basic healthy eating plan

[Guest guest]

ok, you asked for it, so here it is.

 

1) the most important thing to consider is how many calories per day you are

eating. if you eat more calories than you expend, you will gain weight. if

you eat fewer calories than you expend, you will lose weight. if you are

bringing in fewer calories than you are expending, and the gap between the two

is a very large number, then your body will begin to use muscle as fuel. this

means that your body will not be burning fat as you would like it to, and

your metabolism will start to drop. this goes for very calorie restricted

diets

(generally1,200 or less, but this depends also on your sex, height, weight,

muscle mass, and so on), as well as for people who over-exercise.

 

there is a basic formula for determining approximately how many calories per

day you need to eat. keep in mind that PEOPLE ARE NOT NUMBERS. this

formula is meant solely as a basis to start from. it may be the perfect number

for

you, but chances are, it will need some tweaking before it feels right. the

formula is as follows:

 

your weight in pounds x 11

multiply this number by your activity level:

if you are SEDENTARY (you do no physical activity at all), your level

is 20% (.20)

if you are MODERATELY ACTIVE (you take walks, stand 2 hours/day, and

so on, but don't really break much of a sweat, or your workouts are 2

days/week or less), your level is 30% (.30)

if you are ACTIVE (you break a good sweat 3 days/week or more for 45

minutes+), your level is 40% (.40)

if you are OLYMPIC (pro athlete or similar), your level is 50% (.50)

 

add back in to this number your weight in pounds x 11.

 

for fat loss, subtract 500 calories from this number, or increase your

workout by 500 calories.

 

if your final number is less than 1500 calories, BRING IT UP TO 1500

CALORIES.

 

so, for a 125-lb moderately active person, the formula would be:

 

125 x 11 = 1375

1375 x .30 = 412.50

1375 + 412 = 1787

if this person wants to lose bodyfat: 1787 - 500 = 1287

ROUND THIS NUMBER UP TO 1500 AND START FROM THERE.

 

2) what you eat is very important, because your body processes different

things in different ways. the basic breakdown (from total calories) of what a

healthy person should be eating is as follows:

 

a) complex (brown, non-processed) carbs- 40-50%. diebetics and

carbohydrate-sensitive need to consult with a doctor/dietitian for the number

that is

right for them.

 

processed ( " white " ) foods, including things like white rice, white flour,

sugars of all colours, anything ending in " -itos " , and, to an extent, potatoes

and corn, have basically been digested for you. because of this, your body

doesn't have to do much work to utilize them for energy or store them as fat.

these are very quick energy sources, which is ok if you are running a marathon,

but whatever is not immediately used is stored as fat. these are the first

items to be stored as fat in your body.

 

a note about sugars: sugar, fructose, lactose, dextrose, maltose,

glucose... it doesn't matter what the source of the sugar is-- your body

treats them

all in pretty much the same way. HOWEVER, beware of high-fructose corn syrup

(which is not the same as regular corn syrup). this is a mutated, man-made

product, and is very cheap to use. most big-name companies like kellogg's,

mott's, post, and so on use it liberally in most of their products. ever

since high-fructose corn syrup became a mainstay in the american diet, obesity

rates have skyrocketed. this is because this item will actually affect your

hormones. your body does not treat it like other sugars because its structure

does not act like other sugars.

 

non-processed ( " brown " ) foods, including things like whole grains, brown

rice, amaranth, quinoa, fruits, and ESPECIALLY vegetables (which should be the

majority of the carbohydrates you are eating) are less easily processed by the

body. because of this, they are longer-lasting, more nutritious energy

sources, and are not as easily turned to body fat.

 

b) protein does not need to be more than about 30% of your total calorie

intake, unless you are EXTREMELY muscular, in which case you might bring this

number up to 40%. the fact of the matter is, the average joe uses anywhere

from .4 - .8 g of protein per kg of bodyweight. the average olympic athlete

uses about .9 - 1g of protein per kg of bodyweight. anything more than this is

simply not used by the body, and therefore gets processed through the kidneys,

binding with calcium there and possibly causing kidney stones. this is why

high-protein diets don't make all that much sense, nutritionally. the body

simply will not be able to use all that protein.

 

good vegan sources of protein are things like soybeans and soy products,

beans/legumes, whole grains, and seitan. if you are lacto-ovo, add to this

list

low or nonfat dairy and egg whites (try to keep any animal-based proteins as

lean as possible). protein is really very easy to come by, and most people

get more than they need without trying very hard.

 

c) fats are very important-- without them, you will not process fat

soluable vitamins such as A, E, D, and K. fat intake should be about 20% of

your

daily intake-- not much more, and definitely not much less.

 

GOOD fats are mono and polyunsaturated. these are things like: flax, most

nuts/seeds, olive oil, canola oil, grapeseed oil, and avocado. NOTE: one

medium-sized avocado has approximately 12.5 grams of fat in it. unless

you're running low on fats that day, don't eat a whole one.

 

BAD fats are saturated. animal products of all kinds are major sources of

saturated fats. palm oil and coconut are two vegetarian sources of saturated

fats-- coconut has twice the amount of saturated fat as lard!!

 

trans fats are the high-fructose corn syrups of the fat world, and are,

unfortunately, not required to be on labels at the moment. they are mutated

fats

that will make your bad cholesterol spike and your good cholesterol drop. if

you see the words " hydrogenated " or " partially hydrogenated " in the

ingredients list of your food, you can assume the item has trans fats in it.

 

3) MELODY'S BASIC RULES FOR A HEALTHY DIET:

-KNOW WHAT YOU ARE EATING. read labels. if you don't recognize the

ingredients, don't eat it.

-BUY ORGANIC WHENEVER POSSIBLE. organic fruits and veggies are more

nutritious than their counterparts. any non-organic animal products are

usually

chock full of hormones that can affect your body in bad ways.

-EAT EVERY THREE HOURS. break your daily calorie intake up into 5-6 small

meals. this will keep your metabolism steady throughout the day, turning your

body into an efficient fat-burning machine.

-MINIMIZE PROCESSED/ " WHITE " FOODS (discussed above).

-DON'T DRINK YOUR CALORIES. this means sodas, juices (even " natural "

juices), gatorade, and similar. basically, these are liquid sugar. they are

easily turned into fat and do not fill you up, and because of this you will

unconciously take in several hundred calories in addition to your food. if you

must have juice, blend the WHOLE fruit instead of juicing it. this way you

will

take in fewer calories and get the benefit of the whole food.

-CHEAT. allow yourself a small amount of a " fun " food every day if you have

that kind of willpower. if you don't (and i know i don't), allow yourself a

cheat day. if you eat like an angel 6 days out of the week, you can eat

like the devil on the seventh day. this keeps you from feeling deprived,

and you'll probably find after a while that your cheat day doesn't feel so good

any more.

-DON'T BEAT YOURSELF UP OVER MISTAKES. they happen. jump back on the

horse. you'll be fine.

 

let me know if you have any questions.

 

melody

 

http://www.melodysmusic.net