It is often said that reaching your health and fitness goals is 20% exercise and 80% nutrition. Although we like the point that this popular statement makes, we prefer the approach that both fitness and nutrition need to be taken into account 100% for the best possible results.

It is safe to say that as we age, our bodies are less forgiving. A less than ideal set of nutritional habits can begin to show through in ways that they didn't when we were in our 20s and 30s.

Now there is a lot of information out there on nutrition. As you have heard us say many times, master the fundamentals and go from there. Today's 5 "FitAfter50" Nutrition Tips will focus on creating a solid foundation of nutritional habits. Once you have mastered these, start moving towards the finer details.

1A. Eat Slowly

Did you know it takes at least 20 minutes for the signals that travel from your stomach to your brain to tell you that you're full?

Our fast paced, need for convenience life style has sabotaged our body's natural satiety signals. By eating too quickly we completely bypass these signals and end up overeating on a regular basis. We eat to the point of "stuffed". Combine this with processed, chemical laden foods that throw off our hunger signals even more and we begin to lose the ability to detect true hunger/fullness.

By slowing down, taking pauses between bites and truly appreciating the food and even the people we are with, we can start the process of trusting our own hunger/fullness cues again. This may take time, but is arguably the best thing you can do to lose weight and feel great.

Other benefits of eating slowly;

Improved digestion and absorption. Often eating too quickly leads to poor digestion/absorption.
Feeling more relaxed. Eating slowly and paying attention to what you're doing will provide you with a bit of calm from your crazy day.
Feeling more satisfied. You will start to appreciate your food more.

Key point: Most of us are eating too much. Our bodies are built to naturally tell us when we are hungry and when we are full. Most of us have lost this special ability over time. To get it back start eating slowly.

1B. stop at 80% Full

This ties in directly with eating slowly. By eating slowly you will more easily find your 80% full. 80% full is just an idea of how you full you should be.

80% full is being satisfied without being stuffed. 80% full is leaving some food on your plate if need be. It might feel different to different people, but the idea is to avoid overeating and to eat just enough.

Throughout your life you might have heard things like;

"Finish your plate if you want to have dessert".
"You're lucky to have food on your plate, so finish your meal."
"Would you like seconds?"

Although the intentions here are good, we need to put things into perspective. Unless you have a goal of gaining mass or high level sports performance, we don't need to eat as much we do.

If you can consistently eat slowly and stop at 80% full, you will have applied two of the most important habits to living a healthy and lean life. Way to go!

Key point: Most of us are not exercising enough to justify eating to 100% full. It will take time and practice to find out what your 80% is. But it is worth the effort as you will begin to lean down and feel better both physically and mentally.

2. Lean Protein and vegetables at every meal

For some people this is a no brainer. For others they may have a strong dislike for one of the above food groups.

In order to lead a healthy, fit and lean life we need to make sure our bodies are getting enough of the proper nutrients.

In fact, one of the first steps towards reaching your health and fitness goals is addressing nutrient deficiencies. Some of the most common nutrient deficiencies are among the following;

protein
vitamins & minerals
water
essential fatty acids

Our bodies are constantly going through a process called protein turnover (as mentioned here). We are breaking down and rebuilding muscle all the time. Resistance training is not enough to keep ourselves on the positive-muscle building end of this process. We need to keep an adequate amount of amino acids readily available in the blood stream to influence this. With out enough regular intake of lean protein, we end up on the other end. Muscle loss.

Here are some great lean protein options;

lean meat - beef, pork, wild game
poultry - chicken, turkey, duck
fish & seafood - shrimp, scallops
eggs & egg whites
protein powder - vegan, egg, whey, etc.
cooked lentil or beans
plain greek yogurt or cottage cheese
tofu

Key point: Lean muscle tissue is lost as we age. In fact, most people lose about 5lbs of lean mass per decade between the ages of 25 and 65. Eating lean protein at every meal will help in the effort to maintain lean tissue.

Vegetables (aka nature's medicine cabinet) are your best friend when it comes to leading a lean and healthy life. They are full of vitamins, minerals, phyto-chemicals and anti-oxidants, that will help you lower inflammation and improve recovery (amongst other things).

They are nutrient dense and low on calories. This means you can get a lot of valuable nutrients without taking in to0 many calories (this is a key point in weight management). In fact, 3 heads of broccoli are about 200 calories. You know what else is about 200 calories? A handful of smarties.

So you can keep hunger down, maintain energy levels throughout your day, feel great and lean out all by eating your veggies.

Although micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) are not a direct energy source, they do play a role in the liberation of energy from food. Some nutrition experts speculate that the lack of nutrients in some North American diets may be a cause of obesity. Even in the presence of a high calorie diet, this lack of micronutrients may result in a heightened appetite. It is speculated that the body forces the individual to eat more to meet basic nutritional requirements.

Key point: Vegetables are low in calories and high in nutrients. If your goal is to be lean, healthy and fit, you should aim to get 1-2 servings of vegetables per meal. Imagine a serving size of vegetables as the size of your fist.

3. Healthy fats

Somewhere around the 1990s there was the low-fat craze. Everything became 0 fat or low fat (which also meant high sugar). The body needs fats. Healthy fats that is. If you completely remove fat intake from your diet, bad things can happen (here is an article discussing this topic).

Healthy fats like the ones found in nuts, seeds, some cold pressed oils (olive oil, coconut oil), avocados, etc. can help you to;

recover faster
nourish fatty tissues, like your cell membranes, eyes, brain, etc.
maintain healthy levels of muscle building hormones
help absorb fat soluble vitamins (A, D, K)

The key with the healthy fats is to have them at each meal but in smaller quantities. Healthy fats are sneaky. This is because they are high in calories.

They are essential for people wanting to be lean, healthy and fit, but can contribute to a surplus in daily caloric intake if you're not careful.

In fact, we usually recommend 1-2 thumbs of healthy fats at each meal. Just be sure that the 1-2 thumbs don't turn into 1 or 2 handfuls.

Tips for eating healthy fats;

try to aim for raw, unsalted, unsweetened, un-chocolate covered nuts
aim for high quality organic options
try buying avocados that vary in ripeness as they ripen very quickly
try guacamole
try a square of dark chocolate (if you can have just one)
go with an olive oil based dressing with few ingredients

Key point: Aim for 1-2 thumbs per meal. Avoid nuts for snacking. Although this is often a better alternative to chips and crackers, we find that our clients tend to over snack on these because they're "healthy". Before you know it your daily calorie intake is much higher than you want it to be.

4. keep the carbs, make them smart

Low carb diets work. For some. And for only so long for most. The low carb craze has it's merits. That is a topic for another blog post. But whenever researching a new diet or health trend, try to see through the flashy marketing, buzz words and celebrity endorsements. Try to look at the overall context. Often times the context can tell you whether or not this new diet or health trend will be a good fit for you.

Carbs are not the enemy. With that said, most people tend to eat too many carbs, whether "good" or "bad". The more active you are and the more intensely you exercise, the more your body needs quality carbohydrates to fuel and replenish your body.

Depending on the amount and type of exercise you perform, you might want to reconsider your carb intake. We usually suggest 1-2 cupped handfuls (dependent on the person of course) of "smart carbs" per meal.

Here are some examples of "smart carbs";

potatoes, sweet potatoes
beans, legumes
fruit
whole grains (quinoa, wild rice, steel cut oats, etc.)
etc.

Eating the right amounts of "smart carbs" in your day will help you to have the energy you need, fuel your workouts so you can perform in the gym and help you to achieve the physique you want.

Key point: We find that most people overeat carbohydrates, then feel that they need to cut them out to get results. It doesn't have to be an all or nothing approach. Keep your quantities in check and aim for high quality "smart carbs" and you will reap the benefits.

5. Have calorie free drinks

Imagine a scenario where you're working hard on finally making the changes you need to be healthy and fit. You wake up every morning to get to the gym before work. You start training 4, 5, even 6 times per week following a new program you discovered. You are buying new groceries and trying new healthy recipes. You start to see changes, but for some reason you're not seeing as much as you think you should for the effort you are putting in. What gives?

In a case like this we often look to the "extras". What are you taking in on top of your regular food intake? HINT: First look at what you're drinking.

The morning coffee(s), the juice with breakfast, the glass(es) of wine with dinner, the post-workout gatorade. They have a much larger impact on your results than you think.

We recommend calorie free drinks for people looking to get healthy, lean and fit. Go for a nice cold glass of water. Try some herbal tea. Or even explore the pleasures of high quality black coffee.

Key Point: Do the math and an honest calculation of how many calorie drinks you have in your week. Do a google search to find the approximate calorie intake of each. Add up it all up to find your weekly total. This number may be a surprise to you. If going cold turkey is a scary thought, try cutting your intake of calorie drinks and gradually working to a point you're okay with.

Conclusion

Today's tips focused on fundamental nutritional habits. If you can honestly say you have mastered these, then it's time to start moving towards the finer details.

We have helped many people over 50 adopt habits like these into their daily life. If you would like help with nutrition coaching, let us know and we would be happy to help. Simply email us at info@evertrainlifestyles.com or simply fill out our contact form here.

Yours in health,

The Evertrain Team