Diet is important to your body. What you eat does makes a difference. The problem with most people is that we go from one extreme to the other. Some people only each vegetables and some people only eat meat. Some skip cookies and ice cream together whiles others live on it. Balance is key. It is ok to have a soda now and then or once a day, but don’t drink three or four. It is ok to have a cookie as a treat, just don’t eat the whole bag.
To get optimum performance for your body short-and long-term, you need to eat healthy. Fruits, vegetables, nuts, meat, and eggs are good for you! The majority of your food should be from these categories and enjoy a snack or two every now and then in moderation.
Drink water! Our bodies our over 90% water. Sixty four ounces a day for the average person will keep you hydrated, full of energy, operating at peak performance, and get rid of unhealthy toxins from your body. You don’t need sports drinks to replace lost nutrients. Drink water. Also, don’t go on diets. Diets are harmful for your body. Radical plans like that cause more harm than good.
Here is my plan for success with food.
Eat small meals about 6 times a day of mainly good food at or slightly below the recommended caloric intake when beginning to get in shape (you may exceed the recommended caloric intake when active). A decadent snack (a 12 oz soda or 2-3 cookies let’s say) is ok and should be part of the plan. Reasons: one, small meals shrink the stomach and the stomach burns/metabolizes the food quicker (warning: it does take a couple of weeks to get used to it); and two, having a treat reinforces the good behavior you want to develop/maintain.
Eat balanced meals! You can have a treat, you can eat meat, and you can eat vegetables. The trick, especially with the indulgences, is to only have small portions (self-discipline).
Quitting snacks altogether and eating yucky food is a recipe for failure and not sustainable. Restrict the really unhealthy snacks like ice-cream, soda, candy, etc.
Finally, replace a lot of your snacking with drinking water. Not only will you get filled up and eat less, it will also help you to be hydrated. Negative side is you will have to pee more, but on the bright side it gets acids and waste products that tire you down out of your body.
To have lasting changes, change your eating behavior as described above. Not only will you feel better, your energy and productivity will improve. Hopefully my thoughts on diet and exercise will be helpful. It is a common sense approach.
