An Introduction to Nutrition
What does the word diet mean to you?
Often we relate the word ‘diet’, to reducing the number of calories we should have, or cutting out sweet items but ‘diet’ is actually the word to describe our daily nutritional habits.
In short, our ‘diet’ should provide the energy needed to maintain body functions and carry out the activities of daily life.
General Nutrition Advice
This is the general advice for a healthy balanced diet and life.
- Eat a balanced diet (30% calories from fat, 30% calories from protein, 40% calories from carbohydrate (vegetables are carbohydrates)
- Drink 2-4 liters of water a day
- Try to avoid pure carbohydrate meals as it spikes your blood-sugar/ insulin levels, increases fat. storage and fluctuates energy levels. (although this can be helpful for sports nutrition)
- Eat close to the ground – natural
- Avoid processed foods made by man
- Eat 1-2 g of protein per kg of body weight
- Organic where possible
- Eat healthy fats
- Take multivitamins
- Get active
- Reduce toxins
- Practice relaxation
- Sleep
These are guidelines, and it’s good to monitor if you are trying to get your nutrition back on track, but we don’t need to become obsessed with breaking down percentages, weighing food, and counting calories!
Use your common sense and listen to your body. Keeping close to the ground and as natural as possible is one of the best rules to have.
What should our diet be made up of?
MACRONUTRIENTS –
- Carbohydrates (4 calories per gram)
- Proteins (4 calories per gram)
- Fat (9 calories per gram)
MICRONUTRIENTS –
- Vitamins
- Minerals
WATER
A balanced diet
Our food works together to perform different functions and therefore it is important to have a balanced diet.
The recommended Guidelines are as follows –
- 40% Carbohydrates (4 calories per gram)
- 30% Proteins (4 calories per gram)
- 30% Fat (9 calories per gram)
40% Carbohydrates (4 calories per gram)
That’s right vegetables are carbohydrates! So are fruit, rice, grains, and potatoes. It is not just processed foods like cereal, bread, and pasta.
40% of our calories want to come from carbohydrates. Preferably from natural carbohydrates already containing vitamins and minerals to help transport the nutrients within the body to the right places.
If you want to find out more about Carbohydrates and how it works within the body please feel free to read my blog on Carbohydrates!
30% Proteins (4 calories per gram)
30% of our calories want to come from protein.
The guidelines are to have 1-2 grams of protein per kg of your body weight. So if you weigh 80kg you want to take in 80 – 160g of protein per day.
Remember plants and dairy also contain some protein.
If you want to find out more about Protein and how it works within the body please feel free to read my blog on Protein.
30% Fat (9 calories per gram)
30% of our calories want to come from natural fats.
As fats have a higher calorie value per gram this means they are a great source of energy.
It also means that 30% of your calories from fat, will be a much smaller portion size than your 30% calories from protein.
Again if you want to find out more about Fat and how it works within the body please feel free to read my blog on Fat.
So What’s In My Cupboard?
Carbohydrates
Brown Basmati Rice
Mung Beans
Oats
Raisins
Date Nectar
Honey
Dark Chocolate
Sweet potatoes
Onions
Butternut squash
Parsnips
Spinach
Carrots
Broccoli
Beans
Mushrooms
Lemons and Limes
Frozen Berry’s
Protein
Responsibly sourced fish/meat
(Tablehurst farm – http://tablehurst.farm/
Organic Cheese (Rarely)
Eggs – from my mother’s chickens
Nuts
Seeds
Tofu
Halloumi
Fats
Nuts
Tahini
Coconut oil
Omega 3 seeds
Organic cream
Coconut chips
Butter
Nut butter
Houmous
Olive oil
Avocado
Avocado oil
Coconut cream
Drinks
Water
Fresh Coffee
Herbal Tea
Condiments
Brags amino acids (soy sauce)
Coconut amino acids
Avocado oil – cold only
Olive oil – cold only
Coconut oil – for cooking
Herb salt
Cayenne pepper
Cinnamon
Ginger
Basil
Fennel
Cardamom
Turmeric
Any herbs and spices that you like!
Supplements
Multivitamins
Omega 3
Breakfast Shake
Dim
Magnesium
Acidophilus
It’s OK to get some supplemental help, just make sure you know where it has come from and that it is good quality, you do get what you pay for. We work with a Naturopath to make sure we are getting what we need.
Intuitive Eating
Our eating habits and history differ dramatically and therefore so do our bodies and our goals!
This is my shopping list, which works well for me at the moment and this will change.
I have given it to you to get some ideas and some understanding but the idea is to really feel what works well for your body!
It is not what you think you should have. But really tapping into how your body feels when you eat so you can give it what it needs to perform the best it can.
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