Episode 2- Daily Habits and Nutrition

1. Hydration: 

a. When the stomach senses that it is full, it sends signals to the brain to stop eating.

b. Water also helps the body to recover from digestive problems, such as diarrhea and indigestion.

c. Drinking water can limit your intake of sugary and high calorie drinks

d. Water helps with workouts.

e. How much water do you need to drink?

See the link to the hydration pee test.

https://www.healthline.com/health/hydration-chart

2. Nutrition: 

1. Fat- there are many high fat diets like Paleo- the caveman diet, Carnivore- mostly meat, almost 0 carb, Keto- the most popular and needs no introduction. Studies have shown that high fat diets can cause issues like: raise your LDL (bad cholesterol), can have negative effects on intestinal permeability, even renal failure since these diets tend to be high in protein as well. In the beginning of your journey, I generally recommend that you stick to incidental fat. Fat that comes as a normal part of your meal, i.e the olive oil used to saute your spinach, fat that comes with your meat. Saturated fat: the type found in meat, cheese, and other dairy foods. Unsaturated fat: typically comes from plant sources like olives, nuts and seeds.  Naturally-occurring trans fats are produced in the gut of some animals and foods made from these animals (e.g., milk and meat products) may contain small quantities of these fats. Artificial trans fats (or trans fatty acids) are created in an industrial process that adds hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to make them more solid. Trans fat has been clinically proven to cause weight gain, even when the participants were consuming a diet that didn’t include enough calories to maintain their weight. Trans fat not only triggers weight gain but it causes fat stored throughout the body to be transferred to the abdominal region.
2. Protein breaks down to amino acids through the process of digestion. Amino acids are key for muscle building, strength & recovery. I generally recommend .7 to 1 gram per pound of body weight, but there are variations, especially if you are an athlete or if you have any underlying health issue that makes it challenging to metabolize protein properly. There are apps like Samsung Health, Apple Health or MyFitnessPal where you can set your macro goals (Fat, carbs and protein).
3. Carbs- For most of us who want to lose weight, we should not make carbs a large part of our nutrition plan. Even though our bodies need carbs, our bodies store excess sugars as glycogen and get this, fat! Try to eat more complex carbs. Download the Glycemic Index App on your phone. Eat Carbs that register well on the Index. These will generally be complex carbs. These do not spike your blood sugar as much as simple carbs. Keeping your blood sugar steady has many benefits that are not limited to weight loss. 

Now let’s put it all together! 

1. Stay Hydrated- Use the pee test
2. Do not starve your body of fat and carbs . Your body prefer to use carbs for quick energy and can use fat for slow energy.
3. Let’s put your plate together: A. Make Half Your Plate Fruits and Veggies- preferably non starchy vegetables and fruit that register low on the glycemic index. B. Add Some Lean Protein- fill in a quarter of your plate by adding some lean proteins- Lean proteins include chicken, fish, lean beef, beans, tofu, eggs or dairy proteins, like cottage cheese or Greek yogurt. C. Round Out Your Plate with Healthy Carbs- The last quarter of the healthy plate includes higher carb foods, such as rice, pasta, potatoes, corn, bread products and other grains. For best results, try to make at least half your grains “whole grains.” Examples include brown rice, wild rice, wheat berries, oatmeal and whole wheat products. Instead of grains, you could also add more fruit to your plate to provide healthy carbs. Remember to stick to grains and fruits that are low on the glycemic index.

Create a Healthy Plate to Lose Weight

4. Here are few possible adjustments. As you are more active, you may slowly increase your protein size. If you move to an athlete level of activity, you may even increase your protein to half your plate, under the right guidance . You may increase your carbs on your post workout meals, especially post lifting. 

5. Eat slowly and eat in this sequence: veggies and protein first, wait 6 to 8 minutes to eat your carbs. This can greatly reduce the amount of carbs you eat which can be vital if your goal is weight loss.