Proper nutrition is the secret to good health. Here are seven basic rules of nutrition which will serve as guidelines for all your nutritional regimes. Whether you exercise regularly and hit the gym or not, follow these tips to stay fit and healthy.
- Smaller Frequent Meals
Have a meal once in every few hours. Three hours is a good interval to consider. This means that that in a day you should be having about 5-6 nutrition meals instead of stuffing yourself with 2-3 meals.
Eating smaller frequent meals will provide a continuous influx of nutrients at a steady rate which will allow the body to absorb and utilize them in a much better way. It also helps in keeping the blood sugar levels stable thus keeping your insulin levels in check.
2. Eat a Higher Amount of Protein Per Meal
Protein is the most important nutrient for anyone looking to bring about a change in their physique whether they are trying to gain muscle mass or trying to lose fat.
Try to choose lean sources of protein in your every meal. Incorporate any of these nutrition sources in your meals: eggs, low fat milk, low fat paneer, soybeans.
3. Be Choosy in Your Carbohydrate Intake
Carbohydrates serve as the main nutrition fuel to your body but care needs to be exercised in choosing the right kind of fuel to keep the body’s engines running at full throttle. Complex carbohydrates, comprising of fiber and starch, should be the preferred source of carbohydrates in any meal.
These include whole grains, peas, beans, and vegetables. Simple carbohydrates, comprising of sugar, are also required but only at specific times in your daily routine such as post workout.
4. Eat Good Fats
Not all kinds of fat are bad. Essential fatty acids (EFAs) are required by the body to work efficiently. Nutrition in good fats are crucial for fat loss and muscle mass enhancement. These should be included daily in your diet regime.
Sources of EFAs include fish, nuts and flaxseed oil. Try to incorporate any or all of these in your diet to reap the rich benefits of this vital nutrient.
5. Stay Well Hydrated
This is quite often a problem area in most diets. We always try to plan what, when and how much to eat but we seldom give a thought to the importance and quantity of water required by our body.
Drinking adequate amount of water is paramount for a healthy body. It also helps in keeping the body in an anabolic state provided other nutrients are available in right amounts.
6. Go Green
Eat at least two servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Eating fruits and vegetables helps the body get many phyto nutrients which are invaluable for health and play in vital role in your fitness quest.
7. Take a Multivitamin/Multimineral
Take a good multivitamin and multimineral to cover any deficiency in diet that you might be having due to any reason. Vitamins and minerals are micronutrients that are required in smaller quantities but are absolutely essential for proper functioning of various metabolic processes in body. Often, this difference can be the deciding factor in success or failure of your fitness efforts.
If these nutrition guidelines are kept in mind while devising any diet plan, your body composition can be altered positively. Follow a proper training plan which includes resistance training as well as cardio exercises for best results. So, till the next time train hard and smart and eat right for achieving the best results.
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Yogaditya Singh Rawal
