dietary guidelines

“TRY AND FAIL IS THE MANNER OF LOSERS, TRY AND LEARN IS THE WAY OF THE STRONG.”

We all have to get out of our comfort zone when trying to realize our goals.  This journey will give you plenty of opportunities to try new things.

In most cases, there is not just one correct way, but many! Something might work for you and not for others, and vice-versa.

Make sure you make it a learning experience and see what works for you. Stay with your “winners” (what works for YOU) and adjust your “losers” (what doesn’t work for YOU).  Make sure you learn from YOUR experiences, so you won’t make the same mistake in the future…………………..

• Eat small meals every few hours (2.5 to 4 hours) or eat 3 meals and 2 or 3 snacks distributed throughout the day)
• Eat 3 food groups every meal
• Eat 2 food groups every snack
• Plan meals around moderate or intense exercise
• Plan snack or meal 1 to 2 hours before
• Eat high carbohydrates meal very soon after exercise (simple carbs and protein)
• carbohydrates and quality proteins in approximately a 4:1 ratio
• post-workout meal should be 10 - 20% of total daily caloric intake
• eat a starch or fruit for carbohydrates
• Eat protein every meal and snack
• Eat lower fat meat or milk.
• Combine foods to compliment protein (optimizes amino acid ratio)
• Eat legumes (beans, peas, lentils, peanuts) with grains, seeds, or nuts
• Eat grains with milk or cheese.
• Eat fruits or vegetables every meal and snack
• Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables
• Eat vitamin C rich foods
• At least 1 serving a day
• Citrus fruit, tomatoes, fresh melons, strawberries
• Eat cruciferous vegetables (cabbage family)  
• Cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts, kohlrabi, cauliflower
• Eat vitamin A rich foods
• At least 1 serving every other day
• Dark leafy greens, and dark yellow foods
• Eat foods with fiber
• Whole grains, vegetables, fruit, and legumes (beans, peas, lentils)
• Eat calcium rich foods
• Milk, yogurt, cheese
• Green leafy vegetables, kelp, bean sprouts, tofu, garbanzo beans, canned salmon, sardines, or jack mackerel (with tiny bone particles), oysters, figs, almonds, chestnuts, filberts, sesame seeds.
• Make lower fat and healthier fat choices  
• Cook with little or no oil
• Roast, bake, broil, grill, poach, steam, or boil instead of frying
• Keep saturated fat intake low
• Eat leaner meats
• Remove skin from poultry
• Lower fat milk and yogurt
• Choose lower fat snacks
• Limit hydrogenated fat (used in products to increase shelf life)
• Consume moderate poly-unsaturated
• salad dressing, mayonnaise, corn oil, safflower oil
• Consume momo-unsaturated fats
• olive oil, canola oil, peanut oil, olives, avocado, almonds, cashews, pecans, peanuts, sesame seeds
• Include Omega-3 fats
• fatty fish, flax seed, walnuts
• Limit refined foods
• White bread and cereals, soda pop, sweets, alcohol
• Eat whole foods whenever possible
• Limit cured and smoked products
• Salt-cured, smoked, nitrite cured foods
• Avoid plastic food and beverage containers
• Particularly when choosing and storing acidic foods or foods containing fats
• Especially when heating food in microwave
• Also avoid commercially canned foods and aluminum cans with plastic linings
• Eat a variety of foods from each food group every day
• Try new foods
• Limit eating salty food or adding salt

* Assignment

Make one change in your eating/food pattern, and stick to it for at least this week.

This can either be:

Adding something to your diet, e.g. add vegetables to a meal, add a healthy snack, drink more water, take a multi vitamin, etc. or

Limit certain food in take, e.g. chocolate, ice cream, cookies (and ladies, I know who you are : - )

E-mail me your proposed change, and at the end of the week let me know if you were able to stick to it.

I EXPECT AN E-MAIL BACK FROM EVERYBODY !!!

“THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE IMPOSSIBLE AND THE POSSIBLE LIES IN A PERSON’S DETERMINATION”

Believe fully in your destination. Have your goals set and make a “road map” on how to get there.

There will always be obstacles getting to your end result, but with determination your will be able to overcome these obstacles.

It’s okay to be “off track” once in a while, and to make mistakes (but you should learn from your mistakes), as long as you are determined to get back to your “road map” to success.