What to Eat - The Most Important Blog I will Write

The first and most important change in your wellness journey is your nutrition.

Step one, reduce or eliminate refined carbohydrates and added sugars.

While some people find it easiest to completely eliminate ultra-processed foods all at once, others find it more realistic to back off slowly as to mentally and physically adjust. Both paths are fine. You may have cravings and setbacks, this is normal. Our bodies become dependent on the glucose spikes, but it does get easier over time and you will feel a whole lot better. Eliminating the glucose (and insulin) spikes and crashes will help reduce your hunger and cravings, but will also help with focus, mood, energy and sleep. This is not a short-term intervention; this is a lifelong lifestyle adjustment.

Will I eat a small bag of Doritos on a road trip? Absolutely. Will I keep Doritos in my home? No way. While items like this can be a tasty treat, I do not even consider them food. They have no business in our routine eating plan. As you eat fewer processed foods, your tastes will adjust and you will want them less.  Take a look around your kitchen and take a mental inventory of your food choices. You will be transitioning from a highly processed food diet to whole foods. What are you willing to let go of right now, and what are you going to start cutting back on? Be honest with yourself and remember that the more you can improve today, the better you will start feeling. You can do this.

Start with what you are drinking.

Sweetened beverages are just empty calories that add up fast. This includes sweetened coffee/tea, sports drinks, juices and sodas. A 12 oz can of soda contains 140 calories and 39 grams of sugar. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 24 grams of sugar per day for adult women and 36 for men. A single regular soda is more sugar than your daily recommendation. This is a recipe for disaster. Switching to sparkling water, water with a slice of lemon or cucumber, unsweetened coffee/tea instead of a daily soda automatically decreases your weekly calorie intake by 980 calories and 273 grams of sugar, reducing your risk of diabetes. Diet sodas can still affect your sweetness cravings and may spike your insulin levels, which promotes fat storage.

Alcohol is also empty calories and can lead to more snacking. You are also less likely to sleep well after a few drinks which will impact your wellness journey. Ideally cut out alcohol except special occasions, but limiting to 1-2 drinks a week while you are trying to lose weight is a good plan. Avoid sugary cocktails or heavy beers.

This leads me to what you should be drinking the most, water. Recommendations can vary and depend on activity and environment (working out in the heat and humidity will increase your needs). I recommend 85 oz (2.5 liters) for women and 125 oz (3.7 liters) for men per day to help with weight loss. Water can add stretch to your stomach and help you feel full. If you find it difficult to drink this much plain water, you can add fruit slices, sugar-free electrolyte mix, or try sparkling water.

Next, look at your shelf stable food items.

Do you see whole ingredients like nuts, seeds, dried fruits, plain whole kernel popcorn, two ingredient peanut butter (peanuts and salt), tinned fish? Or, do you see mostly long ingredient lists containing high fructose corn syrup, seed oils, salt, sugar, and artificial colors such as chips and cereals?

Now that you’ve taken an inventory and made some eliminations/reductions. What should you be eating instead?

Protein

Protein has gained a lot of attention for its ability to increase satiety, but we are also learning how important building and maintaining our muscle mass can be for overall health as we age. Protein can include animal meats, dairy, and also vegetable sources. It is important to note that while discussing macronutrients individually (protein, carbs, fat) can sometimes be easier, most food is a combination.

Protein recommendations vary.  The Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) establishes the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs). RDAs are the average daily level of intake sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of nearly all healthy individuals. The RDA for protein is 0.8g/kg or 0.36g/lb. This is where you should start as a minimum daily protein intake. This is based on ideal body weight. For a 150-pound individual, the daily protein recommendation is 54 grams of protein. For weight loss, a higher goal is recommended. The Obesity Medicine Association recommends between 0.8 to 2.0 g/kg/day depending on age, gender, physical activity, and overall health. I generally recommend starting on the higher end for the first 6-12 months, then scaling back as you lose weight. For a 150-pound (ideal weight) individual, that would be 68 to 136 grams of protein daily.

How do you get this much protein?

Whole sources that are mostly protein are best, such as fish, chicken, turkey, shellfish, beef, bison, elk, etc. Look for wild-caught seafood, pasture-raised chicken, and grass-fed & grass-finished beef. Your local farmers market is a great place to start looking for meat that is raised using regenerative processes. Protein with whole carbohydrates should also be added such as lentils, beans, peas as they also add fiber to your diet, improving satiety and gut health. Nuts and cheese are great snacks but in moderation because they are more calorie dense (think a handful of nuts – always measure instead of eating from the container). The fats in nuts and cheese can improve satiety. I recommend adding egg whites to whole eggs when you make an omelet to increase the protein. I am also a huge fan of low-sugar Greek yogurt (think less than 5g of sugar per serving) and cottage cheese.

A quick way to see if something is high protein, look at the calories and protein per serving. If the serving is 150 calories, eliminate the 0 and if the protein is at least 15, it’s high protein. (you can also think of it as multiplying the protein per serving by 10, and if it is equal to or greater than the total calories, it’s high protein).

Fiber

After protein, fiber is the next most important daily dietary goal. It helps you feel full for longer, regulates blood glucose, improves cholesterol, and it helps with gut health. Carbohydrates have gotten a bad name because of the excessive amount of refined carbohydrates that have slid into our diets. Whole grains and vegetables are carbs with fiber. I do not recommend my patients to look at a carbohydrate goal (unless following the keto plan), but rather to eliminate refined grains and instead eat whole grains and legumes, pulses, and other vegetables. Focus on fiber. I recommend for everyone to fill half their plate with vegetables. Recommendations for fiber are based on age and gender. Women under 50 should aim for at least 25 grams per day, women 50 and over should aim for 21 grams. Men under 50 aim for at least 38 grams, while 50 and over should get a minimum of 35 grams per day. Increase fiber slowly to avoid side effects. A good amount of fiber is 3 grams per serving, a great serving size has at least 5 grams of fiber.

Once you make these changes, be patient with yourself. You may experience set backs from time to time. There are no ‘bad’ or ‘forbidden’ foods. I encourage you to enjoy your traditional holiday meals without guilt. One meal does not cancel out all of your progress. Everyone is unique and has a different starting point so weight loss, glucose, blood pressure, cholesterol levels may improve at different rates. If after three months you have not had any success, then food logging or continuous glucose monitors can be tools to adjust your plan.

Bon voyage!

This article is meant to be educational and informative. This is not medical advice.