Diet & Exercise Programs & Plans

Maintaining a Balanced Diet

Is there a perfect diet?

While the perfect diet may vary from person to person, a healthy diet can be achieved by eating natural foods unrefined or processed foods, in regular portions and following a few basic rules that are explained here. In addition to this, you should speak with a dietitian, nutritionist, or health care professional for a diet plan to match your goals and body type.

What is a balanced diet?

While this is specific to each person, in general there are seven essential factors for a balanced diet: carbs, protein, fat, fiber, vitamins, minerals and water. In general you want to limit but not exclude carbohydrates (eat more complex carbs), a decent amount of protein (lean and organic preferred), healthy fats (e.g. fish oil and avocados), and get a good amount of fiber (i.e. from dark green vegetables) and lots of water to not only wash it all down, but to help with the breakdown and utilization of these factors in the digestion process.

Also do your best to not eat on the run or make poor choices if dining at fast food restaurants. Good digestion is just as important as the foods we eat. Speak with your dietitian or nutrition counselor about a specific diet plan for your weight loss goals. Changing your diet is imperative to success. Cutting out fast food, soda, highly processed foods, sugar, and other comfort foods; and replacing them with healthy fruits, veggies and nuts is about the best place to start on your road to success.

How important is sleep to ones diet?

It turns out sleep is a critical part in helping one maintain a healthy body. Sleep can all affect your diet and dietary choices. If you sleep less than 7.5 hours a night and use coffee or other stimulants to keep you going throughout the day, then you are putting your body through more stress (i.e. increasing cortisol) than you should. Insufficient sleep can change how your body digests and stores fats and sugars; making your fat freezing journey more difficult.

Proper sleep has been shown to help reduce the battle of the bulge via reduced cortisol levels. When you stress your body through negative food choices and less than ideal sleep, your cortisol levels within you body begin to rise. This elevation in cortisol is detrimental and will undoubtedly cause you to pack on the pounds at an astounding pace.

What is intermittent fasting and does it work?

Intermittent fasting is a popular option for people to curb their caloric intake as well as cleanse their systems. Many folks will fast for 14 to 16 hours with 8 of those hours being while they sleep. One popular intermittent fasting method is to have your last meal or dinner 3 to 4 hours before your bed time, then wait until around noon the next day to have your first meal. It might take some adjustment at first, but you can easily adjust your schedule to eat all of your meals between noon and 7-9pm.

During the fast you should drink lots of water or other low or no calorie drinks including tea (no sugar), black coffee and diet sodas or beverages (in limited quantities). During your eating hours just be sure to stick to healthy foods like fruits and vegetables, salads, fish, lean meats and other natural foods. Stay away from processed or fried foods as much as possible. If you stick to this plan you will achieve success in no time!