8 Healthy Diet Tips for Better Nutrition

Author: Angie Gardi RD, LD

Healthy Diet Tips: Are you overwhelmed with all the nutrition and diet information. How much should you eat? How often should you eat? What should you eat? Here are some simple tips you can use to ensure your diet is healthy.

1. Eat proteins, carbohydrates and fats at each meal. Healthy diet tips for each of these as recommended by the RDA are as follows ...
   • Protein recommendations are .8 to 2 grams per kilogram of body weight. If you're weight training you'll need closer to the higher end.
   • Carbohydrates should make up about 60 percent of your daily calories.
   • Fats should be approximately 10 to 30 percent of your daily calories.
2. Eat complex carbohydrates such as whole grains and fresh vegetables. Complex carbohydrates provide more nutrients and more fiber which helps with hunger control among other benefits. You should be eating about 25 grams of fiber total per day.
3. Avoid simple carbohydrates as much as possible, such as white breads, sweets and highly processed foods like chips and soda. They're just empty calories.
4. Most of your protein in a weight training diet should come from meat, poultry, fish, dairy products and eggs. They're complete proteins meaning they contain all of the essential amino acids that your body cannot produce by itself.

   Vegetable or plant sources aren't complete and usually lack one or more of the essential amino acids. It's possible to mix them in such a way to get all amino acids but unless you're a vegan I wouldn't worry about it. That's when things get complicating.

5. Eat 4 to 6 "small" meals a day to minimize blood sugar fluctuations, and increase your energy levels throughout the day. Frequent meals will produce an insulin response and stimulate protein synthesis.
6. To maximize gains after a workout, use a protein replacement such as a protein shakes within 90 minutes of a workout. They're quickly absorbed by your body which increases recovery and protein synthesis. Regular foods will take too long to digest and miss the 90 minute post workout window.

Read about the benefits of whey protein.

7. Drink 8 to 12 cups of water a day
8. Remember that proteins, carbohydrates and fats are equally important not just in a weight training diet but for overall health and fat loss. Avoid high protein diets and other fad diets, they'll only get you further from your goal and possibly hurt your health. Eat clean and eat sensibly.

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