The best food to eat for fitness

You know you are supposed to eat a healthy diet; these foods should be nutrient-dense, disease-fighting muscle-growing foods to get maximum results.



Do you eat these foods?



There are a lot of foods that you can consume in a healthy diet, but if you want to be at the top of your game when it comes to overall fitness there are some that should be included in your diet each week.

They simply give you the most reward for your time and money; you simply are what you eat.

Here is the best food I have found for overall fitness and why you should include them in your weekly diet.

Please be advised that all meat and vegetables should be 100% organic to avoid pesticides, herbicides, and hormones.

Proteins:

Salmon a 3 ounce cooked serving contains 20 grams of protein, more importantly it is very high in omega 3s. Omegas 3s are a healthy fat known to keep your heart healthy, and your arteries and veins free of blockages. Plus it has an added benefit of reducing inflammation of the joints from constant use during exercise.

Beef is high in amino acids, and so nutrient dense that a 3 ounce serving contains more than 10% of the recommended daily intake of riboflavin, selenium, niacin, B6, B12. Not to mention it contains iron and zinc, which aid circulatory health, in order to keep your fat consumption low purchase lean meats only.

Eggs are simply the cheapest and best protein you can buy for your money, each egg offers 4 grams of muscle building amino acids. People are finally learning that the yolk is also beneficial containing healthy fats and are a great source of vitamin A, E, D. Egg yolks are one of the few foods containing naturally containing vitamin D

Turkey breast- it is high in protein, B vitamins, and zinc. It’s loaded with amino acids and contains very little or no saturated fat. It’s a known booster of sperm production and contains the cancer fighting selenium.

Carbohydrates:

Oatmeal is a complex carbohydrate simply meaning that it takes much longer for your body to break it down for fuel. Eating oatmeal will provide you with hours of constant energy and help regulate your glucose levels. It can also promote weight loss and lower your risk of heart disease, contains a high level of zinc to help boost your immune system. Plus contains a high level of soluble fiber that help lower your cholesterol levels, but don’t by instant oatmeal since they most often contain sugar and chemicals for self life.

Whole wheat bread is high in complex carbohydrates it will leave you felling fuller longer. But beware of the ingredients not all bread is created equal, just because it says whole wheat or 100% whole wheat doesn’t mean that its healthy. Most bread contains high fructose corn syrup or partially hydrogenated soybean oil both is very bad for your future health, so read the labels carefully.

Sweet potato is another complex carbohydrate that has protein, vitamins A, C, E, iron and calcium, beta-carotene, these works together to protect your body against cellular damage. Plus if you eat the skin provides more fiber than oatmeal.


Black beans can help you feel energized and fuller longer than almost anything else you can eat. They’re high in fiber, carbohydrates, protein, and have no saturated fat making them the perfect food to eat.

Good fats:

Olive oil is rich in mono-unsaturated fat, making it ideal for a healthy heart. It also has potent anti-inflammatory properties that can help reduce pain just like ibuprofen. Instead of using butter for cooking use olive oil

Flax seed oil is full of lignans and omega 3s fatty acids; the lignans benefit the heart and have anti cancer properties. Omega 3s promotes heart health by reducing cholesterol, blood pressure, and plaque formation. It also shortens recovery time from fatigued muscles after intense exercise.

Almonds are loaded with un-saturated fats, making them great for your heart, digestive system and skin. They are also high in protein, fiber and vitamin E

Fruit and vegetables:

Broccoli has to be one of the best vegetables you can eat. Its rich with a healthy supply of fiber, iron, calcium, vitamin C making it great for your bones, circulatory system, and fighting colds.

Blueberries has to be one of the best fruits you can eat, they pack more fiber, vitamins and minerals than any other fruit. They contain free radical fighting antioxidants that help protect your body against disease and premature aging. Plus they are also a great brain food by helping keep the connections between your brain and nervous system healthy ensuring quicker thinking, and memory.

Spinach is loaded with fiber, calcium, and beta-carotene. Beta-carotene is the only carotene that can be converted into vitamin A by the body. Vitamin A is crucial for bone growth, reproduction, and cell division. It also helps regulate the immune system and defend against bacteria and viruses.

Yogurt contains active cultures that boost the number of germ fighting bacteria along your intestinal walls. The beneficial bacteria in yougurt is know as probiotics because they enhance the growth of healthy bacteria and keep the bad bacteria in check to keep your immune system strong. It’s packed with protein and calcium something that most people lack in their diet, people who are lactose intolerant can usually eat yogurt to fill their calcium needs.

Tomatoes contain a nutrient called lycopene, this powerful antioxidant is best known to help fight against cancer risk, cardiovascular disease, and macular degeneration (vision loss). Studies have shown that men who consume the most tomato based products in their diet are less likely to develop prostate cancer.

Beverage:

Green tea:

Green tea has also been linked to reduce heart disease risk, lower high blood pressure, and decrease risk of numerous cancers as well as weight loss. Drinking tea speeds up your metabolism and with regular consumption you can expect to loose 8 ponds per year. You can drink it hot or cold making it the best overall beverage to consume.

Water flushes toxins from your system, regulates body temperature, acts as an insulator for joints, prevents kidney stones, and supplies the body with crucial minerals for your good health. Water is a crucial part to a healthy diet, you need water to digest your food and get rid of waste. Every cell in your body depends on water to function properly; even though every fluid contains water nothing beats the real deal since it has zero calories.


What do you eat for fitness?

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Honey a must for a healthy diet

For years honey has gotten a bad rap as a simple sugar, but it has many health benefits that you should consider.



Do you use honey?


Honey is a great source of carbohydrates and natural sugar for anyone serious about building lean muscle. Just take it before and after your workouts to spike your insulin levels.

Honey is a simple carbohydrate that the body converts quickly into glucose.

If you don’t supply your body with enough glucose it will convert protein into glucose putting your body in a catabolic state.

Carbohydrates are the body’s fuel for most functions; they supply the body with energy for the brain, muscles, and nervous system.

The brain relies solely on carbohydrates for its energy.

A normal serving of honey would be a tablespoon before, and after your training.

Honey made from bees from flower nectar is a combination of glucose, fructose, and other sugars.

Honey contains protective antioxidants that help against heart disease, cancer, and the aging process.

Honey has a reputation for killing bacteria, and is great for soothing a sore throat when adding it to tea or hot lemon water.

Never give honey to an infant less than a year of age; Spores in some honey can cause a serious illness in infants.

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HFCS Makes You Fat

If you can't loose weight no matter what you do, take a hard look at what you have been eating. A very common additive called high fructose corn syrup ( HFCS ) that is in 70% of prepackaged foods will make loosing weight nearly impossible.





Foods that most people include in their diet thinking they are healthy can actually be secretly sabotaging your weight loss efforts. You may be surprised to see just which foods contain HFCS, sodas you would expect. But juices, candies, baked goods, cookies, syrups, soups, ketchup, breakfast cereals, granola bars, whole wheat bread, low fat yogurt, soups and pasta sauces may surprise you.

The FDA says health conscious people inadvertently consume 62 pounds of HFCS every year.

HFCS is one of the most toxic chemicals in our food supply, it significantly disrupts the function of the liver, pancreas, and organs that control weight by metabolizing fatty acids and regulating blood sugar.

The problem is in the fructose, it does not release or stimulate insulin. Insulin is a naturally occurring hormone that helps to metabolize our foods by pushing carbohydrates into our muscle cells to be used as energy, and allows carbohydrates to be stored in our liver for later use.

It also stimulates production of another hormone, leptin, which helps to regulate our storage of body fat and increases our metabolism when needed. These two hormones keep our body fat regulated and tells us, for all intent purposes, when we are satisfied and sends the message to our brain to stop eating.

Consuming even a small amount of HFCS impairs the body's ability to recognize leptin,HFCS inflames liver cells and reduces the livers ability to breakdown fat for fuel.

The Benefits Of Consuming HFCS

It makes skin sag
It raises blood pressure
It ages the liver
It can cause insulin resistance and diabetes
You are 5 times more likely to have below average memory

Benefits Of Not Consuming HFCS

Cut your high fructose corn syrup intake to near zero
Re balance your appetite
Boost your metabolism
Increase fat loss
Get more energy

High fructose corn syrup lurks in seemingly healthy places !

Always read those labels! If you find that one of the first ingredients on the label is high fructose corn syrup, look to the nutrition facts label and read how much sugar is actually in the food.

If there is 2-3 grams or less, there is less concern than those foods with higher quantities. For those products, you may want to consider other alternatives that don’t contain HFCS

Monitor products that say low fat or fat free, when the fat is removed a chemical is usually added to maintain texture and flavor making it twice as unhealthy.

Be weary of products that say natural or organic, the FDA doesn't regulate words.

If you are not sure but only products that say 100 % organic.

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Antioxidants Free Radicals Your Health

If you are looking to stay healthy and look younger than your actual age, a healthy diet is paramount. But most people think that this only includes proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.

Unfortunately due to the world we live in we absorb free radicals that come from pollution in our air,food, and water.





Also from waste products produced in our bodies from normal metabolism.

See - Is Your Water toxic ?.

Free radicals cause damage in our bodies and have been found to contribute to diseases such as cancer, heart disease, arthritis and premature ageing. To combat this you need to include foods that are high in antioxidants, nutrients that the body uses to neutralise these free radicals so that they can be expelled from the body with out causing any further damage.

Antioxidant nutrients include vitamins A, C and E, copper, zinc and selenium and photochemical such as flavonoids lycopene and lutein. These nutrients come from fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, grains, and lean meat.

Natures Best Antioxidants

Black Beans
Kidney Beans
Pinto Beans
Cranberry
Blackberry
Raspberry
Strawberry
Red Delicious apple
Broccoli
Tomatoes
Garlic
Spinach
Carrots
Green tea


To get sufficient amounts of antioxidants it is essential to include a variety of fresh foods in your diet. Growing your own food is another way of getting quality fresh foods and saving some money also.

You can also use supplements to get some of these nutrients into your body. When choosing a supplement look for a high quality plant based supplement.

If you choose to use nutritional supplements, it is in your best interest to use only those products that list actual foods as their ingredients rather than synthetic and isolated vitamins. While some synthetic and isolated vitamins have been shown to provide minimal health benefits, on the whole, most of them cause more harm than good and you are far better off spending your money on whole foods.

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Nutrition 101

If you are going to exercise and expect to see results the number one priority is eating a healthy diet first. Your diet will dictate your overall heath and strenght and the results you will see in the gym.

The quality and quantity of foods you consume will help you loose weight or put on lean muscle, simply put you are what you eat.

Many life threatening diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancers, are often, at least in part, linked to poor nutrition. Much of these diseases could be prevented with sufficient health nutrition intake.

If you exercise without a proper eating plan you will usually always see results in the first few weeks, this is simply due to the new stress you are putting on your body. Then all of a sudden your progress stops and you usually don't have the energy to keep coming back to the gym.

The biggest misconception is that when the word diet is used means that you are going to eat less food. The simple fact is if you want to build lean muscle and be full of energy you need to eat at least five to six meals a day spreading them out approximately every two to three hours.

As you can see being fit and healthy requires a lot of eating, not less. Now you are probably saying to yourself two things right now.

1. How can i eat that much food ?
2. I work and don't have the time ?

One of the biggest reasons we are an obese society is simply to the portion size we consume at one sitting. To give you a basic idea of a portion size hold your hand out in front of you with fingers open and that is a general portion size for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

The other times you eat consist of very quick and simple items, easy to consume with in a minute or two on the go.

Bananas, apples, protein bars, protein drinks, raisins, nuts, egg whites

This will keep your body not craving foods, full of energy keeping your metabolism reved up to not store fat, but to burn it.

Now please remember that depending on the results you are looking to achieve you will need to calculate the amount of Protein, Carbohydrates, and good fats you need to consume each and every day.

As for the time issue, this is solved simply by preparing your meals ahead of time. I'm out on the road during the day and bring my meals with me and stop and take five minutes to eat them. There is always time it just needs to be used properly.

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