"What about.......??????" (Part 1- Nutrition)

That is the most asked question I get when I am discussing nutrition with someone. "What about yogurt?", "What about cereal?" , "What about orange juice?", "What about pasta?" Okay, you get my point. I try to point out a few things someone can do to improve their food intake and almost everyone wants to question what I suggest to improve their current nutritional intake. I realize people like to hear what they are already doing is going to get them the results they want. Most people just want me to reinforce their way of eating by saying,"What you're doing with your food is really good, just keep it up and the results will come....." I hate to say it but the majority of people I encounter have no clue on what they should do in terms of proper eating, and the ones who who know what they should do- lack the disciple to follow through.

I can't blame people for not having adequate knowledge on nutrition, we as the American public have been mislead and steered in the wrong direction so many times. We were told to follow the food pyramid- which included 6-11 servings of grain. We were told that red meat has too much cholesterol and saturated fat and that would lead to heart disease. There are commercials for high-fructose corn syrup, letting us know its from corn- it's healthy (WRONG).
So to help people out with some of the questions and misconceptions, I recommend they read some literature from Dr. Johnny Bowden and Michael Pollan. These gentlemen are "wicked smart" when it comes to nutrition and can describe stuff in a way that everyone can understand.

Now, I understand people take recommendations far to literal and use them as the "holy grail". I agree with a lot of these guys say and discuss, but I like to take things and make them my own. I have my own opinions regarding nutrition and what works for me and what can work for others. No one is the same and nothing works for everyone and nothing works forever. Take a close look at these resources and determine what changes you can make to improve your current nutritional plan. Focus on improving your health first and improving your physique second. These improvements can actually go hand in hand but make sure you eating good, quality foods before you drop your calories or drastically reducing or increasing one you your nutrients (dropping your carbs or loading up on protein). Don't forget to drink plenty of water throughout the day and avoid chemically altered food and beverages.

Tomorrow I will give some calorie and nutrient recommendations and breakdowns. Once again, these are just somethings that have worked for me and for my clients. When it comes to nutrition and exercise, everyone claims to be an expert. I just claim to know a little bit, and that little bit can get big results!