Guest Post: Eating Well and Exercise–30 Days to a New You

This is a guest post from Katie Tullio MS, RDN, LDN, Nutritionist from the Greater Scranton YMCA.  Thanks Katie!

We all want to be healthy and fit but unfortunately we can’t change with just exercise alone! Exercise has so many health benefits but when it comes to weight loss you need to watch what’s on your plate! Research suggests that 80% of weight loss initiates from diet and 20% from exercise.

There are so many different types of diets out there causing so much confusion! Should we avoid carbs and only eat protein? Should we avoid fat and only eat carbs?  It’s crazy!  We all want a quick fix but keep in mind that carbohydrates, protein and fats are essential nutrients that our bodies need and we shouldn’t deprive ourselves of them! Losing weight does not have to be about starving yourself.  If we don’t fuel our bodies properly with enough energy, our metabolism will slow down! To speed up our metabolism we need to move our bodies and keep it fueled with good, healthy, non-processed food that our bodies can digest properly such as fruits, vegetables and lean protein.

Here are some diet tips to get you on the right track:

1. Let’s start by getting rid of all processed foods!  If you can’t pronounce words on an ingredient list, don’t put it in your body!!
2. Choose foods with 10 ingredients or less!
3. Start consuming more whole foods like fruits, vegetables, eggs, fish and lean meats.
4. Avoid refined Carbs like cakes, cookies, candy, white bread etc.  Stick to whole grains (anything with >3grams of fiber per serving is a healthy choice).
5. Consume your Carbs earlier in the day, you’ll burn them off as the day goes on!
6. Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate! Drink water and lots of it! You’ll see a difference just by increasing your water intake!
7. Eat breakfast, Lunch and Dinner with small high protein snacks in-between meals.
8. Try and eat every 3 hours to keep your body fueled and your blood glucose levels stable.
9. Pay attention to portions!
10. Indulge once and awhile but don’t overdo it!

If you have any questions, please contact me at ktullio@greaterscrantonymca.org.