What, in your opinion, is the single biggest NUTRITIONAL change most individuals can make immediately in order to see the best return?

Phil - That’s a tough question Jason. Honestly, I’d say probably becoming more familiar with the frequency of eating that should happen before anything else. Too many people eat once or twice, maybe three times a day and don’t realize why they can’t drop body fat.

Your body’s primary object is survival. It will hold onto anything that it doesn’t have enough of. If you eat once a day, your body thinks it going into starvation and will end up storing many of the calories from that single meal as fat.

If you eat frequently, it says to itself, hey I’m being bad so I don’t need to store anything as fat. Meal frequency is important just as important as variety! That’s the single most significant thing for starters anyway. Then introducing enough fiber, good fats, variety.

Lynn - In my opinion, the single biggest nutritional change someone can make is to be conscious and mindful about what they are putting into their bodies!  Sound too simple?  It is!!  Don’t eat until you’re full, eat until you are comfortable.  It doesn’t take much to satiate the body, and get the nutrients you require.  Eat until you feel comfortable, and are no longer hungry.  And if you know you are eating something that makes you uncomfortable or that you know is not healthy for you- your body will give you signals!

Pay attention to those signals (that little voice in your head is one), and you will reap the benefits – good health and weight!  Be mindful and conscious.  You will notice a difference in the way you feel the first day you start focusing in this direction!   Your body will tell you when it wants food-don’t eat if you are not hungry!  Don’t keep eating if you are full!   That is eating un-consciously!    Pay attention!  And try and eat without watching TV or reading.  You’ll eat less, and eat better and feel the results very quickly!  And before you know it, you will be eating healthier foods.  It will all happen very naturally!

Teaching this ‘theory’ to my clients has brought great results!  I have had a client actually lose 25 pounds by adopting this mindset about nutrition.  It works!

Kathy - Well considering that about 20% of what you do causes 80% of your problems it’s a matter of identifying that 20% so you can achieve the results that you want without driving yourself nuts! So is part of or all of the 20% Alcohol consumption for you?  Is it consumption of Wheat?  Is it consumption of Dairy?  Is it consumption of Refined Sugar? Any or all of these could be a culprit in your case!

A detailed review of your diet and lifestyle will easily determine just where your 20% lies. Once this has been determined, the decision to cut down or eliminate whatever the problem area is, is the next step. Doing so will allow you to have fun watching your nutritional/chemical imbalances (that you may not think/or know that you have) disappear!  How will you know if you’re not sure if this is the cause of all your frustration?  Well if your stomach starts to flatten, your allergies go away, your acid reflux disappears, your acne clears, your bowel movements become regular, you don’t have other issues that you used to have then maybe there WAS something chemically off with you after all.

Find your 20% problem cause!

Look for more from Kathy on this issue in the near future!

Shanna – Water! Simple glorious ice cold water. Drinking water is one of the best nutritional changes you can make for you and see immediate results. You probably have heard the 8 glasses or 64oz a day, that’s a little vague.  I usually recommend a minimum of half your body weight in ounces. For example, if you weigh 140lbs the minimum amount of water you should be drinking is 70oz.  That’s a minimum remember, if you are an athlete or exercise regularly you need to replace the water that you are losing through sweat on top of the recommended amount. Three to six ounces of water for every 20 minutes of exercise is a good rule of thumb, but each person’s sweat rate is different. Just use your head; if you are running outside in 90 degree weather then you probably need more than 6oz every 20 minutes.  Not drinking enough water causes dehydration.  Symptoms include energy loss, headaches, dizziness, and irritability. It’s estimated that 70% of Americans are regularly dehydrated. Regularly!! Stop taking pills and drink some water people! Maybe you do drink water just make sure it’s enough.  Thirst is not really a good indicator of hydration, usually by the time you feel thirsty you are already dehydrated. Though it’s a little gross, the color of your urine is a good indicator of how hydrated you are, it should be close to clear.

Okay now that you know how much to drink let’s talk about why. First of all, the human body is made up of more than two-thirds water. Your body needs water to function. Just to hit the tip of the iceberg; water helps regulate body temperature, carries every nutrient, vitamin, protein and chemical messenger, is essential to the cleansing processes, and regulates metabolism. That’s right drinking water helps your body metabolize body fat. Awesome! And it’s practically free!

Please be smart about your water drinking! Avoid plastic water bottles for the sake of your planet and your body. Besides that fact that over 100 million in the US alone are ending up in landfills every day, plastic water bottles contain the toxic hormone-disrupting Chemical BPA. Instead of plastic water bottles opt for aluminum bottles, steel bottles or corn based biodegradable plastic bottles. Your body and planet will thank you!

Great information once again ladies and gentleman! Very informative and thought provoking for our readers! Thanks so much.

eFitness for Life coaches taking part today:

Coach, Phil Nicolaou (pnicolaou@efitnessforlife.com)

Wholistic Kinesiologist, Lynn Higgin (lhiggin@efitnessforlife.com)

Coach, Kathy Kenney (kkenney@efitnessforlife.com)

Coach, Shanna Tokarsky (stokarsky@efitnessforlife.com)

Please feel free to contact any of our coaches to discuss your fitness or nutritional questions! Visit eFitness for Life today to begin a program with your very own personal coach!

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• Fitness and Nutrition Coaches Round Table #3
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• Fitness and Nutrition Coaches Round Table #1
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