YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT!

Nutrition and tips for eating and staying healthy

Eat, Eat, Eat!!

1. Eat what you crave: It's better to eat what you're longing for than to eat everything else and still long for that thing. You generally want what your body needs to maintain itself, too (though concepts of what "should" be eaten occasionally get in the way).
2. Eat fat: Not all the time, but on a regular basis. Fat is what tells the brain that you're full. Stuffing yourself on fat-free foods will only leave you hungry in a hour or so. Small portions of fat -- cheese, butter, high-fat desserts -- on a daily basis will help to regulate your eating. Fat is a necessary nutrient!
3. Balance high sugar with high fiber: Fiber helps to regulate the blood sugar levels and prevent sugar ups and downs.
4. Eat when you're hungry -- and stop when you're full! Three meals a day is a cultural norm, not necessarily what your body needs. Your body is hungry for a reason -- listen to it, and eat when you're hungry!

Body Maintenance: Be nice to your body and pay attention to what it needs

1. Eat enough every day -- not eating enough tells your body to conserve calories and energy, and so the next time you eat more of the energy will be retained rather than being properly used.
2. DRINK! HYDRATE! Drink a lot, and constantly. Dehydration is tiring -- drinking caffeine will help keep you awake at first, but if you don't balance caffeine consumption with non-caffeinated fluids you'll get tired again very easily. Drink lots of non-caffeinated fluids before alcohol consumption, too.
3. SLEEP! Sleep deprivation increases appetites (and often body weights). So proper sleep can help you to eat better.
4. Nutrition isn't always the answer to poor health: if you're tired but still eating well, something else is probably wrong.
5. EXERCISE. Try to get at least 30 minutes a day, three times a week worth of exercise -- it can even be split up into 10 minute walks. The effects of brief physical exertion last much longer than those of caffeine, and don't add so much stress to your body!

But does it look okay?

Dealing with body shapes and sizes.

1. Genes (not jeans) have a lot to do with body shape -- there is no "right" weight for someone of a certain height. If you are eating and acting healthily, your weight is probably fine.
2. Shaped like a pear? Fat around the hips, butt, and thighs is usually estrogen dependent, meaning that it doesn't go away through exercise and healthy nutrition. Torso fat, on the other hand, is associated with poor health.
3. Dieting??? Repeated dieting can actually lower metabolism and thus make your body retain more of what you put into it. Increasing exercise while not giving your body more food to compensate can also increase body fat storage. Dieting also increases heard disease risk, when compared to simply gaining a little weight. If you really need to lose weight, the most effective way is to increase exercise and cutting only a little food, while concentrating on fruits, veggies, and high fiber foods -- and having one meal a week to eat whatever.
4. Weight prejudice is real. Size and shape are unfortunate factors by which people still get judged, whether openly or not. Many who are embarassed by their weights socialize less and end up more stressed.

Thanks to Lynne Smiley, Worksite Wellness Coordinator, for providing information.

| BACK |