NUTRITION TIPS & SIMPLE EDUCATION
SUSTAINABLE APPROACH
Unless you need a specific nutrition plan, most people who are successful long term and do not become a slave to food have a balanced and flexible approach when it comes to nutrition. That being said if you've had 15-65 years of bad nutrition you have to educate yourself on what that plan may be. Here are some great places to start......
Stay Balanced with the "basics" described here, have a variety of food and know what your food consist of. Knowing what your food consist of in this sense means is it a fat, carbohydrate, or protein? Present it as a multiple choice question. Of course some foods have multiple categories but start simple and ask yourself, "Is this primarily a fat, a carb, or a protein?". Then the next question could be, "Is this low, medium, or high quality?"
By keeping this exercise simple it will allow you a non-time consuming way of just starting to educate yourself on the basics of nutrition. Bring your family in to the mix too. You'd be surprised by just asking them what 1 or 2 food items are per day how much knowledge they'll gain over a year.
FOOD BASICS
Food is made up of 3 types of energies or calories. Fats, Carbohydrates, and Proteins. Alcohol is another one but contrary to popular belief alcohol is not a healthy part of any nutrition plan. I'm not saying you cannot have it but for now it does not need to be discussed.
Fats(9 calories/gram)-are a great energy source as it has over twice as many calories as protein & carbohydrate. Fats also help with hormones, skin and hair. Fat helps absorb vitamins A, D, E, and K, fat-soluble vitamins.
Carbohydrates (4 calories/gram)-are the most efficient and preferred form of energy for our body & brain. There are three main types of carbohydrates found in foods: sugars, starches, and fiber.
Proteins (4 calories/gram)-are in every cell in the body. The body needs protein from food to build and maintain bones, muscles and skin. Proteins in the diet come from meat, dairy products, nuts, and certain grains and beans. Proteins can come in the form of complete(animal sources) and incomplete(most plant sources)