7 Diet Changes to Improve Your Overall Fitness
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What did you have for lunch today? Did you pick up a double whopper with a side order of extra large fries, and an extra large drink? If so, did you stop and think about what you were about to do to your body before you took a bite out of that seemingly harmless, juicy burger?
If you didn’t think about it, let me help you out. You were about to commit assault! And I don’t mean one of those minor cases of assault; I’m talking about complete and total battery here! That juicy, tasty burger combo set all of your bodily functions into a haywire of chaos and disorientation.
The next time you’re waiting in the drive through line thinking about buying your favorite burger combo, simply remember what happens to your body when you drink one Coke. If one Coke alone can wreak such havoc on your body, imagine what an additional greasy burger with a side order of deep fried French fries will do. Hopefully you’ll be smart, get out of that line as fast as you can, and never look back.
Making Reasonable Changes
Tasty food is certainly one of life’s greatest pleasures. The diet changes suggested below are not designed to turn you into a tasteless-food-eating-robot. Instead, they are viable changes you can make to your current diet to improve the quality of your overall health. The more of these changes you make, the better you will feel throughout the day (more energy, reduced illness, clarity of mind), and the better you will feel about yourself.
- Substitute white for wheat: White pasta and white bread are highly processed forms of simple sugar. Your body reacts to the ingestion of these refined sugars much like it does when you drink a Coke. Also, white bread and pasta products lack the dietary fiber benefits of 100% whole wheat bread, making them easily digestible and damaging to the digestive tract. Whole wheat, on the other hand, provides your body with a good source of complex carbohydrates (complex sugars) to work with, and is a good source of fiber. The fiber slows down the digestion process, and allows the vitamins and minerals in the bread to be absorbed by your body. Personally, I don’t find the taste to be all that different either. Try it out and see for yourself. Switch to whole wheat, whole grain products and never look back!
- Eat lean proteins: Whole milk tastes amazing, I know. But did you know it has 25% of your daily value of saturated fat? Maybe that’s why it tastes so good! Add this value to your daily consumption of other fatty proteins, and you can easily exceed your acceptable daily intake of saturated fat. Saturated fat has been linked to a number of heart problems, as well as to strokes. Try and limit your saturated fat consumption by making the switch to lean proteins. Lean proteins are animal products that are low in fat. Milks up to 1% in fat, egg whites, top round steak or top sirloin, chicken breast, turkey breast, and fish all fall under this category. Also, lean proteins are the best source of protein for muscles to use during the reconstruction phase following a workout. Here are a few simple changes you can make:
- Drink skim or 1% milk, instead of 2% or whole milk
- Eat grilled or broiled chicken breast instead of breaded, fried chicken
- Eat egg white omelets instead of whole egg omelets
- Eat top round, or flank steak instead of New York strip, and chuck steak
- Eat 99% fat free turkey instead of 85% fat free turkey, or ground beef
- Eliminate soft drinks: This one should be obvious if you took the time to check out the link posted earlier in this article. If you’re looking for another reason to eliminate soft drinks from your diet, think about this. Research has shown that it takes 32 glasses of water to neutralize the acidity of one coke. If you’re the average American and drink less than 8 glasses of water per day, it will take you more than 4 days to neutralize one can of coke. Do yourself a favor, and cut out all soft drinks from your diet.
- Eliminate fast food: This should be another no-brainer. Most fast food is high in sodium, high in saturated fat, high in simple carbs, and low in everything else that’s good for your body. You may be thinking, “I don’t have time to make meals, I have to get something quick.” That’s just an excuse. Make time the night before and cook some healthy meals for the next day. Eating healthy is a matter of planning. If you fail to plan, you will be eating a lot of “fast food.” Don’t let yourself be the victim of a lack of planning.
- Eliminate junk food: I know what you’re thinking, “But those chips taste so good!” It’s too bad those chips share many of the same nutritional attributes of French fries, and other food that’s detrimental to your health. Stay away from potato chips, cookies, and donuts. Munch on some fruit, baked chips, or vegetables instead.
- Replace candy with fruit: Many fruits are just as sweet, if not sweeter, than your favorite candy. If you’ve got a sweet tooth, and are in need of a sugar fix, bite into a ripe nectarine or plum and savor the taste knowing you’re doing your body good. Fruits are rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals that can lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, boost the immune system, and reduce cardiovascular disease amongst many other benefits.
- Eat more vegetables: Vegetables are high in fiber, and are considered complex carbohydrates (a great source of energy). Not only do they aid in digestion, but they provide the body with much needed vitamins and minerals. Vegetables are “dense” foods, meaning they have a high amount of nutrients, fill you up easily, but aren’t high in calories. Try to include 1-2 servings of vegetables with each of your meals throughout the day.
A Better Lifestyle
If you’re finding it difficult to implement these steps right away, take it slow. Choose to implement one change a week. I applaud you for choosing a better lifestyle. I know it’s not easy letting go of some of your favorite foods. I used to have the worst diet imaginable. I would eat fast food at least 5 times a week, junk food all the time, and drank A LOT of Coke (I guess that’s what college does to you). However, I’m sure you will find, just as I have, that eating healthy is a much more enjoyable experience than eating poorly. You’ll look back and wonder how you ever enjoyed fast food, soft drinks, and junk food.
What does your current diet look like, and how do you plan on changing it? I’m interested to hear what you have to say. Let me know in the comments!
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Very good post, Rahul, thank you.-
Sometimes, it is difficult to cook at home. There could be an enormous amount of factors that disrupt one’s ability to cook on a consistent basis (for me, it was because I was literally always on the road). Rest assured, however, that healthy snacking is also possible. General Mills Fiber One bars, for example, are an excellent, delicious snack (I like the Oats and Peanut Butter flavor the best) that provide 35% of one’s dietary fiber. If you pair that with an apple and a low-sodium Campbell’s Soup (not the greatest thing in the world, but hey, it’s definitely better than fast food), you can still have a fairly tasty meal that is constructive to one’s healthy goals. Other snacks I would suggest are Kashi’s entire line of snack products, hummus with water crackers, and baby carrots.
Speaking of vegetables, I would also suggest varying one’s fruits and vegetables. Just like in working out, changing one’s fruits and vegetables can have a synergetic effect and actually exponentially increase value from a health perspective. Try heart of palm in your salad, eating a pomengranate during season, or maybe even baking some butternut squash. If you just eat apples and oranges, that is great but you might be missing out on all sorts of other valuable nutrients (niacin, B12, etc.) that you can get from using the varied approach. A helpful website for analyzing the pros and cons of particular foods to one’s diet is http://www.nutritiondata.com. I used this site to build my own diet, and it certainly helped me to lose weight I had gained after college.
One final note: If anyone has an article stating all the benefits one would have from quitting drinking now, please comment back with the website. Thanks! vgn
Venu,
That’s some awesome information. I completely forgot to mention nutritiondata somewhere in the post. It really is a great tool, and I use it also. It helps me know where I’m deficient in terms of vitamins and minerals, and also helps me watch my calorie intake.
I’m going to start varying the types of vegetables I eat. Usually I eat a lot anyways, but now I’ll add more to the mix. Thanks for that suggestion.
Saturated fat has not been linked to heart problems. This is just a theory so far. According to the science and studies, a diet high in saturated fat is healthier than a diet high in carbs (which, after being broken down, are just sugar). It matters where you get your fat from though. Trans fat is bad. Unstable fats that transform when cooked are bad, so either eat them with no heat added (olive oil) or stick to stable fats (butter). Anything pasteurized is bad (all dairy products, almost), and anything with chemicals either added or used in the process to get to the final product = bad.
Derk,
Once again, thank you for your comments! They allow me to clear some things up.
Regarding saturated fat, it has been proven to affect insulin production and increase cholesterol in the bloodstream. I can see how a high saturated fat diet may be considered better than a high carb diet if you were to just eat the two separately, with nothing else on the side.
However, carbs are an essential energy source, and without them we would be lethargic throughout the day. When too many carbs are eaten at once, there’s an overflow of insulin in the blood (which is bad). To combat this overflow of insulin, and actually slow down the release of it into the blood, it is essential that each meal we eat has a blend of complex carbs, protein, and fiber. The protein and fiber will slow down the insulin release in the blood.
So yes, eaten alone carbs are terrible, which is why they should never be eaten alone.
The saturated fat debate all comes down to a question of chemistry. Since saturated fats are saturated with hydrogen atoms, this makes them “sticky” and more prone to cause heart problems in the future.
The dairy products comment is debatable. I don’t see anything wrong with drinking 1% or skin Organic milk. But that’s a matter of personal preference.
Thanks for your comments Derk, I really appreciate them. They lead to great discussion
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