Getting healthy for the new year TIP

As we go into the new year we need to look at our body and have we been taking good care of it. If not here are some tips I found that can help you get back on track.

Try to eat some type of protein with each meal. This will help regulate blood sugar levels and keep you fuller longer. A higher protein intake with each meal makes people feel fuller and reduces food intake, resulting in improvements in weight loss and weight loss maintenance.


Apply the 80/20 Rule. 80 percent of the time, eat healthy foods from the ground up and 20 of the time, have your cake, pasta, chocolate, wine, etc. Remember�20 percent only. Watch your portions of these items.


Choose your carbs wisely. Avoid starchy and refined carbs, such as pasta, pizza, white rice, and white bread. Replace them with complex carbs, such as brown rice, brown bread, and high fiber carbs like green leafy vegetables. Avoid sugar and foods that break down to become sugar.


Do eat protein, vegetables, and carbohydrates together. However, take your meals with carbs earlier in the day and cut down on carbs on later meals. This is to prevent unused carbs from turning into body fat when you sleep and to regulate insulin level.


Don't be too afraid of fats. The fats in your diet that are bad for you are saturated and trans fat. So replace these bad fats with unsaturated fat and essential fatty acids (EFAs), and these good fats will keep your body fat and fat-related diseases down. But take your fats in moderation as they are still calorie laden.


When eating a meal with added fat, limit your carbohydrate intake. Remember, your body uses carbohydrates AND fat for energy. If you are eating both forms of energy, the body will use the carbs for energy; therefore, leaving the fat to be stored.


Eat often. By eating often, at every 3 hourly intervals, your body will think that food is abundant and less likely to store body fat for emergency, such as a famine. Therefore, do not skip meals. Skipping meals will slow your metabolism and force your body to use your muscles for energy instead of your body fat.


Eat smaller food portions. Decide how much you want to eat at each meal and then keep to it and do not eat anymore when that portion is consumed. Eat slowly to let your body signal to your brain that you are full. This usually takes about 20 minutes.


Do cardio exercises frequently. These can be any exercises that work up your heart rate to the extent that you are huffing and puffing for at least 20-30 minutes. Do your cardio exercises 5-6 times a week if you want to reduce weight or 2-3 times a week for weight maintenance.


Build muscles. Muscles burn calories even when you are not doing anything but resting. The more muscle mass you have, the more calories you will burn a day and, in the course of over a period of time, the calories you burned will add up very substantially. Building muscle mass is one sure way of losing body fat forever.