SmartF AT2FIT Healthy Ideas from Life Experiences™
The Skinny on Eating smart™
The Skinny on Eating smart™ By Patrick Schoeneborn – NASM CPT & Health Coach Healthy Ideas from Life Experiences™ It’s all about your Health!
A Quick Guide to Healthy Living Sugars – Give it up! Carbs – Not all carbs are created equal! Proteins – Too much or too little? Fats – Choose your fats wisely! Fibers – The little, big Helper Water – Think “Skinny” Dipping Healthy Eating – How to balance your daily meals Eating out – How to enjoy your next meal at your fav restaurant Living smart – Choose your new lifestyle What’s in your wallet?
The Skinny on Eating smart™ by Patrick Schoeneborn, 5/2009 smartfat2fit@gmail.com Page 1 of 7
SmartF AT2FIT Healthy Ideas from Life Experiences™
The Skinny on Eating smart™
The Skinny on Eating smart™ Are you ready to loose weight? Great! You don’t have to have a biology degree You don’t have to exercise or hit the gym 24/7 No Diets or self-starvation Just eat smart and burn more calories than you eat. It’s that easy! Enjoy your foods and embrace a new life style!
Know this about your foods Sugars – Give it up! You’ll find sugar everywhere! In soups, in cereals, in health bars, in diary, in junk foods and food makers have you come back for more. Read the food labels. 13g equals a t-spoon full of sugar. If you don’t take it in your coffee, why eat it with your food? Stay away from refined sugars and enjoy your fruits or other natural sweeteners. And definitely avoid artificial sweeteners. They’re really bad for you! The Skinny on Sugars: Fruits and natural sweeteners, in. Refined and artificial sugars, out.
Carbs – Not all carbs are created equal! There are a variety of types of carbs: from simple to complex, from refined (processed) to unrefined and from high Glycemic (Index) to low Glycemic. What to make of this carb jungle? Avoid or moderate most processed foods such as pasta, white rice, fruit juice, sugar loaded fat free yogurts, most cereals, most crackers, cookies, pastries, white breads or bagels, chips and pretzels, sports drinks or other soft drinks, and of course candy. Stick to whole grains and other complex carbs including vegetables which include starches and fibers. Whole grains haven't had their bran and germ removed by milling, making them better sources of fiber. It’s more filling and your body has to work much harder to break them down. Besides they provide a steady source of energy! The Skinny on Carbs: Enjoy the good, lose the bad.
Proteins – Too much or too little? Protein is vital to your heath. But more is not necessarily better. So, what’s too much? That depends who you listen to. Fact is, your body can only absorb a certain amount of protein, any excess will be converted into fat. Up to a quarter or less of your meal (read: caloric intake) should therefore come from protein or better, complete protein. These foods include beef, chicken, fish, eggs, milk and The Skinny on Eating smart™ by Patrick Schoeneborn, 5/2009 smartfat2fit@gmail.com Page 2 of 7
SmartF AT2FIT Healthy Ideas from Life Experiences™
The Skinny on Eating smart™ just about anything else derived from animal sources. Vegetarian? Don’t worry; mix your grains with plenty of vegetable, legumes or nuts to eat your protein. Your body will then complete the protein it needs. This means by eating well balanced meals you are guaranteed to get sufficient protein. Besides highprotein consumption can tax the kidneys, which go into overdrive trying to process and excrete the nitrogen in protein. Not good! The Skinny on Proteins: Eat healthy, balanced meals and you’ll get all your protein.
Fats – Choose your fats wisely! Fact is: we all need fats. Fats help your body to absorb nutrients, transmit nerve impulses, maintain integrity of your cell membranes and many other functions. However, when consumed in excess amount, fats contribute to weight gain, heart disease and certain types of cancer. But fats are not created equal. Some fats promote our health positively while others increase our risks of heart and other diseases. The good, the bad and the ugly? Good fats are found in oils such as olive, canola or flaxseed as well as raw nuts or seeds and fruits like avocados. As part of a balanced meal and consumed in moderation these fats will not make you fat. Bad fats are mainly found in animal products such as meat, dairy, eggs and seafood. Some plant foods are also high in saturated fats such as coconut oil, palm oil and palm kernel oil. To minimize these fats use lower-fat dairy such as 1% or skim milk instead of whole milk. Trim visible fats and skins from meat products. Ugly fats were invented by scientists "hydrogenating" oils to improve the food production process and to provide a better shelf life. As a result trans-fatty acids are formed which are found in many commercially packaged and commercially fried foods such as French Fries, many packaged snacks as well as in vegetable shortening and hard stick margarine. Avoid using such cooking oils and minimize eating foods which are high in saturated fats and/or trans-fats. Always read labels to look for trans-fat free alternatives. The Skinny on Fats: Replace bad fats with good fats in all your meals.
Fibers – The little, big Helper Not many people are into eating greens and high fiber cereals but these are the carbs that help you feel full, have the most nutrients, and really boost metabolism – so indulge all you want. Fibers may also slow down the absorption of fat from what you eat. This is another weight-control tool. It's important to eat fiber from a variety of sources.
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SmartF AT2FIT Healthy Ideas from Life Experiences™
The Skinny on Eating smart™ To increase your intake of fiber, eat more whole and natural foods, and fewer processed foods. These include legumes and other vegetables, whole grains, fruits and brown rice. The Skinny on Fiber: Adding more fiber to your meals will help you lose weight and improve your health.
Water – Think “Skinny” Dipping Find your fountain of youth and dip, dip, dip until you get skinny. No kidding! Water is found to help weight loss by improving your metabolism. How? Your liver converts stored fat to energy, but also picks up the slack for the kidneys. To function properly kidneys need plenty of water. Deprive them of water and the liver actually has to kick in which lowers its overall productivity. The result? Your liver is less productive burning (metabolizing) fat which allows for greater fat storage and weight gain. Besides water does wonders for your looks and builds muscle tone. Think of a well hydrated body as a well oiled machine. Don’t let yourself get thirsty. Avoid saggy skins and flabby muscles by drinking plenty of water. Shoot for eight 8-ounce glasses spread out throughout the day. Drink a little more with or after your meal. Enjoy it “on ice” or straight from the fountain or bottle. The Skinny on Water: Drink water even if you’re not thirsty yet.
Healthy Eating – How to balance your daily meals As you know by now meals are made of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. How to juggle these ingredients, you want to know? For starters you should know that Carbs and Proteins contain 4 calories per gram and fat a whooping 9 calories per gram. So you see that fat contains more than twice the calories of carbs and proteins! Also calories from fat are more easily stored as fat, than are calories from carbohydrates or proteins. It takes more energy for your body to break down carbohydrates and proteins. Dietary fats are therefore much easier to process, while complex carbs (like whole grains) and proteins are harder to process. Yes, you read right! You actually burn calories when you it, since it takes energy for your body to process the foods. This is one of the reasons you should eat 4-6 smaller frequent meals throughout the day than all at once. It keeps your body working. Besides you’re not hungry as a lion for your next meal which provides for better self control. I promise I’ll be brief on this subject but you should know that even at rest while your body is not working or digesting food you are still burning calories. It takes energy to keep your vital organs, such as your heart, lungs, your brain and the rest of the nervous system, liver, kidneys, muscles and skin and yes, your sex organs, functioning properly. This is known as your Basal Metabolic Rate or BMR The Skinny on Eating smart™ by Patrick Schoeneborn, 5/2009 smartfat2fit@gmail.com Page 4 of 7
SmartF AT2FIT Healthy Ideas from Life Experiences™
The Skinny on Eating smart™ for short. On average someone’s BMR is 1200-1400 calories per day depending on your life style and body composition. In order to calculate your daily calorie needs your BMR value is then multiplied by a factor with a value between 1.2 and 1.9 depending on your daily activities. Now what does this all mean? About 70% of your calories are burned to keep your body functioning while 20% comes from physical activities and another 10% is needed to digest your food. And even though each person's metabolism is unique due to his or her unique physical makeup and physical behavior we now know, that your BMR is by far the largest component of total caloric expenditure. Unless you are a Star Athlete, of course. So if you consume 2000 calories a day you will burn 1300 calories by doing nothing, 200 calories from eating and the remaining 500 calories getting to work, playing with your kids, attending to your garden etc. You get my drift. Of course the more you do, the more you burn. But that’s a different subject we’ll get into another time. According to the Food Pyramid you should eat more foods from the bottom part of the pyramid (whole grains and vegetables) and less foods from the top (red meat, diary and of course any refined foods or sugars). Now let’s put this together. We now know that on average 60% of your meals should include (complex) Carbs, 20-25% Protein and only 15-20% Fat. Based on the 2000 calories this would translate into approximately 300g of carbs, 100g of proteins and 45g of Fat. Remember there are 9 calories in each fat gram. Now you say, do I have to weigh everything before I eat? No! I just wanted you to have a better perspective. Instead focus on foods and portions, not grams. Choose plenty of vegetables and fruits, add whole grains and legumes (starchy vegetables), cut back on red meats and make chicken or fish your first choice for healthy proteins. To balance your meal, picture your dinner plate and divide it. Fill your plate with 50% vegetables and fruits, 25% proteins and 25% grains and starchy vegetables. Dieticians swear this is a foolproof way to eat healthy and loose or maintain your weight. The Skinny on Healthy Eating: Eat plenty of vegetables or fruits, choose whole grains and other plant-based foods over processed foods, cut back on red meats and choose chicken or fish instead and remember this one rule: Fill your plate 50/25/25.
Eating out – How to enjoy your next meal at your fav restaurant Recent studies have found that you gain weight when you eat out. Duh? Who paid for these studies, I wonder. I wish they would have paid me to find this out. But unless you always eat at the local “Greasy Spoon”, most restaurants today cook healthy meals. Or at least you can ask for one. The major problems are the portions and make up of the different food groups. The Skinny on Eating smart™ by Patrick Schoeneborn, 5/2009 smartfat2fit@gmail.com Page 5 of 7
SmartF AT2FIT Healthy Ideas from Life Experiences™
The Skinny on Eating smart™
So here’s my Skinny on eating out: Order healthy alternatives or change the meal, e.g. egg whites for your omelet or chicken, fish instead of meat, to make it more healthy and balanced. Avoid fried or deep fried foods. You know why! If the portions are big eat only half or share your meal with someone else. Add a side order of vegetables since most restaurants tend to be a bit “skinny” on their veggies. A side of broccoli goes a long way. Skip the bread and olive oil. Can’t skip? Ask for whole grain and/or only eat the crust. Then skip or minimize your carbs with your main meal. Hungry? Want to snack before? Order a healthy appetizer, e.g. a platter with raw or cooked vegetables, cup of soup or small salad with olive oil dressing on the side. Then split your main course. Dessert? Absolutely! Choose fruit over the sugary one or share it with your loved ones. Drink plenty of water! Now go and enjoy your next meal out without the guilt. You’re gonna love it!
Living smart – Choose your new lifestyle Ever wondered why some people are able to shed those pounds and keep them off? There are no secrets. It’s not just counting calories or about replacing certain food groups with others. No one is perfect. Believe in enjoying life while keeping a healthy balance. Use your head and KISS (Keep It Simple, S…you know the rest).
The Skinny on Living smart:
Eat your breakfast (lunch, and dinner) Eat fruits and vegetables with every meal Mix your meals with healthy proteins and complex carbs Stay physically active Plan your meals, your snacks and your exercise
Author Patrick Schoeneborn – NASM CPT & Health Coach Healthy Ideas from Life Experiences™ Call me at (201) 247 9501 Email me @ smartfat2fit@gmail.com It’s all about your Health!
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SmartF AT2FIT Healthy Ideas from Life Experiences™
The Skinny on Eating smart™
What’s in your wallet?
2FFIITT
SmartF FA ATT
The Skinny on Eating smart Sugars: Carbs: Proteins: Fats: Fiber: Water:
Fruits and natural sweeteners, in. Refined and artificial sugars, out. Enjoy the good, lose the bad. Eat healthy, balanced meals and you’ll get all your protein. Replace bad fats with good fats in all your meals. Add more fiber to your meals to lose weight and improve your health. Drink water even if you’re not thirsty yet.
Healthy Ideas from Life Experiences™
By Patrick Schoeneborn, NASM CPT & Health Coach
2FFIITT
SmartF FA ATT
The Skinny on Living smart
Eat your breakfast (lunch, and dinner) Eat fruits and vegetables with every meal Mix your meals with healthy proteins and complex carbs Stay physically active Plan your meals, your snacks and your exercise
Enjoy a healthy life!
Healthy Ideas from Life Experiences™
By Patrick Schoeneborn, NASM CPT & Health Coach
Copy, cut and keep it in your wallet. Take a peak when you fall off the wagon.
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