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If there were an exact science for the perfect diet for each of us, it would be so easy to know what to eat for optimal health. But even then, would we follow it? When faced with french fries or salad, which do you choose? Do you choose the salad for posterity but secretly crave the fries? Well, this is why diets don't work! We're human and we crave salt, sugar, fat, crunchy, chewy, ooey-gooey. I detest dieting, in fact-I'd rather walk across glowing hot coals. So, let's not even use that word in the context we're used to and understand from here on that it simply means what you eat every day of your life. The media has us so obsessed with how we look and most women never really feel completely comfortable in their own skin ALL OF THE TIME. This fuels a multi-billion dollar industry and ladies, we have played right into its hands! How many different diets have you tried? The truth about dieting is so very simple but we don't really want to hear it. Why? Because unfortunately, it requires some effort to make it work for us. We so want to believe there is a magic pill or an easy route to the health, vitality and fitness level we want to achieve. It will take work to make changes yet this is a GOOD thing! Learning and adopting a new lifestyle will help create new habits that will better serve you throughout the rest of your life.

 

When I say the truth about dieting is simple, it is. When approached simply about how many colories to consume to maintain a healthy weight, it is just a matter of math. Knowing your healthy weight and activity levels will help set a guideline for the amount of calories you can consume daily to lose, gain or maintain weight. You may need to adjust the percentage of nutrients (i.e; 40% carbohydrate, 30% protein, 30% fat) to suit your preferences. Let's use me for example: I think I want to weigh 130 lbs. ripped to shreads (if this is possible for me). I have a high activity level and I train like a freight train on a downhill slope of the Everest with no brakes on. So my caloric intake should be 13-15 calories per pound (of my lean goal weight) or 1,690 to 1,950 calories. That will cause me to maintain that weight so to lose, I have to dip below that number. This is where the problem lies for me. There are days when even the 1,690 is just not enough (and that would actually be most days-I love my calories!).

But-when I make sure that the calories are high quality (organic, raw, balanced, high fiber, no processed foods, healthy fats only)-there are days when I can't eat the whole day's worth of calories. I also aim for 100 - 110 grams of protein per day, roughly 500 or so calories of high quality fat and around 650 calories of complex carbohydrate. Maybe I am just feeling around in the dark using this basic calculation and only time will tell. At my age-though it's not like I have one foot in the grave-things are so different than they have ever been and I may need to further tweak my numbers/nutrient percentages.

 

Check out some of my favorite recipes for mindful eating!

*If you want a great tool for determining your caloric intake vs. activity level, check my blog 'Food Is Not Your Friend' (April 2016 Archives) for links to 2 free apps recently developed by nutritionists in conjunction with mathematicians, using the latest advancements on the 3,500 calorie rule

**I don't add salt to my recipes. I use only organic ingredients and raw, grass-fed dairy products

 

 

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