How to become more healthy by making better food choices
I would like to think THAT a lot of the general population that have been given the extra time at home (being off work DUE TO LOCKDOWN) are using their time to excel and learn NEW THINGS in areas they’ve been meaning to explore for sometime.
Some of those valuable areas would be experimenting in cooking high nutritional value dense whole foods that provide you with faster recovery and aid in prevention from short and long term diseases and illnesses. Prime example is respiratory and cardiac health - ie heart & lungs! As Covid-19 specifically attacks the chest/lungs functions.
Working towards a stronger immune system has always been a priority in my life and i strongly advise this to all human beings. This threat is realer than ever and nutrition is a massive part to contributing in giving your body a better fighting chance for when catching nasty viruses like this current one causing the global pandemic. A good consistent well balanced diet broken into macronutrients (protein, carbs, fat) and then broken down further to micronutrients (vitamins, minerals & amino acids etc) is 100% essential for us on a healthier cellular level.
The saying ‘YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT’ is so true. I always say to my clients that you wouldn’t fill up a finely tuned F1 race car with diesel fuel as the engine would not turn on let alone function. How do you think bad processed refined foods will fuel your body in day to day life, not to mention if you’re in the gym working hard to get the best results possible. Believe me you’ll burn out, keep catching viruses and most certainly pick up injuries and take so much longer to recover in between sessions.
How to make better food choices:
1.EXPERIMENT WITH NATURALLY UNREFINED SUPERFOODS:
I highly recommend you to start experimenting over a long list of naturally unrefined minimal processed superfoods. Start learning about what food sources you do and don’t like. Trial and error all food sources to your personal preference. You can steam, oven roast, bake, grill and cook all fish, meats and plant based foods and even fry using a non stick pan with a drop of good quality cooking oil that is rich in vitamins and minerals, antioxidants etc.
2.DON’T OVERCOOK YOUR FOOD:
If you are going to boil make sure it stays in the pot as if you were cooking up some sort of soup or stew. This is so we don’t lose any of the nutrients in the water. I have worked with many individuals and known from past clients that have poured boiled vegetable water down the drain after use without the knowledge and awareness that they’re actually waisting nutrition value in the juice. This is why I recommend steaming vegetables if it’s going to be served on a plate as the boiling process drains a lot of the nutrients into the water which most then pour away down the drain wasting their money too.
3.TRY NEW FLAVOURS:
Learn about what spices you like with what foods. For example - various types of chilli, ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, paprika, rosemary, lemon grass and the list goes on.
4. PLAN YOUR MEALS:
Next is getting used to pre planning your days and your packed lunch, snacks, drinks for the days you spend at work and amount of hours away from home without access to your kitchen. A few tupperware boxes containing two of your meals for the day providing the necessary amount of calories/proteins/carbs/fats matched to your daily energy expenditure of activity - work/training session. This can be including your scheduled evening workout straight after work that evening or alternatively early morning session before work.
5. PREPARE IN ADVANCE:
Another necessity I can recommend is to maybe take an extra container for a few pieces of fruits and lean protein snacks. You’ll also benefit with a minimum of a 1 litre sized refillable water bottle so you can track and measure your water intake throughout the day. So in this case 4 litres consumed within the day would be x4 refills of that water bottle.
After learning what you can cook a few days in advance for daily meal preparation for the next day a head is a key habit to keep you on top form. This is such a powerful tool as you can implement these habits to a sustainable routine. Get used to putting these practices into action and incorporating them into your daily habits.
Your life will be so much more energised leaving you feeling happier and less sluggish. Ultimately your results from regular exercise will be incredibly more efficient and your visual results will be optimal. When you know you’re feeling so much stronger just after a good six months of making these lifestyle changes you’ll worry less about Covid-19 and about other long term diseases like heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, blood sugar imbalances.
Think about your health as you age into your 40s and 50s, because I do. Make the change for a healthier future now and save yourself a lot of worry by preventing issues arising.