Our Guide To Living Your Best Life Takeaway: This lifestyle plan fosters heart, vascular as well as GI health. It is also anti-inflammatory which for many can reduce aches and pains significantly. It also helps control blood sugars to become more even throughout the day which is crucial in preventing obesity, metabolic syndrome (pre-diabetes) and managing diabetes, brain, and nerve health.
What we give you here today is a simple, daily plan of healthy meals and snacks, activity, and sleep habits which are easy to modify and add variety to on a regular basis.
You DON’T need another Diet Book, Facebook Group, App, or paid membership diet plan. You should however have baseline lab tests (within 6 months) and obtain your physician’s (MD or DO) help with genetic, GI, allergy, and other personal health issues.
~~~ Let’s start with the AM.
Forget the news, phone, and TV for at least the first 30 minutes. Rest quiet or better yet meditating with a coffee or tea can be a healthy wake-up start to your day.
It is particularly important to consume some healthy protein within one hour of arising. The reason for this is that it helps stimulate metabolism, energy, and mental alertness. It also helps us burn fuel more efficiently. A good start is a glass of soy milk with 7 grams of protein already (organic unsweetened vanilla is my favorite) or other plant-based milk ONLY if free of sugar and added seed oils or fats.
Other breakfast options are unsweetened granola, whole grain cereals, flax or chia cereal with one of the milk listed above, some added nuts, or 1 slice of whole grain bread, waffle, etc with a tablespoon or so of nut butter. Be sure to keep total carbohydrate consumption between 15 and 20g maximum per meal or per serving as you will all day. The only exception to additional carbs should be if you have exercised or will be exercising or working heavily within the hour, another great reason to be much more active! Other exceptions are insulin usage and certain medications causing hypoglycemia. Around three hours later, have a snack again, not exceeding the same 15-20g of carbs. This could include one small or half apple or banana, seven to ten almonds, cashews, walnuts other nuts, et cetera. Packaged protein or nut bars are not optimal.
Lunch should universally be some form of salad or veggie sandwich rollup. You should mix this up regularly with your favorite greens. My favorites are baby spinach or mixed greens. Add a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil (important for brain and nerve health) unsweetened simple vinegar like apple cider or rice (which helps weight control), plus a few added almonds, cashews, or walnuts.
About three hours later, have an additional snack, just like your mid- morning.
When dinnertime comes, this is the time to emphasize non-starchy vegetables. Some of the best are cooked spinach, broiled or sautéed asparagus, cabbage, beets, squashes, yams, and sweet potatoes, and so on. Do another salad or roll-up if you like too! Keep heavy starches, such as rice, corn, carrots, and white potatoes limited to fist size servings at the most. Adding a high-quality source of protein at dinner can help energy, weight control and satiety. Our favorites by far are Tofu which is available in many consistencies and textures. Additional sources of protein include broccoli, red, white, or black beans, chickpeas, etc. made in a soup, or served as a side.
Many vegetable combinations have far more protein than most of us realize. Be careful of meat alternates touted as healthy as many are expensive plus loaded with seed oils and some very unhealthy additives. If you like, a day or two/week you can try wild, cold water fish like salmon, sardines, herring mackerel which are rich in essential fatty acids like DHA and EPA.
About three hours after dinner, have another snack. This time, try a few whole grain crackers or better yet a piece of fruit with a nut butter like almond, cashew or )walnut if you can find it). Experiment with (or better yet make your own) low carbohydrate snacks —always shooting for the 15-20g max/meal or serving just be careful not to eat the entire batch which is easy to do! Another really good choice to satisfy your evening cravings is a small square of unsweetened dark chocolate which is low carb and healthy!
So, what's NOT here?
Well, there is no dairy, cheese, or yogurt. There are no processed snack foods, soda, or fried chips. There are no dairy ice creams or pies for dessert. There are no fruit juices, soda, candy, or other sweets. No routine consumption of animal products.
The evidence is overwhelming-the closer we get to vegan, the better our health and longevity with far fewer medications.
Be careful not to overdo coffee and tea, for most two each per day is optimum. Eliminate or limit alcohol consumption to occasional low-sugar wine or beer, and very rarely stronger alcohol. Remember, there is no “safe” amount of alcohol. Alcohol is also a major cause of cancer, though you would never know it from the advertising.
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Do you see where we are going here? The fact of the matter is the above list of foods to avoid is responsible for more ill health and disease than any other single factor in the modern developed world.
The key is beginning and staying with this lifestyle, not a diet or fad!. Don’t worry about the occasional get-away weekend, or party. Discipline yourself not to go berserk. Be especially careful during holiday periods.
Unless you have heart failure or are on fluid restrictions for medical reasons, consume half your body weight in ounces of filtered water, during any 24-hr. period. Now this recommendation assumes you are eating normally and gaining added electrolytes like salt, potassium, and magnesium from your healthy diet. Fluid overload without proper nutrition is dangerous! Avoid plastic bottles, and cans, and enhance your water with a slice of lemon, orange, lime, or another favorite fruit. Avoid diet beverages or sweeteners except for small amounts of pure stevia powder.
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The Upside Once you make this shift, you will realize how simple, easy, and inexpensive this approach to eating and daily living can be.
In addition to moving about frequently and exercising most days of the week going longer stretches (12-16+ hours) without eating or what is known as intermittent fasting can be extremely helpful with boosting metabolism (fat and calorie burning), mental clarity, and energy and insulin resistance. These are other major influencers of health and longevity. *Always fast with your physician’s knowledge and supervision, especially if you are diabetic or on ANY prescription medications. Well-thought-out dietary supplements can add health and energy benefits as well. Many use our base (Metabolic Support Formula ™) as well as other personalized programs (Metabolic Dose Packs ™). These can also have tremendous benefits on your wellbeing, anxiety, mood sleep, and pain control.
Be sure to knock off all screen time at least 1 hour (2-3 is better) before bed. Please consider light reading and/or simple meditation or plain quiet time. Poor sleep will affect your immunity, stress hormones, lifespan, blood pressure, brain health and so many other health issues we discuss at length in different articles. Eating healthy, staying as active as possible and supplements like our magnesium glycinate/malate (NEVER used in kidney disease without physician supervision) are natural sleep aids.
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