Nutrition & Caring For Your Health

Most health experts agree that proper nutrition plays one of the largest roles in losing weight...choosing a nutritious diet that is as close to nature as possible is a critical step in your natural weight loss journey.

Ellen believes that moderation is the key to success & recommends avoiding all the high calorie convenience food that has become so widely available, as they provide very little health benefit.

Starting a Natural Weight Loss Diet

Avoid sugary foods. The worst offenders are soft drinks (soda), cookies, cakes, chocolate, sweets and processed breakfast cereals. To put it simply, sugar makes you fat. Don't believe for a second that the diet versions of these foods are any better. Artificial sweeteners have become notorious for causing even greater health problems than sugar, for example did you know that aspartame otherwise known as nutrasweet started off as a pesticide, and once consumed, the wood alcohol in aspartame is converted to formaldehyde which also has a cumulative effect and can cause damage to your immune and central nervous systems..

The way your body feels and looks after following a healthy diet will become more important to you than the instant pleasure of poor dietary choices.

Avoid foods that contain high-fructose corn syrup, sorbitol, fructose, mannitol, maltitol, isomalt & glycerol.

High fructose corn syrup is believed to interfere with messages to the brain that signal satiety, which can lead to over eating. This sugar compound also decreases the effectiveness of insulin, setting you up for problems with blood sugar control.

Avoid artficial flavours, colours, preservatives and chemical sweeteners. It is critical to stop poisoning your body with toxic food ingredients. Artificial sweeteners are loaded in 'diet' foods.

Increase the consumption of fresh fruit, vegetables and salad greens particularly the deep green leafy salad greens. Ideally you should consume 2 servings of fruit and 5 servings of vegetables daily.

Choose organic fruit & vegetables if possible. Certified organic foods are grown and processed without the use of synthetic chemicals, fertilizers or genetic modification. This will reduce your exposure to toxins that interfere with metabolic function. Your everyday purchasing decisions can also lead to a safer, greener and more equitable world.

Choose wholegrain foods, containing all parts of the grain. These foods provide energy over time and are naturally high in fibre.

Good examples include: oats, corn, rice, wheat, barley, rye, triticale and millet. Avoid processed grain based foods such as: boxed breakfast cereals, non whole grain breads and pasta.

Choose wholegrain alternatives such as; muesli, porridge, steamed rice, wholegrain pasta and wholegrain breads, including spelt & rye.

Note: Fiber is abundant in fruit, vegetables and whole grains. Fiber contributes to improved blood sugar control and healthy bowel function.

Protein foods such as fresh fish, lean red meat, organic chicken, organic eggs or secondary protein such as whole grains and legumes should be eaten twice a day to stabilise blood sugar levels. Limit the intake of saturated fats that are found in the fatty red meat, chicken with skin, deli meats and dairy foods. It is recommended that you eat small amounts of organic dairy foods and lean, organic red meat. Skip any processed meats.

Fish is an ideal protein source as it does not contain saturated fat. Eat local, fresh fish 2-3 times a week when possible.

Increase the essential good fats in your diet. Cold water fish, organic eggs, avocados, extra virgin olive oil, macadamia nut oil and raw nuts & seeds are rich in essential fatty acids.

Are you ready to get the junk out of your body? Stop buying meals from fast food outlets. These foods are packed with calories, salt, sugar and other harmful food compounds.

Avoid trans fats found in margarine, TV dinners, bakery foods, commercially prepared snack foods and deep fried food. These very unhealthy fats are formed when liquid vegetable oils are partially hydrogenated or ‘hardened’ for use in spreads such as margarine, cooking fats for deep frying and shortening for baking . Some trans fats are formed during high temperature cooking. Trans fats are also found naturally in meat and milk.

Avoid Salt. Resist sprinkling salt over your food or using salt while preparing meals. Select salt free foods or 'low sodium' foods if possible. Since most salt comes from processed foods it is not hard to avoid a lot of salt in your diet.

Ensure you eat regularly and choose healthy snacks mid morning and mid afternoon to balance your blood sugar levels throughout the day.

Fruit, nuts, seeds, natural yogurt, fresh juices or smoothies are healthy snacks.

Kick Your Bad Habits

Quit smoking, cigarettes contain toxic chemicals such as benzene which is a petrol additive, formaldehyde, ammonia & acetone, to name just a few. Besides the cancer causing affects smoking also increases abdominal weight gain and raises blood sugar levels by stimulating your stress response.

Avoid alcohol, with the exception of Red Wine in moderation, meaning a glass with dinner which has been shown to have health benefits. Alcohol is high in calories and has no nutritional value. It also does damage upon your liver, kidneys and other organs.

Cut Caffeine, even though it is a stimulant does not help you in your goals to be trim and fit. What it does do is trigger the release of stress hormones causing a stress response, followed by feelings of agitation. Prolonge use of caffeine is known to put excessive stress on the adrenal glands through overproduction of adrenalin and can eventually lead adrenal depletion. It is also known to cause insomnia which is very damaging to your health. Over time caffiene also leads to high levels of cortisol during the day which is associated with increased abdominal fat. Caffeine also tends to make you eat more frequently.

For more on Ellen's approach to nutrition please participate in Ellens Blog

Prior to beginning any exercise or nutrition program it is advised to consult with your physician to ensure the program is suitable to your individual health requirements.