Personalized nutrition plan

 The first step to a nutritional lifestyle is to choose to be healthy and make it a priority in your life; being healthy does not simply happen, instead, it starts with a motivated attitude to be who you want to be. 

After I decided to be healthy, it would be nice to say that everything simply feel into place.  That is not the case.  Being healthy is a journey, and a lifestyle, and it continues to evolve as you do.  Learning nutritional concepts can help you stay focused to achieve your goals, as well as, provide useful knowledge about the health benefits of the food you eat.

Knowledge is power.  Not only is it beneficial to know what to eat, it is just as beneficial to know what not to eat.  Learning the aspects of both of these concepts is essential to empower yourself to make sure you are eating a variety of healthy vegetables and fruits, but knowing exactly how bad things like fast food are or pizza can be a great deterrent of these foods. 

Clarify your purpose: to me, this means treating food for what it is.  It is not something to be abused or excessively consumed, it is not something that is meant to provide psychological comfort in a time of stress, it is not something that should be left un-considered.  Instead, focus on what food really is and the role that it plays in your life.  It is meant to nourish your body; with this simple definition comes the clarity and purpose that food should be, something that is nutritious and healthy.  If you focus on the health aspects of food, and what its purpose is, I doubt that anyone will be tempted to indulge in 1,500 calorie hamburger from Carls Jr.

Tips to eat healthy

Think about food in terms of nutritional value, what am I gaining from eating this?  A recurring concept in nutrition is to eat lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, poultry and fish, and low-fat dairy products.  These are all whole foods, meaning that they exist naturally in the world.  When I first started my healthy eating lifestyle 3 years ago, I remember thinking "wow, this is easier than I thought it would be"; if it didn't grow in the ground or eat things that grew in the ground, I didn't eat it.  When I grocery shop, I stay on the outer isles of the supermarket, all the processed food tends to be located in the middle.  The fruits and vegetables are on one side of the store, whole grain options are typically on the other side of the store, while poultry and fish and low-fat dairy products are in the back. 

Learning about portions was also very helpful.  It is easy to indulge when eating healthy, although if you are going to "pig out" doing so with a plate of fruits and vegetables is better than a Big Mac, Fries, and a Coke.  Meat portions should be the about the palm of your hand, 1 ounce of meat is generally one slice of turkey, and so forth.  Making sure that you understand these concepts can help you maintain the calorie allowance for the day. 

It is very important to know how to read nutrition labels on food, even though most of the food you are eating should be a whole food (fruits, vegies) and wouldn't have a label.  However, for things like vegetable oil, dairy products, and whole grains, understanding nutrition labels and the serving size is very important for healthy eating processes. 

I believe in the usefulness of food diaries or calorie counting applications for smartphones.  These help tremendously.  If you currently have poor eating habits, plugging in the food that you consume on a daily basis is very eye opening, especially when looking at your consumption of trans fat and saturated fat.  If you already eat healthy, these tools can help ensure that you keep a variety of food in your diet and can help you track your vitamin and mineral intake.  Calorie counting tools that include water consumption is also very helpful to make sure that you are drinking enough ounces of water everyday. 

If you live with other people, it is important that everyone is on board with healthy eating.  It is very difficult to change your eating patterns when your fridge and pantry are full of unhealthy food options.  One person in the house usually dictates the eating habits of the entire household, for the good or for the bad, so educating the other members of your family about the nutritional value of food is very important.