What should I EAT? Food breakdown for Healthy eating.

The following is what I learned about eating healthy just from following the Insanity meal plan. I find so many people do Beachbody programs and if they don't follow the meal plan, they might not understand these concepts about how to put a healthy meal together. For best results eat 5 small meals a day and try to reach your caloric needs by making each of those meals a little bigger or smaller, but keeping them about even in calories (about 300). I almost never eat a meal anymore that is over 500 calories. All my meals are BALANCED including lean protein, carbs (fiber/whole grains), and vegetable and sometimes fruit to add extra calories. Also please read my previous post about speeding up your Metabolism! Ok so here's the food break down:

PROTEIN:

Eat LEAN protein. No marbled steaks (flank or sirloin is ok). No poultry with skin on or gravy (rotisserie chicken). Eat lean chicken, lean beef, lowfat/non fat dairy, beans, legumes, greek yogurt, lowfat cheeses like mozzarella, nuts, protein bars, protein powder, are all good sources of protein. You should get a full serving of protein in each of your 5 meals throughout your day. If you must eat a small snack before bed (2 hours before you go to sleep) then make sure it’s a lean protein, not a bunch of carbs :) Also I have been focusing on eating organic meat or free range eggs/chicken. It's more expensive, but worth it. Do it when you can.

FATS:

Eat NATURAL fats, and remember that old food pyramid? You only need 10% of your diet to be fat/sugar.  Go for plant fats: Olive oil, avocado, nuts, coconut oil, seeds, etc. See how these things are from plants? That means they are good natural fats (organic is best). Try to limit fats in general but especially from non organic meats and dairy. So fatty meat (marbled steaks, poultry with skin on, fatty pork), fatty dairy (whole milk, sour cream, ice cream, heavy cream, whip cream, butter, fatty yogurt), ok you get the picture. One good animal product that supplies good fat is Salmon or Omega 3 fatty acids. Other things also can supply you with this fat, Omega 3s, like flax seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds etc. Remember when you eat nuts/seeds/nut butters that although they have protein, they also have a large amount of fat, so consider them a FAT source and eat them raw/roasted with no salt or added sugars. Also if you use Mayo on sandwiches switch to Olive Oil mayo, or just make it yourself! Check out this recipe for homemade mayo! Homemade Olive Oil Mayo In this recipe you could also use regular olive oil not Extra Virgin- its up to you. Also instead of mayo you can just use avocado, mustard, or even greek yogurt as a substitute in many recipes. You can also use plain greek yogurt instead of sour cream!
If you put dressing on your salad, stay away from the creamy stuff and go for olive oil and vinegar or a vinagrette. You do NOT need very much fat in your diet. I used to eat a WHOLE avocado in one sitting. That's A LOT of fat. Now if I have avocado I only use 1/4 to 1/2 of it in one meal. Think of all the ways fat is in your diet in a bad way, and try to eliminate most all of it! I used to LOVE butter as much as Paula Deen herself, but now I've learned to live without it! (I know crazy right?!) I just have gotten used to not eating it, doing without or just not eating those foods that 'required' butter before.  

SUGARS:

Sugar comes in MANY forms these days. We also want NATURAL sugars that our body will recognize rather than Splenda type sugars that say zero calories (stay away from that stuff including diet sodas). We should have sugar in our diet in the form of fruit, raw and organic honey, organic agave, etc. Stay away from refined sugars please! This includes High fructose corn syrup! Eliminate most sugar from your diet. If you have a sugar craving, you are either dehydrated or lacking in nutrients so you should drink water, eat fruit as a natural sugar, or try Shakeology (The Healthiest Meal of the Day) which helps give you ALL the nutrition you need so you don't crave junk. There are MANY ways we can eliminate so much sugar from out diets that aren't even from SWEETS (I know right?!). This is the ONLY food group we really DON'T need at all. So feel free to just cut it all out if you can! You'll be amazed after a few days of no sugar, you won't crave it anymore and you'll feel great! Sugar can be very addicting! If you are addicted to sugar and have sugar cravings daily, you should consider doing a cleanse to get it out of your system. The 3 Day Refresh or the Ultimate Reset are amazing options! You can find those on my my website or ask me about them!

CARBS:

All carbs are not created equal. I personally don’t like diets that tell you to restrict carbs because CARBS come in many forms and all are NOT BAD! Carbs get a bad rap because of the BAD carbs like white bread, cakes, pastries, soda, cookies, white or processed grains like white flour, white rice etc. When choosing carbs choose WHOLE GRAIN. We need FIBER!! Fiber comes from fruits and vegetables and plants like grains! WHOLE grain (any grain! Brown rice, wheat flour, wheat, kamut, spelt, millet, quinoa, buckwheat, whole oats, etc). Also legumes and beans are a great source of fiber. 
There are many ways carbs creep into our daily diet and we can almost always choose a whole grain option! Here are some examples: Whole grain bread/whole wheat, whole grain hamburger buns, English muffins, tortillas, etc. There are lots of options! Whenever I go out to eat I try and get a burger/sandwich with a whole wheat bun or bread. It’s almost always available, so look for it! Gone are the days of white bread and bad carbs. Carbs are GOOD and we need CARBS as long as they are fiberous!!! If an item has 3-5 grams of fiber at least, you can consider it a good source of fiber and a GOOD CARB! Start reading your foods labels for fiber content and you will be surprised at how it much fiber foods have in them and know which foods to eat and which to stay away from. (Beware of false advertizing. So often I see things that say 'whole grain or multigrain' but they only have 1 or 2 measly grams of fiber. Don't buy it!) Fiber is so important, helps with digestion, feeling full and satisfied, balancing blood sugar, and helps you stay regular. I have a new found love and appreciation that I never had before cause I didn't know anything about fiber before I started doing Beachbody programs! Yay for Fiber! Just remember if its a CARB, it needs to have a minimum of 3 grams of fiber or its WORTHLESS. 

BALANCE!
When putting together a meal make sure its BALANCED! Pay attention to serving sizes and those are usually what you can go by! Usually a serving of meat is about 4-6 oz, a serving of grains is about 4 oz or 1/2 c., a serving of veggies is 8 oz or 1 cup, a serving of fruit is 1 cup, a serving of fat/oil is about 2 Tb (oil, peanut butter, seeds, dressing etc), and a serving of nuts/avocado/coconut/cheese is about 1/4 c. So keep your meals balanced and beautiful! The more deep rich color from fruits and veggies, the more nutrients!

Well there you go! My thoughts on food! Please share your thoughts, comments, critiques, and questions. Let me know if you'd like help with your diet and I can work with you as your personal coach!