My Staples for a Healthy Diet

With so much info out there about what health is and how to get it I find it so hard to decide what's legit and what's another health fad. What to eat, what NOT to eat, when to eat it, how to cook it...or not cook it at all, how and when to work out, how hard/fast/intense you should exercise, even what you should consider as healthy at all. I've come up with a few basic rules to follow for a healthy diet. Or at least my version of a healthy diet.


1. Eat at least 5 fruit and veg a day... but aim for 8. This seems like the most obvious and it's the first point for a reason. Eating 5-8 portions of fruit and veg a day provides a good basis for getting all the vitamins and nutrients you need, I use the Foodle app on my iPhone to get an idea of the vitamins each food provides. Try to eat a mix of different coloured fruits and veggies as each represents a different nutritional profile and try to steam your veggies whenever possible as this retains the most vitamins.

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2. Eat sources of Omega-3 fatty acids like nuts, seeds, oily fish like Salmon and Mackerel and eggs. You really want to get enough Omega-3s as our diets are already too high in Omega-6 fatty acids as these are far easier to come by. Omega-3 fatty acids help to lower blood pressure, prevents blood clots, maintain heart health, reduce inflammation and help brain and nerve function... to name just a few benefits! Chia seeds are one of the best sources, containing roughly 3 times the Omega-3s per gram than Salmon! You can get them health food shops or I get mine from www.realfoods.co.uk.




3. Eat enough protein (includes you too girls- it won't make you bulky- Testosterone will). This obviously depends on who you are and what you do (your weight and activity levels, for example). A rough guide for sedentary people is 0.8g of protein for every kg of body weight or 0.36g per lb of bodyweight. So a 10 stone inactive person should aim for around 50g of protein a day.

Those who exercise a lot need more protein, exactly how much is a bit more complicated though. A rough guide for peeps trying to add muscle a guide is 1.8g protein for every kg of bodyweight or 0.8g for every lb. So a 10 stone person would need over 110g of protein a day to maximise muscle protein synthesis (welcome to the gun show in other words).

It is really important to eat enough protein if you are wanting to lose fat too as it keeps you fuller for longer and will reduce the risk of you losing muscle rather than unwanted fat. Here's a great blog post all about protein and how to much to aim for from Mark's Daily Apple.



Extra points on protein = eat a source with every meal, make sure some is a complete protein with all 9 amino acids and eat more after training. Boost your daily intake with a whey protein shake like Pro-10's Whey Protein Concentrate. Post on protein to come soon.


ERGO: EAT PROTEIN!



4. I try to eat some complex carbs with every meal. These can be non-starchy veggies like broccoli, lettuce, onions and celery. We digest these carbs slowly and so they also keep you fuller for longer and don't create huige spikes in blood sugar like simple carbs do, so you will maintain consistent energy levels throughout the day= no mid-afternoon slump.



5.  Try to reduce the amount you eat as the day goes on as your energy requirements also decrease. If you are hungry before bed then it's best to eat something high in protein because it will digest slowly and help repair your muscles overnight while you rest.

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6. I aim to drink at least 2 litres of water a day...it's nearer to 3 litres in really. Water lubricates your whole body so you'll work like a well-oiled machine, the brain is 75% water, blood is 92%, muscles are 75% and bones are 22% water, you get the idea. You need to replenish those stores throughout the day because it helps lubricate joints, protects vital organs, delivers nutrients throughout the body, converts food to energy, cushions joints and more but to save this blog post turning into a lecture into how bloody great water is, I'll leave it there. I carry my Bobble water bottle around with me so that I am sipping away at the good stuff all day (it has it's own in-built filter so you can keep fresh water that's free of impurities with you all day!).

7. Follow the 80/20 rule. Living by the 80/20 rule means that 80% of your food is healthy and nutrient-dense and isn't high in sugar and calories. You're then free to eat pretty much what you want for the rest of the time. I find this a great way of thinking about your food because it pushes you to eat a healthy diet most of the time and gives you some leeway to indulge too.



8. I take a multi-vitamin and omega-3 supplement every single day, regardless of how well I ate or otherwise (supplements are only meant to fill in the gaps of the nutrition your diet provides, they are not designed as a food replacement). I also have a daily Probiotic containing at least 5 billion cultures and a vitamin D3 tablet every other day (I knock this down to just twice a week during the summer months). I will also do a full post about my supplement routine soon!



So, that's it. My basic rules for a healthy diet. It's not rocket science and I am not an expert either, these are just a few guidelines I find useful to stick by to ensure I am getting a decent level of nutrition. I hope you find some of them (or all of them!) useful too! What do you see as healthy and what things do you do to reach it?

Amy x

Boost your Immunity

Hi guys! Everybody knows it's easy to get ill during Winter as bugs are in full swing and you're maybe not looking after yourself as well as over the warmer months. This doesn't make sense, although we all end up doing it! It's easier and feels natural to whip up a fresh, cool salad in the middle of July and to get a big pot of stew on the stove during January.

What we should be doing is taking better care of ourselves before we're more likely to start feeling "run down". Ramping up the vitamin intake, eating lots of fresh fruit and veg and making sure we don't skip the gym just because, baby, it's cold outside.

I've put together some easy steps you can take towards better protecting yourself from infection this Winter...

1. Exercise- during and after exercise your body makes more germ-fighting cells called T-Cells and studies show these get to work faster in peeps who exercise regularly. Here's an interesting post I read from a-health-blog.com on how regular moderate exercise can increase immunity.

2. Probiotics- Those who regularly take a Probiotic supplement are 42% less likely to get the sniffles. Either take them in supplement form or eat natural, live yoghurt which is a great source of protein too.

3. Boost your Vitamin D intake, either by getting 20 minutes of sunlight a day or by taking a vitamin D supplement (look for vitamin D3). Examples of food sources are milk, oliy fish e.e. Salmon, Mackerel and Sardines) and fortified cereals.

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4. Cruciferous veg like Broccoli, Kale, Spinach, Cabbage and Lettuce all boost your immune system by increasing the liver's ability to flush out toxins.

5. Ginger- add it to teas and stir fries to cleanse your airways and lymph system.

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6. Get 7-9 hours of sleep a night. Researchers aren't 100% sure why yet but studies show getting this amount seriously reduces risk of infection.

7. What your Granny said is true! Wrap up warm!! Your immune system works better in a warm environment so turn up the heat.

8. Get eating garlic. Your friends might not thank you but your immune system will It's anti-viral, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial.

9. Get plenty of fresh fruit and veg which are high in vitamins A, C, E and Zinc. Aim to eat a variety of colours as these represent a different nutritional profile. Some good examples are berries, sweet potato, broccoli, tomatoes and carrots.

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Basically, the bugs are always there, it's how well you look after yourself which will determine whether you catch a cold!

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