits, nuts, oils, sweet potatoes, eggs and meat, so long as that meat is grass-fed and not grain-fed.

Vegan
The vegan diet, which is devoid of all animal products — from milk chocolate to honey to hamburgers — can be a great choice. The vegan diet is comprised of grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and vegetable oils. When well-designed and balanced, the vegan diet is one of the cleanest, greenest diets out there.T his diet is a form of a vegetarian diets. One of the primary effects of this diet is that it reduces the intake of cholesterol and saturated fat. It takes some planning, but if a vegan diet is rationed out properly, it can have many positive effects. Studies have proven that those who practice a vegan diet minimize their overall risk of coronary heart disease, obesity and high blood pressure. To compensate for a lack of meat, vegans must find a way to incorporate more sources of protein and vitamin B-12 into their diets.

Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting (IF) is basically a pattern of eating that varies greatly from the typical breakfast-lunch-dinner pattern and requires periods of completely avoiding food. Which means that there’s a set time for eating, followed by an extended period of fasting. In the 5:2 method of intermittent fasting, you eat normally 5 days per week and then fast (only consuming 500-600 calories) for 2 days of the week. In the 16:8 Lean Gains style, there is an eight-hour feeding period — during which you can eat anything you want — followed by a 16-hour fast.

We will talk about the pros and cons in another post of each diet. in the meantime do your research and remember EVERYTHING in moderation is how to win. EVERYTHING at slow or fast paces without planning is sure to make you lose, not weight but time and long term results.

Until Next time. ❤ L.