Small Changes Makes a Big Life!

Feb 15, 2011 by Tatianna

 

And by small I mean the smallest of things can start making a huge difference. It is hard for someone who is out of shape and been eating junk food all their life to all of a sudden turn it all around and be this fitness freak. People give up most of the time because the changes they made are too drastic. They feel overwhelmed, deprived and over all that is not what fit and healthy should be about. If you are a person who is just starting out in caring for your self and want to make a difference in their health this article is for you 🙂

I am not going to tell you, stop eating what you are eating and stop doing what you normally do. Instead, of illuminating things out of your nutrition (notice how I don’t like to use the word diet) and start working out like crazy, start substituting normal things you love, with things that are more healthy. And don’t even try to start complaining about how healthy food is expensive, it is NOT, much more expensive that regular food. It is your health and your life, it is your life insurance! So here are a few nutritional changes you can make today.

1. Bread, Pasta, Rice, Tortillas.

Substitute, white bread and pasta for multi grain bread and pasta. But one thing always to watch for, is grams of sugar per serving on your label. Make sure that it doesn’t contain more than 5 grams of sugar per serving, and preferably less. Substitute corn tortillas for multi grain as well. Why would you ask? The reason is for their nutritional value. Multigrain breads and pastas contain many ingredients that are beneficial to your nutrition, they are full of essential vitamins and minerals including copper, magnesium and iron. Vs white breads and pastas that are just empty carbs. But always look at the labels, make sure that the flower has the word WHOLE in it. Rice, always pick the brown rice over white. Brown rice contains four times the fiber of white rice and great quantities of vitamin E, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, colic acid, potassium, magnesium, iron and many more other nutrients.

2. Chips.

If you really have to eat them, then pick the multigrain as well. If you are more into potatoes chips pick kettle made over the other kind. Because they are made in individual batches instead of a continuous flow machine. Also, give a try to sweet potatoes chips. One serving of sweet potatoes, contains 24 mg of sodium, 195 mg of potassium, 2 g of dietary fiber, also vitamin A and C.

3. Stay Away From FAT FREE Food.

Many people fall for this trap. Fat free means more sugar, more sugar means insulin spikes, and that leads to fat storage. Also, fat free means that somehow the fat was chemically reduced, and that alone is something to think about. Next time your shopping and you see Fat Free run the other way.

4. Add an organic apple a day.

Apples will help to protect bone health, prevent asthma, heart disease and cancer. And it has tons of antioxidants. Apples also take more energy to digest than calories contained. It is great for loosing weight and making your skin look beautiful.

5. Try to avoid soda or juice.

but if you must have it, make it your self. Everything you see in a bottle has added sugar. Great way to satisfy your sugar drink craving, is to make a nice home made lemonade from, filtered water, lemon and stevia sweetener. Stevia has a negligent effect on your blood sugar and it is just as sweet and satisfying as sugar 🙂

6. Have It Your way!

Cook at home, if you can. That way, you always know what the ingredient list is. If you don’t have a lot of time, cook for a week and freeze the other portions, you can throw them in the oven and be on the go.

7. Eat Eat and Eat!

Don’t skimp out on your meals, that slows down your metabolism. Eat every 2 -3 hours at least 6 times a day. Meaning 3 full satisfying meals, and 3 great satisfying snacks. If you are really active eat 8 times a day. Many people believe that if they eat less, they will loose weight fast, but that is quite the opposite. Your body is very clever, when you starve it reaches into your muscle for the fuel, leaving the fat for the winter to keep you warm. LOL The more you don’t eat, the more fat your body will store.

8. Snack On Raw Nuts.

Nuts are the power pack of important nutrients, proteins and monosaturated fatty acids. Many scientific studies have pointed out that these monosaturated fatty acids can provide protection against coronary heart diseases. Vitamin E, which is abundantly found in several nuts is a powerful antioxidant that can protect one from the damaging effects of free radicals. This in turn, can lower the risk of certain serious diseases like cancer and heart diseases. Thus, nuts have been a subject of many scientific researches that have suggested that eating a few nuts like almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts, pistachios and walnuts regularly may reduce the risk of heart diseases. They can also prevent excessive weight gain in spite of being rich in fats. The secret lies in the fact that besides being rich in fats, they also contain a large amount of protein and fiber. Both protein and fiber require more time to get digested than fat and carbohydrate and so, eating a few nuts can reduce hunger and excessive weight gain. Apart from these benefits, they contain many important minerals like magnesium, selenium, iron, phosphorus, etc. which play a crucial role in the proper functioning of many vital life processes. Let’s take a look at the nutritional facts of some common types of edible nuts, which include almonds, peanuts, cashew nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, pistachios, chestnuts and Brazil nuts.

9. Eat Protein, Carbs and Fat in Each Of Your Meals

Protein is one of the most important nutrients that our body needs. Protein builds muscles, which is why we see muscle builders particularly concerned about their protein consumption. When you lift weights to work out, your body makes tiny tears in the muscles. Proteins are then employed to fix these healthy tears, building the muscle somewhat bigger with every exercise. But even if you do not work out, your body’s muscle deteriorates as you require energy. Muscle supplies energy, just like fat. Having protein in the body assists you to reconstruct any muscle that is lost. Protein also helps your body in other ways, largely with the maintenance of hormones. Hormones in the body do a number of affairs, such regulate organ function, produce metabolism and impact mood. Proteins are applied in the production of a few of these hormones, and so if you go more than a day or 2 without consuming foods rich in protein, your full body will suffer.
Carbohydrates and Fats are also very important in your diet. Your body uses both for energy, mainly the carbs are used first and when the souses are depleted your body reaches for the fat. If you don’t give your body fat, it will reach for your muscle for energy. All three are important they function together in synergy to keep your body working correctly.

10. Have a Glass Of Water Every Time You Eat

Some people hate drinking water, but water is simply amazing for your health and body. Here is why:
Lack of water is the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.
Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain for up to 80% of sufferers.
One glass of water shuts down midnight hunger cravings.
Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast cancer by 79%, and one is 50% less likely to develop bladder cancer.
Also water flushes out toxins out of your body, making your system work more functionally.
So here you have it, small changes you can make every day to jump start your way to become more healthy. Do you have any recommendations that might be important? Leave a comment 🙂

If you have more suggestions feel free to share them 🙂

Tatianna

Check out all of my Nutrition Facts section.