The Perfect Plate
7 practical tips for healthy eating and achieving great results!
With so much information distributed across the internet today, it is extremely difficult for gym newbies to tell what’s right from wrong. It’s overwhelming for them to say the least. If they don’t seek the help of accredited and credible institutions (having years of experience under their belt), they will likely end up giving up because they haven’t seen the results they so desperately crave. When it comes to these things, it’s either you find great sources for nutrition education, or you stumble across a source that will totally hamper your progress. This will demoralize you and set you back big time. Here, at Rushcutters Health, our track record and testimonials speak for themselves. This is why we urge you to put your trust in us and let us guide you on what a truly perfect plate should consist of and look like. Now let’s dive into this!
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Balance and diversify your macronutrients during each meal.
Each meal you have should consist of protein, fats and veggies. You can take some carbohydrates a few hours before a high-intensity workout if you’re feeling flat and drained, but usually try having carbohydrates post-workout (read point 4 below). Protein includes red meat, chicken, fish, eggs, or even legumes (protein-rich vegetarian source). Fats include healthy oils, nuts and seeds. Veggies should constitute the most out of your daily meals. Choose veggies that are high-fiber foods, rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Your organs and tissues need proper and adequate nutrition to work effectively and having a balanced and a diversified diet will do just that. This will also allow you to control your body weight.
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Drink water, or tea.
Your body is made up of almost 60% water, so drinking water regularly will maintain the balance of your body fluids, which are extremely important to key body functions (digestion, absorption, circulation, creation of saliva, transportation of nutrients, and maintenance of body temperature). Herbal tea not only rehydrates you, but also contains vital antioxidants. Before we continue, it is essential for you to know that nothing replaces water. We always preach that moderation is usually the best approach when it comes to eating and drinking. However, your water intake kind of defies this notion. It somehow gets a pass. Nevertheless, there’s a reason we’ve used “somehow”. Drinking too much water can lead to water intoxication (hyponatremia), whereby the sodium levels in your bloodstream subside and the inside of your cells flood. Just stick to what the ‘The U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’ recommended, which was (3.7 liters daily for men) and (2.7 liters daily for women), and you’ll be good to go.
Note: If you decide on incorporating tea to some of your meals, try avoiding sugar all together, or add stevia instead of artificial sweeteners (if you have a sweet tooth).
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Eat slowly and stop eating when you’re 80% done.
Other than the fact that eating fast will most definitely make you feel bloated; you will encounter another problem which is overeating. Make yourself accustomed to eating food slowly. Chew your food well, so you give your digestive system a day’s off from hard labor. Once you start implementing this daily, you will notice that you are way lighter on your feet and that you are actually getting full on a lesser portion of the same meal that you used to have. Once you hit the sweet spot benchmark of around 80% fullness, that means it’s time for you to put the fork down and say enough is enough.
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Save the starchy carbohydrates for after your exercise.
Timing the introduction of carbohydrates for your post-workout meal is a great idea, since your muscle glycogen stores would already be depleted. Glycogen is the storage form of glucose. Your body burns glycogen and fuels you enough to handle the various stressors you put your body under during your workouts. Carbohydrates replenish these glycogen stores and allow you to recover sufficiently.
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Choose mostly whole foods with minimal processing.
Examples of ingredients used in processed foods might include: hydrogenated oil, artificial sweeteners and high-fructose corn syrup. Although these foods are low in nutritional value, they tend to be very dense and delicious. In other words, processed foods are designed in a way to be hyper-palatable. They also cause you a major sugar-imbalance that will undoubtedly lead to cravings. Whole foods (plant foods) on the other hand, are unrefined, or minimally processed. They provide beneficial nutrients for the body. Whole foods will make you feel full way faster and are by far the healthier option.
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Choose local, or organic foods when possible.
Try opting for seasonal produce that is totally organic, or locally grown. It is very important for you to know the origin and the planting conditions of the whole foods you will have. Organic foods are the ‘la crème de la crème’. They are top of the food chain in terms of quality and calibre. Being more health conscious will allow you to lose weight faster today, plus avoid ailments and diseases in the future. Finally, one last benefit of buying locally produced crops is the opportunity to contribute to your community. By doing so, you can make a big difference for you and for your community.
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Use smaller, or larger plates based on your own body size.
A study conducted on Chinese buffet diners with large plates showed data that was insane to say the least. According to the findings, it turns out that the amount served was 52% more, the consumption was 45% more, and the wasted food was 135% more than those with smaller plates. There is so much research on this topic, and it is proven that going with larger plates will make you want to serve yourself more. People tend to fill their plates up to 70% regardless of the plate size. The formula is simple, smaller plates are directly correlated to the measurement of your waistline. Unless you have a huge frame, try not going with large plates at all.