Nutrition

You are what you eat, literally. In order to function properly, each of the 50 trillion cells that make up your body need the proper fuel. Just because something tastes good does not mean your body wants it. One of the best sayings to live by is no food tastes as good as health feels. When you eat for health everything changes. You need to realize that everything that you eat or drink has an effect on your body, either beneficial or destructive.  Nutrient dense foods are the key to eating for health.  We need to obtain essential amino acids and essential fatty acids from the food that we eat. These are essential for life, they are the building blocks for all of the proteins made by our body.  So what is the minimum daily requirement for carbohydrates?  ZERO. Any carbohydrate that is not fiber is broken down into sugar once it is ingested.  Sugar was never meant to be used as a primary energy source. Your body’s main way of getting rid of sugar is to burn it because it is toxic in the blood. Whatever your body cannot burn, gets stored as glycogen, and when it cannot store anymore as glycogen it stores it as fat. When you eat sugar your body burns sugar and stops burning fat.  Instead of dieting, changing the way we eat needs to be a lifestyle change that is permanent.  Losing unwanted pounds is secondary to regaining your health.

What to keep in mind when choosing your meals:

• Increase the amount of foods that are made by nature, minimize the amount of foods that are made by man
• Morning Meal:  Moderate to High carbs, low proteins, moderate to low fats
• Unused carbohydrates have damaging effects on the body.  By eating carbohydrates in the morning, you have the entire day to burn them off. 
• Afternoon Meal:  Moderate to Low carbs, moderate proteins, moderate fats 
• Keeping everything in moderation will help you feel more energized throughout the afternoon.
• Evening Meal:  Low to zero carbs, moderate to high proteins, moderate to high fats 
• Your body does not require very much energy when sleeping, so there is no need to ingest a large amount of carbohydrates.  What your body does do while you are sleeping is repair itself, and in order to accomplish this your body needs protein, which act as the building blocks.  

High= 2 or more servings
Moderate= 1-2 servings
Low= 1/2 -1 serving

Good fats to incorporate into your diet:  almonds, flaxseed, cashews, pecans, walnuts, sunflower seeds, seed butters (almond butter), olives, avocados, animal protein with good fats (grass-fed meat, fish, eggs), full-fat raw milk, full-fat plain yogurt, butter, raw cheeses and cream.

How do you make these eating habits permanent?  Plan 3 "vacation meals" throughout the week to eat the foods you love without feeling guilty.  You can have pancakes for breakfast one day, pizza for dinner another day, and  maybe ice cream after a meal another day.  If you allow yourself to eat the foods you crave once in a while, you won't feel like you are cheating or depriving yourself of certain foods.

Nutrition Articles:
The Most Unhealthy Foods in Your Supermarket
The RAW Truth About Food
Can Eating Veggies Make You Look More Beautiful?
Start Eating for Three

One of the easiest nutrition books to follow.  Includes shopping guides, meal plans, and healthy recipes
http://maximizedliving.com/health-products/p-165-maximized-living-nutrition-plans-book.aspx

The best organic food is what's grown closest to you. Use this website to find farmers' markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area, where you can buy produce, grass-fed meats, and many other goodies.
http://www.localharvest.org/