· Eat 5-6 small meals every day (breakfast is the most important)
· Eat every 3 hours
· Always combine a lean protein with a complex carb at each meal
· Drink. More. Water.
· Plan & prep your meals; not planning = failed meals
· Always avoid over-processed, refined foods
· Avoid sugar-saturated juice, alcohol, and especially sodas
· Depend on more fresh fruits and veggies for your nutrition:)
· Portion control!
You obviously can’t eat 6 meals a day unless they are “smaller” than the huge, standard American three meals a day looks like. SO. This means smaller, more controlled meals every 3 hours that include a lean protein with a complex carb.
Plan & Prep
Plan your meals for the week. This helps when you have JUST gone grocery shopping and can prepare (prep) for the week. Always, always wash and cut all your fruits and veggies right when you get home from grocery shopping and bake anything you need to (like amazing, healthy sweet (or purple) potatoes that should be a huge staple in your diet). This helps you to not have to prepare each small meal during a busy work week.
Portion Control
5-6 small meals a day. YES, eat more often! This is basically how our bodies ‘should’ be telling us how to eat... but society and a huge lack of portion control has made us all unaware of how terrible we are treating our bodies! Here is the correct portion sizes you should be eating at each meal:
Yea… society def. isn’t following this… but should be!
Healthy Staples
Always try to get your food closest to it’s natural state as possible. This means less processing and less loss of nutrients. Try to avoid white flours, sugars, etc.
- honey (my #1 go-to sweetener)
- agave nectar (found near peanut butter or in baking aisle)
- 100% pure maple syrup (not “pancake syrup”)
- truvia/stevia packets (natural sweeteners found in baking aisle)
- stevia drops (found in health food stores)
- brown rice
- quinoa
- chia seeds
- flax
- oats (quick or old fashioned)
- coconut oil (instead of butter or canola/vegetable/olive oils)
- almond milk
- bananas
- greek yogurt
- egg whites (usually use a whole egg and then extra egg whites to bump up protein in recipes)
Helpful Sites
http://www.picklee.com/2012/08/01/recipe-substitutions/
http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/our-free-meal-plans/
http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/our-free-meal-plans/
Examples of food prep
- hard boiled eggs
- sautéed zucchini and squash (I add tons of herbs to mine)
- steamed broccoli/grilled asparagus (or any veggies)
- baked sweet potatoes (super good for you!)
- a crock pot recipe/casserole recipe that will last you a while
- whole coconut for the antioxidant water and grated flesh for recipes
- chicken breasts (plain or in a recipe)
- greek yogurt and frozen fruit in baggies for quick smoothies (add in fresh baby spinach leaves, honey, ground flax seeds/chia seeds, and almond milk)
- brown rice/quinoa/whole grain pasta
- baked spaghetti squash, ground turkey, and red sauce (for a super healthy spaghetti meal)
- cut up all of your fruits and veggies to snack on throughout the week
Me and my husband usually prep every two weeks (since we are on a budget and just have to make it last a while right now) and make a trip to the grocery store in between for fresh produce.
Typical day of eating in my life
Breakfast- Oats with whole milk, honey, 1/2 banana, chia seeds, and flax; OJ; coffee with homemade creamer
Mid-morning snack- greek yogurt, mandarin orange, green tea
Lunch- lean protein and complex carb. For example-- sweet potato, chicken, and zucchini. Or maybe just PB&J and hard boiled egg... and water every day at lunch.
Afternoon snack- whole wheat muffin and a banana
Post-workout—protein shake and maybe another muffin (sometimes I usually just eat dinner if we are going directly home from gym)
Dinner- Turkey meatloaf, asparagus, zucchini, and milk.
Dessert- greek yogurt, cottage cheese, almond/peanut butter, & granola on top (maybe.. I usually don’t want a meal after dinner unless we had a really tiring gym day) **note—do not eat this if you are not working out regularly. This is high calorie and high fat, which I need because I sometimes have trouble eating enough throughout the day.
And that’s my day! I don’t eat perfectly each day and I know my downfall is not planning/prepping enough so I am working on that! I know planning a week’s worth of meals seems like a lot but if you just have a couple hours one day a week or so to do it, it’ll save time in the long run. But if not... just try planning one or two days at a time!
This way of eating has definitely made a difference in my energy and how I feel in general. A book that has helped me tremendously is The Eating Clean Diet (it says diet and fat loss, but it has good tips in general for just a healthy lifestyle): http://www.amazon.com/The-Eat-Clean-Diet-Recharged-Lasting/dp/1552100677/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360605805&sr=8-1&keywords=eat+clean
Also-- I can’t stress enough how imperative exercise is. Exercise strengthens your immune system and positively effects your emotional responses to everyday life. Strength training is specifically important because it boosts your metabolism and continues to burn energy while you are resting (while your body is repairing itself, building muscle). Don’t leave this part of healthy living out of your lifestyle!
I hope this information helps! For more recipes and tips, visit my Meal Plan board on Pinterest for inspiration: http://pinterest.com/stephotis/food-tips-meal-plans/
My Instagram feed also has a lot of my recipes I've personally made too: http://instagram.com/stephanieotis/
My Instagram feed also has a lot of my recipes I've personally made too: http://instagram.com/stephanieotis/
