To stay healthy, we need to move and exercise, but that’s only one piece of the puzzle. How we handle stress, our sleeping habits, and our relationships, for example, also play a huge role in our health and how good we feel on a day-to-day basis. Perhaps one of the most important pieces of the health puzzle (and the one that many of us struggle with), is what we eat.
What you put in your body either helps nourish, fuel, and repair it – or not, so eating whole, nutrient-rich foods is a healthy living essential. Time to toss out the processed, packaged industrialized “food substitutes” and their fast food counterparts – they don’t nourish the body and contain little real food. Our mantra at Our Place Studio when it comes to nutrition choices? Just Eat Real Food. It’s that simple.
Here is a list of nutrition points for you to think about:
1) Remove items from your pantry that are high in refined sugars and/or are processed: eat whole foods. Shop the outer perimeter of the supermarket, where you’ll find the best choices. Items in the middle tend to be processed: canned or boxed. Some of the best fresh, whole food can be found at your local Farmer’s Market.
2) Eat for fuel: three small meals a day with healthy snacks in-between. This helps you burn calories more efficiently.
3) Choose lean proteins, fresh vegetables and fruits. When it comes to grains, eat less and choose sprouted breads, rice, or quinoa over processed fare (bread, pasta, baked goods). Don’t forget to add healthy fats to your meals, such as the ones found in olive and coconut oils, fish, avocados, and some nuts.
4) Avoid sugar-laden juices, sport drinks, sodas, diet soda, and flavored “waters” – they are sources of refined sugars and, in the case of diet soda, unhealthy chemical cocktails. Enjoy alcohol in moderation – it converts to sugar.
5) Drink water. There is no substitute. Anxious? Having trouble concentrating? Thirsty? Yep, you need water.
6) Sleep is your friend, the time when your body goes into repair mode. Lack of sleep causes elevated blood sugar and cortisol levels, which cause the midsection to hold onto fat.
7) Get your hormone levels checked. When the hormones are out of balance, so are the body’s processes, and weight loss will be an uphill battle.
For an expanded version of these tips, visit the Lifestyle page of our website: www.opcovington.com. You can also contact our resident Natural Nutritionist, Laura Warner, for a consultation: 985.875.1182
Authors:
Liz Bragdon, Yoga Instructor/Movement Educator & Laura Warner, CPT / Certified Nutritionist
