Why is Nutrition Important?

Nutrition is extremely important for your skin, brain, organs, immune system, lean body mass(LBM), metabolism or BMR(basal metabolic rate). Without a good meal plan you're losing the battle to stay healthy and fit. A good nutritional plan gives the body all the micro- (vitamins and minerals) and macro-nutrients(protein, fats and carbohydrates) it needs to live. Without a correct balance of those your body will adapt and create unwanted long term damage.

You should be ingesting the following:

30% Protein (majority being complete protein or combinations of incomplete protein food)
40% Carbohydrates (majority from complex carbohydrates)
30% Fats (majority from rich DHA and EPA food sources. i.e. Wild Pacific Salmon)

You will hear a lot of conflicting numbers but the important point to take away from everything is to have a diet that is rich in colorful fruits and vegetables (8-12 servings per day), lots of high fiber foods and stay away from prepackaged foods.

If you are looking for the USDA recommendations, they have released a new guide called the MyPlate. We have analyzed the changes here.

3. Take greens plus/V8 as a vegetable supplement if you can't prepare vegetables during the day.

4. 25-35% of your diet should be good fats. These include extra virgin olive oil, salmon/fish oil, or other monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Try supplementing with flaxmeal or high DHA/EPA fish oil daily.

5. Only drink water, dark teas, red wine (one glass a night) and coffee.

6. Plan out your meals every Sunday. It will help keep you on the right track for success. Try and pack meals for the work week on this day in containers that are easy to bring to work.