Proper Nutrition - Overview

• Metabolism plays an important role in weight loss and fat loss and can be controlled through proper nutrition, active lifestyle and supplementation.

• Carbohydrates = Glycogen = Fuel.  We need to eat GOOD Carbs to sustain our basal metabolic functions and to fuel muscle activity. 

• Proteins are essential for muscle growth and are the building blocks for cellular regeneration.

• Fats can be categorized as good fats and bad fats.  Our bodies need some fats to survive, however, excess fat can increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, and arterial blockages.  Excess calories = Excess FAT.

• Supplements – Our body’s need 14 essential minerals and 13 essential vitamins for biological functions, which is arguably, not found in our modern food supply.

• Drink plenty of WATER.  The human body is made of 60% water and most people confuse thirst for hunger. 

Metabolism

Why is metabolism important to losing weight?  Metabolism is the rate at which your body processes energy or converts nutrients to usable (burnable) forms.  The faster or more efficient your metabolism is, the more food you can eat WITHOUT the risk of gaining any weight.  In other words, if you increase your current metabolism, you will increase the rate at which your body burns fuels (food), ultimately resulting in weight loss. 

A common myth is that we are victims to our metabolisms.  I am sure you all know at least one person who can eat anything and not gain a pound.  We should hate these people because their metabolisms are faster and they can eat what ever they want right?  WRONG …the truth is we are the creators and controllers of our metabolisms, and you too can increase your metabolism to the point where you can eat supportive foods that you like.

Let’s examine some simple metabolic facts:

• Repeated dieting destroys your body’s metabolism and counteracts weight loss.

• Your body needs a certain amount of calories to sustain basal metabolic functions (ie. Breathing, circulation, brain functionality, digestion etc.).

• If you cut calories and carbohydrates, your body reacts as if it were starving and slows down your metabolism and holds on to fat reserves for emergency use.

• Metabolism is increased by eating multiple nutritious meals through the day.

• Metabolism is increased through the addition of muscle tissue (toning).

• Fat is burned in muscle cells, the more healthy muscle you have the more efficiently you will burn fat. 

• Metabolism plays an important role in weight loss and fat loss.

Your body, metabolism and ultimately your wellness is
dependent on the following 6 nutrients:

• Water

• Carbohydrates (Sugars and breads)

• Proteins (meat, fish, eggs, vegetables)

• Fats (oils, animal fats)

• Vitamins (fruits and vegetables)

• Minerals (fruits and vegetables)

Carbohydrates

Why are carbohydrates important to your diet?  Simply stated Carbohydrates = Glycogen.  Glycogen = Fuel for your body.  Glycogen fuels your metabolism, it fuels your muscle contraction, it fuels your basal metabolic functions.  In essence, Carbohydrates are VERY IMPORTANT to you.  This may be confusing with all the LOW CARB diets in the market today, so lets clarify what is a GOOD CARB and a BAD CARB. 

Carbohydrates can be divided into two types: simple and complex.  Simple carbohydrates are simple sugars which get converted into glucose before entering the bloodstream.  Complex carbohydrates are sugars that are linked together to form long chains, which must be broken down before they can be converted in to glucose.   The good carbs are the ones that come from complex sources- potatoes (yes white potatoes too), grains, cereals (sugarless ones), rice (yes white rice too), and pastas - ALL PASTAS.  Bad carbs are those that contain simple sugars – Pastries, cakes, some fruits and snacks.

The key to carbohydrates is knowing which carbs to eat, how much to eat, and when you eat them. Lets take a look at some Carb facts: 

• Carbohydrates  = Glycogen = Fuel

• Your body NEEDS Good Carbs.

• Low carb diets slow your metabolism down and causes your body to STORE FAT and sometimes break down muscle tissue for energy.

• Molecules of carbohydrates are consumed or metabolized in the muscle cells BEFORE fats, therefore the intake of excess bad carbs, causes the body to store these molecules which get converted to fat.

• Our bodies are biologically programmed to over eat because the body does not know when it will get the next meal, even though food is readily available to us. 

• When our daily consumption of food exceeds our bodily requirements, the body will convert the excess calories from overeating into FAT.

• Stored food = Fat.  Fat stores will be burned only if there are no other readily available fuels in the body to burn.  Fat stores are burned with aerobic exercise. 

Proteins

Proteins are important to our bodies in more ways than one.  People normally associate protein with muscle, however, proteins are important for other biological reasons.  Our bodies manufacture approximately 200 billion red blood cells each day, replacing the entire blood volume in our bodies every 120 days.  Skin is dependant on protein to constantly regenerate and replace skin cells every 1 to 3 months.  Bone is broken down and replaced every 90 days or so.  All of these processes depend on protein.

The cells that make up the re-generative functions contain over 100,000 different proteins made up of 20 different types of amino acids.  Our food supply of plant and animal proteins contain most of the essential amino acids to support the building blocks of living tissue.  Without a supply of proteins (and vitamins and minerals), our bodies and minds will deteriorate because we are not able to replace the dying cells in our internal and external organs. 

Fats

What is fat?  In today’s world, fat is synonymous with being overweight or obese.  It describes ones physical condition and is commonly used in a derogatory way.  Historically, being fat was associated with upper class or the wealthy elite.  These people had the money to afford the better, fatter cuts of meat, or the fatty dairy products and desserts.  In those times, a fat man was often a rich powerful business man.  However, in today’s society, this class distinction is no longer valid because obesity is a result of lifestyle rather then socio-economical status. 

Biologically, fat is a sub group of lipids, a name for the group of compounds that include fats, oils, and cholesterol.  Fats and oils come from plant and animal products, whereas cholesterol only comes from animal products (ie. Meats, dairy, poultry). 

Saturated vs. Unsaturated Fats
Much of the confusion dieters face today is not knowing what to eat because of fat content.  When reading food labels, I remember asking myself…”should I be avoiding the saturated or unsaturated fats?”  Let’s look at both types.

Cholesterol

• Cholesterol is a waxy, white substance that is found in every cell in our body.  Cholesterol aids in the creation of cell membranes, hormones and vitamin D. 

• Cholesterol can be divided into “good” and “bad” cholesterol, which are actually called lipoproteins.

• Lipoprotein is the combination of a fat and a protein that wraps around the individual fat and cholesterol molecules in our body.  There are 2 types of lipoproteins: LDL and HDL.

• LDL -  Low Density Lipoproteins carry about 70% of the cholesterol in our body.  These are the BAD cholesterols because they stick to the walls of our arteries which can lead to blockages, strokes, and heart attacks. 

• HDL – High Density Lipoproteins are known as the GOOD cholesterols because they travel through the body picking up cholesterol from dying cells.

Fat cravings
We are biologically programmed to crave the taste of fats.  In biblical times, food was often scarce and calories were hard to come by.  So when people did get meat to sustain there diets, they ate every part of their kill, most importantly the fat.  People were not sure when they were going to get their next meal, there wasn’t an abundance of fast food restaurants and sweet cakes available to them.  And because fat contains the most energy (9 calories per gram), the meats with the most fat were prized as the best cuts and people rarely left anything for scrap.   One thing to remember is, that in those times, people worked for their food, they worked to live, by hunting, fishing, farming, and gathering.  So they were always moving, which increased their metabolism and activity level so they burned all of what they ate.

In contrast, in today’s society, we are accustomed to over eating due to the SUPER SIZING of America.  We eat way more food than we burn off and these excess calories are stored as fat, to be burned at a later date.  Most of us don’t get enough activity in our daily routines to burn these fat stores and as a result our body weight increases.  As our body weight increases, our activity level decreases, perpetuating this deadly cycle.  Excess calories = stored fat calories.

Water/Hydration

How many times have you heard “drink 8 glasses of water per day”?  I never thought there was any validity to it until I created the Revolution Solution™.  Here are some reasons why you need to stay hydrated and should drink at least 64oz of water per day:

• The human body is made up of 60% water.

• Human muscle and your brain are 75% water.

• Blood is 80% water.

• It is estimated that 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated.

• 37% of Americans mistake thirst for hunger.

• 2% drop in body water can trigger fatigue, mental dysfunction, headaches, dizziness, mood swings and other symptoms we are told to accept as normal.

• Water aids in the metabolic process and it has been documented that staying hydrated could reduce the risk of colon cancer by 45%, breast cancer by 79% and bladder cancer by 50%.

• 40 minutes after drinking 17oz of water your body's metabolism increases by 30% and stays elevated for over an hour.