Nutrition for the Soul

Here is a simple yet foolproof guide to eating well and living a healthier lifestyle, both physically and mentally.

First of all let’s talk about what NOT to eat because I think it’s important to work your way backwards here. And also don’t call it a “diet” because the problem with”going on a diet” is that you are assuming that you’ll “go off it”. Don’t set yourself up for failure from the beginning. And don’t think of it as “oh no I’m so upset that I won’t be able to eat all these foods again”. Think of it in the sense that you are allowing yourself to live a healthier life with less stress and a clear mind by avoiding these certain foods that have been harming you. So the two main things to NOT eat are: 1. Processed foods and 2. Sugar. That is really the simplest way to better yourself through your eating habits, cut those two out of the equation and enjoy the results. Really you could just stop reading the rest of this post that’s how simple it is (I won’t mind).  Processed foods just to give an example are things such as: fast food, frozen dinners, canned foods, and sauces/dressings. By sugar I mean things such as: literally white granulated sugar, white breads/white pasta ( I know that one is a killer but there are healthy alternatives to the better known brands out there) (which are also processed), sweets such as candy/pastries etc…

Another good tip before we dive into the specifics is not on what to eat but how to eat. What I have found to be very effective is to eat multiple small to medium sized meals per day rather than 1 or 2 big meals. In essence you want to keep your metabolism working and guessing throughout the day. When you eat smaller frequent spread out meals with a little snack in between your metabolism is forced to stay active and is able to burn off the calories you put in more easily. Eating one to two meals is not as effective because your body is basically not “warmed up” to be able to burn off the calories and it takes longer which leads to an excess amount of calories stored.

Now let’s talk about the ideal things to focus on eating. I’ll break it down into a few groups.

Carbohydrates:

Carbohydrates are essential for maintaining a healthy/balanced diet and anyone who tells you otherwise and to not eat them are just plain wrong. You need them to function properly. I personally take the approach of focusing on the right kind of carbs to eat instead of not eating them completely which is just so unwise in my opinion.

-          Whole Grains, brown rice, Quinoa, fruit, vegetables, sprouted grains, rolled oats. Notice that all of these things are high in fiber and low in processed/sugars. They all contain more nutrients and are more filling than their artificial counter parts due to not being refined in the production process. (Think Sprouted Grain instead of Wonderbread or rolled oatmeal compared to (most) cereals).

Fats:

Basically you want to avoid “trans” fats which are found in things such as doughnuts, cookies, muffins hydrogenated vegetable oils, most dressings that come packaged and fried foods. Instead you want to choose mono/polysaturated fats and things with Omega 3 fatty acids.

-          Olive oil, Avocado, walnuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios, fish, cheese, milk, dark chocolate, whole eggs, coconut oil, chia seeds. Natural peanut butter is best instead of regular as the it is non hydrogenated oil or contain as much sugar (just have to stir it if you'd like).

Protein:

Protein is essential for our body’s development as every cell in the body is part protein. The thing is that our body does not store protein unlike carbohydrates and fats so in essence when we do not consume enough protein our body has no “reservoir” to take energy from so it starts to break down muscle as energy.

-          Steak, chicken, turkey, beef, fish, pork, almonds, whole eggs.

Vegetables:

Incorporating vegetables into your meals and snacks is crucial to maintaining a happy and healthy lifestyle. Do not discriminate when it comes to the type of vegetables you consume, here are some examples to include in your diet.

-          Leafy green cruciferous vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, brussel sprouts , green beans, asparagus and cucumber.

-          Cauliflower, carrots, peppers, onions, tomatoes, garlic, eggplant etc...

Now I will give specific examples of what an ideal day of meals should look like and by all means this is just a guideline that you can use and add your own elements into it but try to stay within the guidelines and stay disciplined; it’s fun! Think of it as a game/challenge you are having with yourself to see how much better you can do each day and let yourself indulge outside of it every once in a while. 

Breakfast:

½ cup of rolled oats/oatmeal (sugar free) add some cinnamon for flavoring and even drizzle some natural peanut butter on top!

2-4 whole eggs (scrambled, boiled, etc… Use Olive oil/coconut oil)

½ cup of spinach (I like this on the side but obviously you could make an omelet and add various vegetables etc)

Sprouted grain Ezekiel toast with almond/ natural peanut butter

Lunch:

My personal favorite is a salad which consists of:

-          Spinach, Avocado, grilled chicken, kidney beans, tomato, chick peas, red onion, broccoli, peppers, quinoa, with olive oil and balsamic vinegar (not balsamic dressing which is a misleading one)

Dinner:

I like to keep it simple with basically a protein, vegetable and a carb option of brown rice/ quinoa or even sweet potato

-          Steak grilled: Any type of cut will do: filet mignon is best as it's the leanest, ribeye, chuck, skirt, porterhouse. (use some salt, pepper and garlic powder to add some flavor and also when marinating various other meats go for the dry rub instead of the processed dressing option).

-          Steamed broccoli/mixed vegetables/sweet potato

-          Brown rice

Snacks throughout the day:

Swap out the chips, candy and frozen foods for walnuts, almonds fruit and whole grain bread with peanut and/or almond butter, and maybe even a little piece of dark chocolate but be sure to get the highest % cacao bar possible.

Beverages:

Avoid: Soda, sugary/artificially flavored drinks, alcohol. Yes I said it, alcohol is one of the worst things to consume on a regular basis. It is a natural diuretic which basically means it dehydrates you and prevents certain nutrients from being used by the body and in turn prevents other organs from functioning properly.

Do: Consume any naturally flavored/organic drink, coffee is ok (no added sugar though) and tea is certainly beneficial. But the one last thing that I think is the most important for overall health and well being and it’s fitting to save the best for last is:

WATER. Seriously, drink way more water than you currently do. However much you currently drink right now, double/triple that, aim to drink a gallon of water a day. Don’t listen to these people who tell you not too, water is the most important thing to consume as more of it in the body helps with digestion and the delivery of nutrients to various cells quicker and helps to increase blood flow in the body. Drinking more water will also help clear up the skin and helps clear out your body of various toxins, it’s a simple task you can just incorporate in your everyday life: try to have a bottle of water with you at all times.

I hope you have liked this simple yet useful guide and I hope you will take these ideas into consideration and use them to create a healthier and happier lifestyle for yourself. Pay your future self a “you’re welcome” now; it’s never too late to start something new.