Maintaining a state of optimal health is essential if you desire to build a better body. If the natural balance of health within the body is thrown off, your fat loss efforts will suffer. Nutrition for fat loss, fitness, and health all go hand in hand.
It is not possible to look great when you feel awful if that makes any sense. But if you want to feel good you should keep your body healthy. In order to stay healthy you need to eat whole foods that are left in their natural unaltered state because they are pure, whole, and rich in nutrients. These nutrients will keep your body functioning at its peak, as well as keep you healthy and lean.
Good health is not a gift from above, but rather your chance to show your appreciation of life by doing everything in your power to sustain a lofty level of well being. Good health is earned and it is constantly worth working hard for.
There is nothing in life that is more valuable than good health, and there is no reason to go through life suffering with unnecessary disease and being overweight.
There is also no shortcut or cheap replacement for achieving good health, so if you have been neglecting your nutrition I have laid out a few straightforward guidelines/rules to follow that will help you create a new feeling of well-being, boost your energy levels, and get your health back on track.
10 Tips For Optimal Health:
1. Food should be natural, fresh, pure, and whole.
Whole foods that are left in their natural, un-altered state are the highest in nutritional worth. These foods will help you build a body that is healthy, strong, and fit.
2. Maintain an 80% alkaline and 20% acid ratio.
Proteins and starches are acid, vegetables and fruits are alkaline. Just about all of the metabolic wastes of the body are acids so we need to consume alkaline forming foods like fruits and vegetables to neutralize these acid wastes. Acid wastes are especially hazardous because they are said to cause a variety of health problems and chronic diseases.
3. Eliminate the three silent killers: White sugar, white flour and refined salt.
These are the top three foods to avoid if you ever want to be healthy and fit. Table salt can elevate blood pressure, increase your chance of stroke and harden the arteries. Too much table salt can also cause you to hold on to excess water and carry unwelcome pounds. Be sure to only eat foods that contain the “organic” sodium that occurs naturally in them and avoid refined table salt at all costs.
Refined foods like white flour and sugar provide no nutritional value and are full of empty calories. Eating these foods also puts an extreme strain on the liver and can stop fat loss in its tracks. Avoid all foods made with white flour and sugar and eat natural raw foods like fruits and vegetables instead. Natural foods in their raw form exhibit the highest nutritional value of all foods and are chock full of the best vitamins, minerals, fiber, and live enzymes.
4. Be active.
Your body was designed to move around and be energetic so it is imperative that you challenge your muscles each day. If you do not have time to make it to the gym, just do a few pushups at work or take a brisk 15 minute walk during the day. If you are sitting at home watching tv, why not jump rope or do a number of abdominal exercises instead of laying there collecting dust?
I like to think of my body as an expensive sports car and treat it as such. I dont put crappy fuel in it, I always perform routine maintenance, and when I am not on the race track I take it around the block every so often to keep it running smoothly. Your body is the biggest “investment” that you have so be sure to take care of it. There are 86,400 seconds in a day, try to always make the best use of them.
5. Drink plenty of water.
Since our bodies are over 70% water, drinking water is essential for optimal health. Water helps prime the body for fat loss, as well as flush out harmful toxins. Not drinking enough can lead to a water imbalance in the body, which can escalate your risk of disease. Be sure to drink between 64 and 128 ounces of water daily.
6. Eat in moderation.
Eating the same foods in overload can cause nutritional deficiencies because this means that other foods are not used in sufficient variety in the diet. Many bodybuilders and amateur lifters are guilty of this and fall into the chicken, broccoli, and sweet potato each day trap.
In order to burn fat and remain healthy it is essential to eat enough protein, carbohydrates, and fats daily. However, each macronutrient should be eaten in the correct amount at each meal. This prevents overeating and helps maintain a balanced combination of foods in the diet.
7. Eat plenty of fiber.
If you desire to remain healthy, you cannot minimize the significance of dietary fiber. Fiber improves digestion, keeps bad cholesterol levels down, and provides satiety which will keep you feeling fuller longer. If you are trying to keep calories low and lose weight, eating enough fiber is very important. Good sources of fiber include, but are not limited to: Apples, pears, raspberries, broccoli, brussels sprouts, spinach, kidney beans, navy beans, and almonds. Eat between 20-25 grams of fiber daily.
8. Never fry foods or use heated oils to cook food.
Foods that are cooked in oils and/or fried are cooked at high heat. This high heat food preparation process is dangerous because it lowers nutritional value and makes food almost impossible to digest. Cooking using heated oils and frying is also a contributing factor to heart disease, hardening of the arteries, and high cholesterol.
9. Let nature work its magic to heal.
We tear our bodies down while we exercise. In order to recover and keep our bodies steadily burning fat and building muscle we must eat right, get an adequate amount of sleep, and supply the body with the nutrients that it needs to repair tissue.
10. Keep variety in your diet.
Any diet is boring without variety, but even more importantly, when we lack nutritional variety we can’t supply the body with all of the nutrients that it needs to remain in optimal health. Maintaining variety in your diet guarantees your body gets all of the nutrients it needs to remain healthy. Most diseases are associated with a nutritional deficiency of some sort so it is very important that we add variety to our diet so that we get the full spectrum nutrients that we need to remain healthy.