Follow these 10 easy tips to improve your nutrition today.

 1.  Eat a fruit and/or veggie with each meal.   

Shoot for 7-9 servings (3.5-4 cups) a day (the recommendations have now increased to9-13 servings!)

What is considered a serving?

One serving of fruit:

·              ½ c. fruit juice

·              ½ c. fruit

·              1 small piece of fruit

For serving sizes of specific fruits, click here.  

One serving of veggies:

·              1 cup green leafy veggies

·              ½ c. veggie

·              ½ c. veggie juice

For serving sizes of specific veggies, click here.

 2.   Eat Breakfast.

After being fasted all night, your body begins to break down proteins (yes, the muscle you’ve worked so hard to gain) to stabilize your blood sugar.  Eating breakfast within one hour of waking helps minimize this effect.

Also, each time you eat, your metabolism “revs” up to for digestion.  Eating breakfast ensures that your metabolism starts the day kicking, instead of laying dormant (or possibly slowing down because it’s afraid it may not have enough energy to carry out normal functions, like breathing).

Can’t eat breakfast?  Try drinking it.  Visit: Breakfast - It’s Powerful for suggestions.

 3.   Eat protein with each meal and snack.

Carbohydrates are the staple of most snack foods (such as fruit, pretzels, and granola bars).  That’s o.k.  However, the carbohydrate molecule is a very simple molecule and is absorbed into the blood stream quickly.  The quicker food enters the blood stream, the quicker it leaves the blood stream, too.  The results is a quick drop in blood sugar and then you are hungry again.

To prevent this, add a more complex molecule to your snack, like protein.  Here are the foods that contain protein:

·        Yogurt, Milk, Cheese

·        Meat, Fish, Chicken

·        Eggs

·        Nuts, peanut butter

·        Tofu

·        Protein powders

 4.         SNACK!

Snacking between meals (so that no more than 4 hours passes without eating) helps:

·        Keep metabolism up.  Every time you eat, your metabolism revs up.  Going longer than 4 hours without eating will result in your metabolism slowing to protect itself from expending too much energy to carry out normal bodily functions, like breathing.

·        Keep muscle on your body.  After 3-4 hours after a reasonably sized meal, your blood sugar will start to drop.  If you do not stabilize the blood sugar with nutrition, your body will do it by breaking down proteins (i.e. the muscle you worked so hard in the gym to build).

·        Prevent getting insanely hungry (see #5)

 5.         Don’t let yourself get insanely hungry.                                  Click here to read why.   6.         Make healthy food available.

It seems simple, but the way to ensure you eat healthy food is to have healthy food available.   First, purchase plenty healthy foods (i.e. fruits, vegetables, lean meats, whole grains, low fat dairy products, like yogurt, cheese, and milk,  and nuts) when you grocery shop. 

Secondly, make sure these foods are where you are.  Keep a stockpile of snacks at work, stash non-perishables in your car or purse, and if you are feeling brave, pack your lunch.

  7.  Move the Junk Food Cabinet

For some families, moving the junk food cabinet entirely to the garbage is not an option.  If that is your family, try simply moving your junk food to a different cabinet.  Better yet, move them to a cabinet that is difficult to access (like the lowest or highest shelf).

  If possible, put healthy snacks in the former junk food cabinet.

  8.  Eat when you’re hungry. 

Yes, eating should be pleasurable, but not the “Great American Past time”.  Eat when you are hungry and not as an activity.

If you find yourself mindlessly snacking, stop and ponder why this may be. 

Eating for reasons other than hunger is called “emotional eating”.  To find out if you may be an emotional eater, take this brief quiz.

 9.  Enjoy the view.

Place fruit or veggies in a bowl within easy reach in your kitchen.  This will serve as a visual reminder of your healthy lifestyle and will also be a quick healthy snack.

Be sure to clear all junk food out of plain sight.  Keep it in that hard-to-reach cabinet.

 10.  Drink Up!

Upon waking, drink 8-16 ounces of water.  This will get your day started right and you well on your way to getting in the recommended amount of fluid a day.

To monitor your hydration, throughout the day, check the color of your urine.  It should be the color of pale lemonade.  If it is darker, like apple juice, drink more water.

Looking to shape up your nutrition?  Try one (or all 10) of these tips to get on your way to better health!

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