I am not a dieter and have never been on a voluntary food restriction program. I love food and eat plenty of the things I like. And although I go off the wagon once in a while with the junky stuff, I normally eat a healthy diet . . . for me.
There is a difference between healthy eating to lose and maintain proper weight – for the rest of your life – and losing excess flab with an unsustainable eating program. I have eaten basically the same way for many years with my weight fluctuating within just a few pounds of the ideal scale weight for my body type (between an ectomorph and a mesomorph).
Over the years I have seen friends and family members lose weight with various diets only to put it back on and then some. I don’t think this type of eating is good for our bodies because it throws our metabolism out of whack. One month we are doing the ketogenic diet and the next we are doing a detox eating program and the next the low carb diet or the TV diet of the month. This can’t be healthy for our bodies.
As a personal trainer I am constantly in the gym or working out at home so my diet includes lots of whole foods to supply the energy I need. For example in the mornings I eat at least two types of fruits followed by a cup of tea. This gives me the energy to power through a morning workout routine. Within an hour after my workout I have either a protein shake or a protein meal – chicken or fish. Throughout the day I eat four or five similar meals in smaller portions.
Remember to eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper. This way you use the energy from your foods during the day when you are most active instead of at nights when you are more sedentary.
Plant-based eating style for longevity
I eat my meals similar to the way people living around the Mediterranean area do. Researchers have found that people living in this area tend to live longer and have less incidences of diabetes, cancer and heart disease.
It has been named the best diet or eating style for diabetics. And I recommend it for those who want to prevent pre-diabetes or reverse it if they have been diagnosed with elevated blood sugar levels.
This way of eating focuses on getting your nutrition from plant-based foods such as fruits, veggies, legumes (beans, lentil, peanuts), whole grains, olive oil. Red meats are a treat and are replaced with fish and chicken.
You will notice that the foods included in this type of eating are natural with limited additives from processed products. Sugar is a treat enjoyed occasionally and wine can be consumed in limited amounts.
Some benefits of the Mediterranean eating style
- Because this type of eating focuses on natural foods, much of the excess or disguised sugar sources are eliminated from your diet. This is great for people with elevated sugar levels. The sugar you get from eating this way enters your cells at a slower rate which doesn’t cause sudden spikes in sugar levels.
- Your insulin levels will become normalized. And you will have more pep in your step and improved clarity in thinking.
- Fiber is a good thing to have in your diet. The Mediterranean style of eating provides plenty of fiber to help improve the elimination process.
- Yogurt and kefir which are staples of this style of eating, supplies your body with important probiotics that’s necessary for gut health.
- For those seeking to lose weight this is the perfect diet especially when combined with a daily workout routine and periodic bouts of intermittent fasting.
It will soon be that time of the year when we show more skin (Spring, Summer and Fall) and what a great time to start on a healthy eating regimen that can become a way of life for the future.
My family has been ravished by diabetes and this is my main reason for reaching out to as many people as possible. I attribute much of their poor health to bad eating habits especially since as a group we were active.
One of the best ways to not be a victim of this disease is to prevent it from happening to you in the first place. To do this requires a change of life style including a diet that will balance your blood sugars and an activity program that will increase your heart rate for a consistent time period each day.
I have put together a workout program specifically geared to preventing pre-diabetes. Go to How to Prevent Pre-diabetes now for more information.