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Tracie Smith-Beyak

If you are making changes towards an optimal healthy lifestyle then a nutritional blitz should be part of the process. Down with sugar, fat and processed foods. It’s time to shift your focus towards fresh, organic and balanced eating.

Processed foods are expensive. You are paying for the ingredients, packaging and the processing. Artificial preservatives and chemical flavour enhancers are not the answer and they come with their own set of risks. Chemicals such as aspartame, monosodium glutamate, acesulfame K and olestra are linked to heart disease, diabetes and cancer and have no place in a healthy daily diet.

How much you eat in total calories per day depends on whether you plan to lose weight, maintain weight or gain weight. Your daily expenditure must also be taken into account [see chart in last week’s column]. If you are very active then it is important that you are taking enough in and if you are sedentary then minimal daily intake would be best.

Here are the quick and easy guidelines for daily nutritional intake. Read the label and make sure you are aware of the listed servings sizes and that you are considering these sizes when serving up your meals.

Daily intake

15 per cent of your total daily caloric intake should come from protein. Choose lean, non-processed and non-fried protein sources. Take the number of grams per serving and multiply by 4 for total calories.

10-20 per cent of your total daily caloric intake should come from fat. Avoid saturated and trans fats. Take the number of grams per serving and multiply by 9 for total calories.

45-60 per cent of your total daily calories should come from carbohydrates. Take the number of grams per serving and multiply by 4 for total calories. A maximum of 15 per cent of those carbohydrates should be coming from sugars! Look to moderate and low glycemic index foods for your carbohydrate sources.

Daily fibre targets would be 25-28 grams a day for women and 30-38 grams a day for men.

Sodium should be kept low too! Look for foods with less than 7 per cent sodium.

Even for weight loss a daily diet should not drop below 1200 calories and the average diet is usually approximately 2,000 a day. Having said that, a six foot two inch male will require more than a five foot female, yet that might mean a 500 - 1000 cal difference not a 3,000 cal difference.

Last week I included a chart that approximated total calorie expenditure for different activities. This week on your weekly overview, review your daily expenditure and then map your daily caloric intake based on your current diet. Make note of where these calories are coming from. Are you eating enough or too much? Are your sugars and fats too high?

Make a decision to follow the guidelines above, read the label and avoid processed foods for the most part. Unless you are Michael Phelps and you burn 8,000 calories per day you should be looking to keep things lean and portions small to moderate.

Feel free to email your overview for quick feedback or to send me a question at tracie@bodynow4mums.com. Next week I will be tackling full-body training moves that can be done at home.

Kind regards,

Tracie

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