The Truth - How To Eat for Health and/or Weight loss

As I’m sure you’re all aware there are an enormous amount of health ‘resources’ out there all vying for your attention. They have titles like ‘lose weight fast’ ‘lose 5kg’s in one week’ ‘drink me and you’ll be one hot mama’. They’re everywhere. Why are they everywhere? Because we buy them, open them, read them, drink them. We are so badly wanting to be thinner, or to be healthier that we’re willing to try yet another ‘miracle solution’, despite the fact that we have tried many over the years and we’re still overweight or unhealthy. Maybe this one is the one. I understand that need for a solution to a long term problem, that desire to take hold of something and hope it takes you where you want to go, but it won't.

When it comes to your health education is the key. You need to understand what is happening inside your body and what you should be putting into it. You need to understand the truth, so you know when something sounds too good to be true. I used to get asked all the time ‘what have you got for weight loss? Does it work? Will it make me skinny?’ And my honest answer was always ‘If I had a pill that could make someone skinny, I certainly wouldn’t be here! I’d be on my luxury yacht somewhere’ A global epidemic would be solved, a world crisis over, someone would be rich. There is no pill. There is no quick fix, either to solving our health issues or to losing weight. On some deep gut level, you have to know this already.

 So where do you go from there? Give up? No! You learn what is real, and you follow it. You take that information and use it like your life depends on it, and it does. This is that information. Over the next few weeks we’re going to look at what constitutes a healthy diet, and why. Not what constitutes a fad diet, or an easy diet, or a liquid diet, I said a healthy diet. Over the next few weeks, if you follow with me, we’re going to learn all about protein, carbs and fats. We’re going to look at our micronutrients, that is our vitamins and minerals. And most importantly we’re going to discuss how you can take this information and apply it to your life. Whether you're eating for health or for weight loss the rules are essentially the same. This is a no holds barred, no beating around the bush discussion of the truth. So put your hat on and let’s go.

Rules of the Game

Rule 1. You Need Protein

Image from docstoc.com

Protein seemed like a good a place to start as any. It is vital to your existence. Protein, along with carbohydrates and fat are what are known as macronutrients. Our bodies require them in large amounts, you’ll hear them being discussed in gram weights such as 40grams, or 60 grams a day for example. Many of the structures of your body are made of protein. Your skin and hair, your muscles and organs, your cells and neurotransmitters, they’re all protein, so in a health sense, eating protein is really building, repairing and maintaining our bodies integrity. Protein is made up of smaller units called amino acids, which are all strung together. When protein is digested, the amino acid strings are broken up and the amino acids are used in our bodies. Some amino acids are made by the body, and others we MUST get through our food, so its important to eat a variety of protein foods daily. We’ll discuss amino acids more at a later date.

Eating enough protein will help

-         Strengthen your hair

-         Maintain skin integrity

-         Help with mood regulation

-         Boost the immune system

Protein also does a couple of other important things, which are great if we want to lose weight

1. It increases our feeling of satiety. That is how full we feel and how long it lasts.
2. Slows the absorption of the carbohydrates we eat with it (we’ll cover this much more later) Essentially it lowers the Glycaemic Index of our carbohydrate food.

So what does this mean? It means you need to eat protein! There are many options

- Beef, pork and chicken are common options

- You’ve got options such as bison and venison, rabbit, kangaroo if you want to go more exotic

- Don’t forget seafood is also protein. Fish, prawns, oysters. 

- Vegetarian protein sources such as tofu, tempeh

- Dairy contains protein too

Lets look at some of the common fears and questions with regards to protein foods

1. How much do I need?

Ideally, most adults should have at least 1 gram protein per kilogram of body weight. If you weigh 60kg therefore, you need 60g protein daily as a minimum (or 1 grams per 2.2lbs). You can have too much protein however; I wouldn’t go over about 2.5 grams per kilo of body weight you’ll notice if you do, you’ll find yourself with a lot of gas! In order to know how much protein a food has,  you need to know how to read labels. If you're unsure how to do this, see my post Know Thy Label http://firstbehealthy.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/normal-0-knowing-label-one-of-biggest.html.

2. How do I get that much protein a day?

Its simple, include a protein food at most of your meals and you should have no problems getting your daily requirement. Have some eggs for breakfast, some chicken for lunch and a piece of fish for dinner. If you’re snacking during the day, say on nuts, there is protein there too. If you’re struggling to get the protein in you could always supplement. There are many different types of protein supplements for those who are wheat, gluten, lactose or animal free.

3. What if I have high cholesterol?

If you have high cholesterol, eat red meat in moderation. Why do I suggest this? Ideally there are a certain amount of calories you want to consume from fat (we will cover calories soon), so you should aim to make the fat you consume fat that will help in this area. If you have high cholesterol, I would focus on eating more omega 3 fatty acids from fatty fish, and more monounsaturated fats from avocado and nuts and seeds as opposed to fat from grain fed red meat. That doesn’t mean you cannot eat red meat. I would have it around twice a week. It just means your focus is on other fat sources for now.

4. Isn’t the fat in meat bad for my weight? 

No, we’ll look more at fat later, but you need fat.

5. But I’m a vegetarian/vegan?

If you’re a vegetarian you can get protein through products like tofu, tempeh and eggs. If you eat dairy you will also be getting some there. If you’re vegan in particular, you will also need to learn how to combine your foods to get protein. On a daily basis you need to eat a mixture of

-         Grains

-         Beans and legumes

-         Nuts and seeds

Image from vegfitlife.com

Remember earlier in the article I discussed those amino acids? Each food group (grains, beans and legumes, nuts and seeds) has its own combination of those amino acids strung together. Some have less of certain ones, and others have more of certain ones. You need to eat a balance of those foods to make sure you have enough of all the aminos. This is called food combining and again, I will be writing a larger post on it. If you’re looking for resources try

http://www.ordinaryvegan.net/

http://www.veganhealth.org/

These are great websites to look at for any questions you may have about getting adequate nutrition.

6. What about the mercury and pollutants in fish?

Our fish is no doubt contaminated with heavy metals and toxic chemicals. I suggest eating small fish such as anchovies and sardines; they tend to have lower concentrations of contaminants, particularly heavy metals. There is a school of thought that a lot of the nutrients in fish protect us from the heavy metals. I personally eat fish or seafood products around 4 times a week. I make sure the rest of my diet is high in nutrients and antioxidants to protect my body. I make sure I have lots of dietary fibre, which can help bind to toxins and remove them during the digestive process. If you’re genuinely concerned, stick with the other protein sources.

So, to sum it up,

The rules

 

1. You need protein

1. Whether you're eating for health or for weight loss, you need protein.
2. It helps with building, repairing and maintaining our bodies
3. Proteins are made up of strings of Amino Acids and we need to eat a mixture of amino acids daily.
4. Protein helps us look and feel our best
5. Protein is important for weight loss as it keeps us full and helps regulate our blood sugar levels when we eat carbohydrate foods
6. You need to eat at least 1gram per kilogram or per 2.2 pounds of body weight
7. Include a protein food at each of your meals
8. If you’re vegetarian/vegan learn how to food combine

If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment. You can also find me on Google+ Under Christine Poile, or you can join my facebook page First Be Healthy, where I often put up links to interesting health sites that you may find useful.

Stay tuned for the next instalment – Rule 2. It’s The Type Of Carbohydrate That Counts