If God Made It, Eat It

This month I’m going to blog about nutrition. I may not be a licensed nutritionist…..yet, but I have a great deal of knowledge that I have gained over the years with regards to food. As we all know nutrition counts for 80%-90% of your results, the term “you are what you eat” is very true but I would like to add to that statement…

If God made it, eat it!

People often ask me what I eat on a daily basis or what “diet” I am currently on but the reality is I have only been on a “diet” once where I followed a specific meal plan and this was because of my participation in a bodybuilding competition.

            I want to make it clear that I am not speaking to those individuals who are training for a show or who have other very specific goals, I am speaking to everyone else. All of us are human and do not want to be restricted when it comes to eating and feel they have to eat the SAME thing every day. There is hope and a much simpler way of thinking which is my new quote If God made it, eat it! If it flew in the sky, walked on the ground, swam in the water or grew from the earth, tree or bush….eat it!!

            All natural food is good for you and will give you nourishment which your body needs. Stay away from things in boxes, bags or cans.

Keep things real and clean.  

Besides the If God made it, eat it rule, here are some other principles that will help with weight management.

1.     Calories in vs calories out. It’s simple math when it comes to calories, if you eat more calories than you burn you will gain, if you eat less calories than you burn you will lose. By keeping your intake of food the same and consistent on a weekly basis and continue to burn calories, you will have a constant calorie deficiency. Two other notes to be mindful of are: Do not starve yourself as your body needs proper nutrition to work efficiently. You should check the Canada Food Guide for pointers. You should also find out how many calories your body needs based on age, sex and activity level.


2.     Try to keep your nutrition consistent as much as possible. I know I said before that most people don’t enjoy eating the same thing every day, but our bodies appreciate it. This is because our body knows what nutrients it’s getting and will be more efficient in processing. By keeping your food items consistent each week, it will be easier for your body to digest and get in a good rhythm to burn calories.


3.     Sauces and gravies on the side. If you do plan to eat out at a restaurant, keep it to a minimum and always ask for your dressings, sauces and gravies on the side. This will help reduce the extra calories greatly. The second reason for this is that you can dip and get the perfect amount of flavour with every bite.

 

Well everyone, that’s it for this week. I wanted to give a simple and basic guideline for you to follow and don’t forget, “If God made it, eat it! I will talk about “macros” in a later blogs but as my mom always said “you need to crawl before you walk”, so keep working at making changes slowly and we will work together to improve our lives.

 Thanks again for reading and don’t forget to follow me on IG @daniel_ashmeade or @jjratcliff to see my basic meals and progression.

God Bless

Picture 1- Apple Slices, Apple Sauce, Blueberries, Goji Berries (Super Food), Cinnamon
Picture 2- Baked Chicken, Garden Salad, Bock Choi and other veggies sautéed on the stove in olive oil