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Tips for eating healthy, and enjoying it

If you were to ask my loving husband what it is like to live with a personal trainer, he would have you believe his life is very hard.

He would lament the fact he never gets a moment’s rest (but I do give him rest – that’s what midnight to 6 a.m. is for), that he is subjected to cruel and unusual punishment in the form of vegetables and whole grains, and that he is a highly underpaid test pilot for all new healthy recipes and exercises that I need to test drive before adding them to my client’s routines.

I’ll admit he does have it a little rough, but I am also privy to his outlook on a healthy lifestyle. In particular, on eating healthier.

According to my loving husband, when it comes to eating healthy, he firmly believes that if he doesn’t like a food then it must be good for him, and if he does like it then it’s got to be bad for him.

Joking aside, there are ways to add healthy ingredients and meals into your life without feeling like you have been condemned to life in prison (loving husband asked me to point out that even prisoners aren’t subjected to tofu and quinoa).

Try some of these simple and easy tips to add a little bit more goodness into your diet:

Drink water, especially first thing in the morning

You wouldn’t go all day at work without drinking anything, so why would you go all night without having a glass of water?

Have a glass first thing in the morning before your breakfast and your cup of coffee. Not only will you rehydrate your very dehydrated cells, but recent research has also found that people who drank 16 ounces of water first thing in the morning boosted their metabolism by 24 per cent for 90 minutes after (Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism). A boosted metabolism is great news for anyone looking to lose weight.

Another report just released found that drinking five-plus glasses of water a day helped to lower heart disease risk by almost 60 per cent (National Institute of Health). Wow, that’s pretty huge for something that comes out of tap and is very accessible to all of us.

Eat a nutritionally responsible breakfast

Skipping breakfast is a no-no for any dieter, any child, any person looking to boost their attention span, focus and productivity, and for anyone looking to maintain their current weight (webmd.com). However, eat a healthy breakfast and you will reduce your hunger pangs throughout the day, lower your cholesterol levels, improve your concentration and performance – both in the classroom and in the boardroom – and give yourself the much needed strength and endurance to take on your day. Pass the oatmeal please.

Increase your fibre

Eating the right amount of fibre has many healthy benefits. In addition to helping a person stay, um, regular, fibre has also been linked with lower incidences of type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, certain types of cancer and high cholesterol (familydoctor. org). Eating fibre-rich foods also aids in digestion and the absorption of nutrients, and it can help you feel fuller longer (crucial in the fight against obesity).

How much fibre should we be eating? Men 50 years and younger should consume at least 38 grams. If you are over 50 years, then aim for 30 grams. For us ladies 50 and younger, aim for at least 25 grams, while ladies over 50 should target at least 21 grams of fibre daily.

Replace rice with bulgur

Replace rice, which is like straight sugar to the veins anyway, with this easy to prepare whole grain.

It is a little nuttier tasting than rice and it delivers 14 times the amount of fibre than rice, 30 per cent more protein, triple the blood-sugar-regulating mineral magnesium as well as double the potassium. Try it as a pilaf, in soups, as a cold salad and in any other recipe that asks for rice.

Eat Greek-style yogurt

Greeks sure know how to make yogurt! Once you have tried Greek yogurt, you will probably never go back to regular yogurt again. And why would you? One cup of plain, low fat Greek yogurt contains 13 to 20 grams of protein, where-as a regular yogurt only has about five to 10 grams.

Greek yogurt also contains fewer carbohydrates than regular yogurt because it has less lactose, making this yogurt easier to digest.

Greek yogurt also has a smoother and thicker consistency, making it perfect to cook and bake with. Give it a try for breakfast, as a snack or as a treat after dinner.

P.J. Wren is a personal trainer and writer in Delta who can be reached at www.fitnesswithpj.com.

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