To achieve optimal health & body composition, apply the following nutritional principles:
1. Limit white flour, sugar & Milk
If it’s white be wary of eating it. The 3 white evils are: white flour, white sugar and pasteurised and homogenised milk. If you use dairy products and can’t acquire raw produce, always choose goat’s and sheep’s dairy if you are unable to tolerate cow’s milk. Choose organic and whole milk when raw options are not available. However, if you can’t tolerate lactose, be sure to avoid all dairy products.
2. Avoid wheat & grains
Go wheat-free and avoid grains when possible. If you do eat grains, choose sprouted and organic when possible. For a lean body, aim for a grain-free diet or try to limit your grain consumption. You want to focus on vegetables, fruits and complex starches such as sweet potatoes, tapioca or breadfruit instead. If you think you might be gluten intolerant (for instance, you may experience heartburn after eating something containing wheat), make sure to eliminate gluten completely from your diet. This is extremely important: unless you cut out gluten completely, you won’t be able to tone down the inflammation it causes and this will hinder your progress towards a healthy and lean body.
3. Go mad for vegetables & fruit
Vegetables, whether raw or cooked, are the healthiest carbohydrate sources. Not only are they loaded with essential nutrients, but they also contain various types of fibre that will help keep you full while keeping your gut healthy. The next runner-ups are fruits and starchy veggies like sweet potatoes and tapioca. However, if you want to lose as much weight as possible, don’t go crazy on fruits – limit your portions to two or three per day.
4. Read the labels
If you cannot pronounce a word on the food label, don’t eat it. Your liver may not be able to handle it. Plus that’s an indication that the food is not REAL food (i.e. it has been extensively processed).
5. Go for whole foods
Whatever you eat go for whole, natural, one ingredient foods. Hint: If it didn’t walk, swim or grow, then it’s probably not natural at all.
6. Avoid sugary drinks
Let’s face it: any sweet beverage that you didn’t personally squeeze is nothing but sugar water. Yes, this includes all commercial fruit juices, smoothies and squash. The same goes for sports drinks – if you’re not a professional athlete or if you don’t train hard for several hours, then you don’t need these drinks. In fact, they can actually cause you to gain fat. This being said, even those who train hard would benefit from consuming sports drinks that aren’t loaded with corn syrup and chemicals.
7. Shelf life
The longer the shelf life, the more harmful it is likely to be for your body.
8. Avoid microwave meals
If it’s irradiated or microwaved, avoid eating it.
9. Buy quality meats
If budget allows, choose produce and meat that is free range and grass fed. If not, meat from the butcher’s or your local supermarkets finest produce will always be a healthier option. Find a source local to you, if not athleat.co.uk are great, use code ‘bodytype’ for discount.
10. Farmers markets
Try support local farmers produce as much as possible; this helps their closed organic farming cycles and doesn’t support supermarkets and multi billion pound empires. A trip round the local farmers market can be quite the adventure of wonderful foods and inspire you to try and cook new foods.
11. Salt
If using salt on food, use sea salt ideally from Celtic or New Zealand seas because heavy metal toxicity is lowest in these areas. This salt is also ideal for mineralising your drinking water. A tiny pinch per litre is a good approach. Himalayan pink rock salt is also a good choice.
12. Drink quality water
Drink enough water. For every kg of body weight drink 30ml of water. So a 90kg individual will need 2.7 litres of water a day. If exercising add 0.5-1.0 litres for every hour of exercise. Water is essential to optimal health.
13. Check recycle numbers on plastic bottles
For water always think of its quality. If drinking bottled water choose one with a high mineral content, a good indicator is calcium above 40mg. Do not buy bottled water with numbers 3, 6 or 7 in the triangle on the bottom of the bottle indicating recyclable; this is a very toxic plastic. Filtered water from home with a tiny pinch of sea salt can be the best and most cost effective way to go for the most part.
14. Add sea salt to replace electrolytes
Adding a small pinch of quality sea salt to water is recommended to replace electrolytes and essential minerals in the body. This is very important in a during workout drink and during the summer. Not necessary if drinking bottled water.
15. Follow 90/10 rule
Follow the 90/10 rule: If you’re right 90% of the time, your body can handle the other 10% and still maintain optimal body composition. Each % you drop in favour of non-optimal food intake will decrease your chances of reaching your physical and health goals. However, you want to avoid consuming trigger foods at all times.
16. Always eat with your metabolic type
Always eat within your Metabolic Type with extra carbohydrate post workout. Although this will differ during the seasons, favouring more meat and fat in the winter months and more fruit and vegetables in the summer, in general.
17. Buy quality organic & free-range food
Choose the best quality organic and free range food your money can buy, including meat, fruit and vegetables, nuts and seeds, dairy and sprouted grains. But ultimately live with your means. Good quality food tastes better and treats the body better.
Remember:
Preparation and planning ahead is the key to success.
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