What does a healthy diet look like?

Living in America, where portions are way too big, most foods are processed, and even natural products aren't really always natural, it can be difficult to figure out what to eat, how much to eat, and what brands even.  While i do not consider myself in any way to be a nutrition expert, i have been eating healthy for a long time, and have learned a lot along the way about what to eat, how much to eat, and what brands are good.  So in this post, I would like to show you exactly what I eat on a daily basis, how I come up with the correct amount, and what brands I love to buy the most.

Let me start off by saying that I am 32 years old, weight 116 pounds and live a very active lifestyle.  I workout 6 days a week, chase around a 2 year old all day, do martial arts a couple nights a week, and play in a band, so my calorie count is pretty high.  Of course there are many different ways to calculate calories, but i follow a very simple equation.

First to calculate your caloric baseline take your current weight in pounds times eleven (116 x 11).  That equals 1,276.  Next you will take that number and add 400 calories (we call these maintenance calories.)  I'm currently at 1,676 now.  The last thing is to subtract 600 from that last number, so now my final number is 1,076.  If the number is ever below 1,200, you need to round up, because eating any less than 1,200 calories isn't healthy or recommended.  By eating too little calories, you may find that you have trouble losing weight too.  My final number is 1200, but because i am so active, i personally add a couple hundred more, so i will stay around 1500-1800.  At the stage i am in my fitness, i'm not looking to lose weight, i'm looking to just maintain, so what you need to understand is once you get to your desired fitness/weight loss goal, you want to eat to maintain your weight.  It's unhealthy to always have a deficit.  I won't get into all that in this post, but just want you to be aware.  Now remember, this is just an example and one way to easily calculate out how much you need, in no way is this the standard or the perfect equation.  It is what has worked for me, and many of the people i have helped to lose weight.

The next thing i would like to show you is how i plan out my diet for the week, based on what i have just explained.    I will be using the nutrition guide from the program PIYO, because it tells me how much one serving is for any food item I choose.  Sidenote:  All of the beachbody programs come with nutrition guides, tell you how to calculate calories, and give you pages of food to pick from with the servings laid out.)  Based on the equation for calories, it's showing me that i need 1200.

As you can see I will be under Plan A.  The rest is easy, simply choose the correct amount of each food item from the following pages.  If you do not own a program that has all of the servings figured out, you will just have to check the label on your packages for serving sizes.  Here is an example of vegetable choices to pick from.

Next, I will show you an example of what i eat each day for at least a week, then i will switch it up.

Breakfast

                                                   1 Scoop of Shakeology       1 Protein

                                                   1 Banana                             1 Fruit   

                                                   3 tsp. of Peanut Butter         2 Healthy Fats

                                                   1 Cup of Spinach                 1 Veg.

                                                   1 Cup water/ice

Snack #1

                                                   1 Cup of Sliced Carrots       1 Veg.

                                                   1 Tbsp. of Hummus             1 Healthy Fat

Lunch

                                                   2 Slices of Bread                  2 Grains

                                                   1 Cup of Tuna                      2 Proteins

                                                   1 Apple                                 1 Fruit

Snack #2

                                                  10 Large Asparagus Spears    1 Veg.

Dinner

                                                  4 Slices of Turkey Bacon       1 Protein
                                                  1 Cup of Cherry Tomatoes     1 Veg

Remember this is an example for someone who is eating between 1200-1399 calories.  The other reason I love the way this is laid out is because, we hear so much about low-carb, paleo, protein heavy diets, and so on and so forth.  Every year scientists and dieticians come up with a new diet plan.  Well i'm here to tell you that MODERATION is key.  It's ok to eat all of these things, and yes while you may lose weight on a low carb diet or whatever else you have tried, you often gain it back as soon as you quit, because nobody can live a life constantly depleting out certain foods.  This way is balanced and you don't need to rid anything, except high sugary, refined, enriched processed foods, which are never good for you anyway.  I will also tell you that I will eat 1 or 2 cheat meals a week, just to reward myself, and let's face it, no one can eat super healthy all the time!  Let's be real!

Lastly here are some of my favorite brands!

  

I hope that you found this information helpful on your journey to losing weight, or just becoming healthier.  If there is anyway i can help you, please let me know!  I'd love to help you set up a meal plan and exercise routine that will help you to reach your goals, if that interests you, please click the link below to sign up.

http://Natalie.AutomaticCEO.com/go10