Part I
Enjoying Nutritious Eating

Healthy eating is not about strict nutrition philosophies or depriving yourself of the foods you love. Rather, it’s about feeling great, having more energy and keeping yourself as healthy as possible—all of which can be achieved by learning some nutrition basics and incorporating them into your life in a way that works for you.

This article kicks off an eight-part series to coach you toward a rapid body makeover this summer. By developing your own plan for healthy eating, you’ll expand your range of healthy choices to include a variety of delicious meals. Using guidelines and tips I’ll share for creating and maintaining a satisfying, healthy diet, you can learn how to approach food in a smarter, healthier way. As you read through these tips, keep an open mind. Start with one tip that you are ready to incorporate, and then stick with it until you have mastered it. Once that tip becomes a way of life for you, choose the next tip. As you adopt more of these tips, they become easier to include in your lifestyle.

Healthy eating begins with learning how to eat smart. It’s not only what you eat, but how you eat. Paying attention to what you eat and choosing foods that are both nourishing and enjoyable help support an overall healthy diet.

Meals and Snacks
Begin each day by consuming a healthy breakfast that includes a lean protein, such as eggs, beans or lean meats or fish. Then add a fibrous carbohydrate, like an apple, followed by a starchy carbohydrate, such as steal-cut oats. Continue to fashion your lunch and dinner using the same formula of first choosing a lean protein, followed by a starchy carb and a fibrous carb. You can find a list of the very best choices in The Adventure Boot Camp Cook Book.

If you get hungry or are exercising, plan for an extra snack in addition to your three meals that includes any real foods like fruits, vegetables or nuts.

Do not add fat to your diet, as it naturally occurs in real food, including salmon, nuts and avocado.

Every day, consume two fruits (preferably berries, apples and pears) and five to seven vegetables that vary in color. Most adults fall severely short of this mark.

Mindful Eating Habits
When eating, reserve at least 15 minutes to sit and completely chew and enjoy your food. Multitasking when you eat does not allow your brain to register that you have eaten or how much you have eaten. Chewing begins the process of digestion, and the more you can break down food in your mouth, the less stress placed on the body to break down the food in your gut. Take the time to savor and enjoy these delicious recipes.

Put a serving of food on your plate and then put the rest in the refrigerator. This will help you resist the temptation to go back for seconds or thirds. Know that your stomach is the size of your fist, and while it can stretch with overfeeding, it can also shrink again. Savor your meals by putting your fork down between bites. Trust your appetite. It will heighten your awareness of hunger and fullness. Fullness takes 20 minutes to set in, so wait that long before determining if you physiologically need a second plate.

Beverages
Too many people consume their calories in liquid form. From smoothies filled with syrups to designer coffees filled with cream, sugar and caffeine, to sweetened teas and juices, beverages do not provide necessary fiber, but rather addictive properties (high-fructose corn syrup and caffeine), a low nutritional value (unless freshly squeezed organic fruits and vegetables), artificial ingredients, and lots of calories. Your body is made up of 70 percent water; therefore, pure water is always the beverage of choice. Strive for consuming a minimum of eight eight-ounce glasses of water daily. You will need more if you are overweight, excessively exercising, or working in heat or humidity for long periods.

Limit alcohol—drink no more than four servings of beer, wine or liquor weekly. Consume alcohol with cheese or fatty fishes to avoid a high-glycemic effect. Alcohol is a sugar and has highly addictive properties. It’s also low in nutritional value and high in calories.

Timing Your Meals
Spread your calories evenly throughout the day. Avoid consuming the heaviest meal at the end of the day, when you have less of a chance of burning it off. The body’s function at night is to clean up the toxins. You don’t want it to have to focus on digesting a large meal.

Use the 80/20 Rule
If you make the very best choices 80 percent of the time about your food quality and quantity, you can consume some of your favorite foods without guilt 20 percent of the time and still be on track for a healthy body. Making healthy decisions 90 percent of the time would be even better, but starting with 80 percent is realistic. If you get too strict, you are more likely to head down the junk food path or engage in emotional eating.

Journal
Keeping a food journal is a powerful way to drop excess pounds. In fact, nearly 1,700 Kaiser Permanente study participants agreed to exercise and adopt a healthy diet, but those who took the extra step of keeping track of what they consumed lost twice as much weight—or more—as those who didn’t keep a tally of their meals. Nearly 70 percent of participants were able to lose enough weight to make significant improvements in their health.

Food diaries help people see where extra calories are coming from and recognize the hidden calories in familiar foods. One of the primary effects of the diary is that it can help people realize when they’re eating out of boredom or stress. You may recognize that you eat mindlessly when you’re under stress, bored, stimulated by outside forces like the smell of something baking, or just unconsciously and out of habit. Journaling can help avoid overfeeding.

Journal as you consume the food. Most people will underestimate what they consumed when trying to recall the information later in the day. Write the time, the quantity, how you felt, as well as your goals and if you accomplished them. You can also record your feelings, compliments people made, challenges you faced and so on.

Pantry Raid
Remove all unhealthy foods from the pantry and the refrigerator (and no, the kids don’t need them either!). This includes most things in a bag, wrapper, box or can. Your pantry shelves should be lined with items like rice, beans, organic chicken broth, steel-cut oats, bottled water, whole-grain cereals and pastas, unroasted nuts, dried fruits, and not much more.

Your refrigerator should consist of fresh fruits, vegetables and meats. Your freezer should consist of frozen fruits, vegetables and meats. When you clean out your pantry, refrigerator and freezer, be sure to replace what you throw away with fresh and wholesome choices.

Healthy Practices
When possible, make your own foods rather than buying them already prepared. This includes salad dressings, sauces and juices. Store-bought foods and condiments contain a lot of hidden sugars, fillers, fats and preservatives. It takes a little more work, but it’s worth it.

About Kelli Calabrese
Kelli Calabrese, MS, is a national fitness, nutrition and lifestyle expert committed helping people live longer, stronger and more vibrantly. She is the author of Feminine, Firm & Fit!—Building a Lean Strong Body in 12 Weeks and has been voted Personal Trainer of the Year twice. www.KelliCalabrese.com

Additional Reading

• De-Stress for Health
• Get Your Fitness Boost
• Move into the Winner’s Circle!