Second Tip: EAT WELL
Sounds easy right? Many people make nutritional programs much more complicated than they need to be. Granted, some people will need more individualized, technical approach to eating properly but a good program starts with the basics!
3 Things You Can Start Doing Today
1. Only Drink Water And Green Tea
Drink either filtered or bottled water and make sure you get “matcha” green tea as it has the highest amount of nutrition. If you need coffee to get you going, then have only one or two cups with NO sugar or milk. Or if you HAVE to drink soda, make it diet. Stay away from non-diet sodas, fruit juices, milk or any other drink not mentioned here. The only exception is low-sugar fresh vegetable juice.
Many people don’t realize how many calories they are getting from what they drink. Sugary drinks make things worse by wreaking havoc on your blood sugar and insulin levels.
Start your day with 1 or 2 large glasses of water then have a few cups of green tea. Try it for a few weeks and see how you feel!
2. Eat Lean Protein At Every Meal
Good sources of protein include grass-fed beef or wild game, wild caught fish, organic chicken or turkey, and high-quality protein powders are easily found at Whole Foods or other natural food markets. If organic food isn’t in your budget you can get the non-organic stuff but I highly recommend you making the switch when you can.
Also, you want to start your day with a high protein breakfast. I personally have 30 grams of protein in the morning in the form of a shake. I blend it with acai, mixed frozen berries, goji berries, and a handful of raw nuts. This keeps satisfied for a good 4-5 hours.
3. Eat Low-glycemic Vegetables And Fruits
The Glycemic Index is a measurement of how quickly a “carb” (carbohydrates) raises blood sugar levels. Although Glycemic Index is important, so is the total amount of cabohydrates that you eat and the quality of food. Still, eating mostly low-glycemic fruits and vegetables is an important step to having healthy blood sugar levels and less body fat.
Here is the Glycemic Index for many common foods. Low-glycemic is considered 55 or lower. By the way, this doesn’t mean I endorse all the foods on this list. It is a reference tool. I recommend staying away from all processed food and drinksCheck it out:
| FOOD | Glycemic index (glucose = 100) | Serving size (grams) | Glycemic load per serving |
| BAKERY PRODUCTS AND BREADS | |||
| Banana cake, made with sugar | 47 | 60 | 14 |
| Banana cake, made without sugar | 55 | 60 | 12 |
| Sponge cake, plain | 46 | 63 | 17 |
| Vanilla cake made from packet mix with vanilla frosting (Betty Crocker) | 42 | 111 | 24 |
| Apple, made with sugar | 44 | 60 | 13 |
| Apple, made without sugar | 48 | 60 | 9 |
| Waffles, Aunt Jemima (Quaker Oats) | 76 | 35 | 10 |
| Bagel, white, frozen | 72 | 70 | 25 |
| Baguette, white, plain | 95 | 30 | 15 |
| Coarse barley bread, 75-80% kernels, average | 34 | 30 | 7 |
| Hamburger bun | 61 | 30 | 9 |
| Kaiser roll | 73 | 30 | 12 |
| Pumpernickel bread | 56 | 30 | 7 |
| 50% cracked wheat kernel bread | 58 | 30 | 12 |
| White wheat flour bread | 71 | 30 | 10 |
| Wonder™ bread, average | 73 | 30 | 10 |
| Whole wheat bread, average | 71 | 30 | 9 |
| 100% Whole Grain™ bread (Natural Ovens) | 51 | 30 | 7 |
| Pita bread, white | 68 | 30 | 10 |
| Corn tortilla | 52 | 50 | 12 |
| Wheat tortilla | 30 | 50 | 8 |
| BEVERAGES | |||
| Coca Cola®, average | 63 | 250 mL | 16 |
| Fanta®, orange soft drink | 68 | 250 mL | 23 |
| Lucozade®, original (sparkling glucose drink) | 95 | 250 mL | 40 |
| Apple juice, unsweetened, average | 44 | 250 mL | 30 |
| Cranberry juice cocktail (Ocean Spray®) | 68 | 250 mL | 24 |
| Gatorade | 78 | 250 mL | 12 |
| Orange juice, unsweetened | 50 | 250 mL | 12 |
| Tomato juice, canned | 38 | 250 mL | 4 |
| BREAKFAST CEREALS AND RELATED PRODUCTS |
|||
| All-Bran™, average | 55 | 30 | 12 |
| Coco Pops™, average | 77 | 30 | 20 |
| Cornflakes™, average | 93 | 30 | 23 |
| Cream of Wheat™ (Nabisco) | 66 | 250 | 17 |
| Cream of Wheat™, Instant (Nabisco) | 74 | 250 | 22 |
| Grapenuts™, average | 75 | 30 | 16 |
| Muesli, average | 66 | 30 | 16 |
| Oatmeal, average | 55 | 250 | 13 |
| Instant oatmeal, average | 83 | 250 | 30 |
| Puffed wheat, average | 80 | 30 | 17 |
| Raisin Bran™ (Kellogg’s) | 61 | 30 | 12 |
| Special K™ (Kellogg’s) | 69 | 30 | 14 |
| GRAINS | |||
| Pearled barley, average | 28 | 150 | 12 |
| Sweet corn on the cob, average | 60 | 150 | 20 |
| Couscous, average | 65 | 150 | 9 |
| Quinoa | 53 | 150 | 13 |
| White rice, average | 89 | 150 | 43 |
| Quick cooking white basmati | 67 | 150 | 28 |
| Brown rice, average | 50 | 150 | 16 |
| Converted, white rice (Uncle Ben’s®) | 38 | 150 | 14 |
| Whole wheat kernels, average | 30 | 50 | 11 |
| Bulgur, average | 48 | 150 | 12 |
| COOKIES AND CRACKERS | |||
| Graham crackers | 74 | 25 | 14 |
| Vanilla wafers | 77 | 25 | 14 |
| Shortbread | 64 | 25 | 10 |
| Rice cakes, average | 82 | 25 | 17 |
| Rye crisps, average | 64 | 25 | 11 |
| Soda crackers | 74 | 25 | 12 |
| DAIRY PRODUCTS AND ALTERNATIVES | |||
| Ice cream, regular | 57 | 50 | 6 |
| Ice cream, premium | 38 | 50 | 3 |
| Milk, full fat | 41 | 250mL | 5 |
| Milk, skim | 32 | 250 mL | 4 |
| Reduced-fat yogurt with fruit, average | 33 | 200 | 11 |
| FRUITS | |||
| Apple, average | 39 | 120 | 6 |
| Banana, ripe | 62 | 120 | 16 |
| Dates, dried | 42 | 60 | 18 |
| Grapefruit | 25 | 120 | 3 |
| Grapes, average | 59 | 120 | 11 |
| Orange, average | 40 | 120 | 4 |
| Peach, average | 42 | 120 | 5 |
| Peach, canned in light syrup | 40 | 120 | 5 |
| Pear, average | 38 | 120 | 4 |
| Pear, canned in pear juice | 43 | 120 | 5 |
| Prunes, pitted | 29 | 60 | 10 |
| Raisins | 64 | 60 | 28 |
| Watermelon | 72 | 120 | 4 |
| BEANS AND NUTS | |||
| Baked beans, average | 40 | 150 | 6 |
| Blackeye peas, average | 33 | 150 | 10 |
| Black beans | 30 | 150 | 7 |
| Chickpeas, average | 10 | 150 | 3 |
| Chickpeas, canned in brine | 38 | 150 | 9 |
| Navy beans, average | 31 | 150 | 9 |
| Kidney beans, average | 29 | 150 | 7 |
| Lentils, average | 29 | 150 | 5 |
| Soy beans, average | 15 | 150 | 1 |
| Cashews, salted | 27 | 50 | 3 |
| Peanuts, average | 7 | 50 | 0 |
| PASTA and NOODLES | |||
| Fettucini, average | 32 | 180 | 15 |
| Macaroni, average | 47 | 180 | 23 |
| Macaroni and Cheese (Kraft) | 64 | 180 | 32 |
| Spaghetti, white, boiled, average | 46 | 180 | 22 |
| Spaghetti, white, boiled 20 min, average | 58 | 180 | 26 |
| Spaghetti, wholemeal, boiled, average | 42 | 180 | 17 |
| SNACK FOODS | |||
| Corn chips, plain, salted, average | 42 | 50 | 11 |
| Fruit Roll-Ups® | 99 | 30 | 24 |
| M & M’s®, peanut | 33 | 30 | 6 |
| Microwave popcorn, plain, average | 55 | 20 | 6 |
| Potato chips, average | 51 | 50 | 12 |
| Pretzels, oven-baked | 83 | 30 | 16 |
| Snickers Bar® | 51 | 60 | 18 |
| VEGETABLES | |||
| Green peas, average | 51 | 80 | 4 |
| Carrots, average | 35 | 80 | 2 |
| Parsnips | 52 | 80 | 4 |
| Baked russet potato, average | 111 | 150 | 33 |
| Boiled white potato, average | 82 | 150 | 21 |
| Instant mashed potato, average | 87 | 150 | 17 |
| Sweet potato, average | 70 | 150 | 22 |
| Yam, average | 54 | 150 | 20 |
| MISCELLANEOUS | |||
| Hummus (chickpea salad dip) | 6 | 30 | 0 |
| Chicken nuggets, frozen, reheated in microwave oven 5 min | 46 | 100 | 7 |
| Pizza, plain baked dough, served with parmesan cheese and tomato sauce | 80 | 100 | 22 |
| Pizza, Super Supreme (Pizza Hut) | 36 | 100 | 9 |
| Honey, average | 61 | 25 | 12 |
The complete list of the glycemic index and glycemic load for more than 1,000 foods can be found in the article “International tables of glycemic index and glycemic load values: 2008″ by Fiona S. Atkinson, Kaye Foster-Powell, and Jennie C. Brand-Miller in the December 2008 issue of Diabetes Care, Vol. 31, number 12, pages 2281-2283.
Do you need more assistance than what I’ve given you here? Then contact me here and we can get you started on Personal Training or Personalized Program Design that will include a safe and effective exercise, nutrition and supplement program that will get you results.
