It still amazes me how much money people waste on finding that ‘silver bullet’ for their nutrition and dieting habits, spending vast sums on supplements, complicated diets and generally veering away from the basic fundamentals of good nutrition.
We always hear so much conflicting information regarding nutrition and the best way to do this or that, eat this, don’t eat that etc etc
In a cost effective nutshell…
A diet made up of natural whole foods, remove processed carbohydrates and eat a balance of essential fats.
It really doesn’t need to be any more complicated than that, just eat REAL food and invest more time in sourcing and preparing it, it’s your health, don’t you think it’s worth the effort and it doesn’t have to cost you the earth either.
Alongside focusing on natural whole foods here’s 3 simple and cost effective ways to improve your health today.
Drink More Water
Are you drinking enough water on a daily basis?
As little as 1-2% reduction in bodyweight from water loss can reduce performance.
In order to ensure you are taking in adequate fluids throughout the day we can use the following calculation to estimate your daily water intake needs.
For every kg of bodyweight you should consume 30-40 ml of water, therefore for an 80 kg man the calculation would look like this:
80 x 30-40 = 2400-3200
Which means you should be consuming approximately between 2.5-3 litres of water each day.
Eat More Fruit and Vegetables
Yes that’s right the biggest dieting secret that the dieting industry doesn’t want you to know about, the much forgotten ‘Eat More Fruit and Vegetables Diet’, it’s the only one that works and all it costs you is the money you spend on fruit and veg.
‘Good nutrition makes a lot of sense but not a lot of dollars’
Amongst many reasons to increase your fruit and vegetable intake is that an increase in vitamins and minerals prevents malnutrition and nutrient deficiencies.
Not to mention a massive increase in fibre that will help to fill you up for longer, reduce cravings and aid digestion.
Note: There is also much anecdotal and scientific research to suggest that a move to a more plant based diet will help reduce cholesterol.
Try eating 8-12 servings per day, one serving is equal to:
- 1 x medium sized fruit
- 1 x half palm size portion of raw fruit
- 1 x fist size portion of raw/cooked vegetables
Note: For fat loss goals keep the ratio of vegetables to fruit much higher such as 5:1, as fruit is naturally more calorie dense than veg.
Eating Mindfully
How many times do you sit down to eat and find yourself rushing a meal or mindlessly shovelling food into your mouth whilst you look at your phone or watch the TV, or do you even make time to sit down and eat, to many people these days food is an afterthought to be crammed in-between tasks.
Slowing down your eating allows for greater absorption of nutrients which will benefit your health and wellbeing both physically and mentally. It can take up to 20 minutes for satiety mechanisms to kick in, telling you that you’re full, therefore some great little behavioural meal habits to consider would be:
- Take smaller bites
- Chew the food completely and taste it
- Put the fork down after a few bites
- Have a drink
- Chat with a dinning partner
Take your time and really experience the process of eating and tune in to the appetite signals that your body produces. It will help with digestion, enjoyment, satisfaction and with sleep if eating before bed.
As you can see good nutrition or living a healthy lifestyle isn’t expensive, you don’t need to spend anything to change your habits, you just need to make that choice.