The 3 Foundational Habits Of An Ideal Eating Routine

The 3 Foundational Habits Of An Ideal Eating Routine

May 1, 2016 // Nutrition

Can we agree that there is no one perfect diet? Of all the diets that exist, there are a common pattern of principles found across the board. When searching and testing the ideal eating routine for your lifestyle and goals, it’d be smart to ensure these 3 common principles are built into the diet of your choice.

 

Eat Often

One of the most basic, yet misunderstood principles of an ideal eating routine is to eat small meals regularly.

There are a lot of benefits to eating often, such as:

  • Feeling satiated throughout the day

  • Regulating your blood sugar (insulin) 

  • Naturally controlling portion size/overeating

  • Becoming more mindful within the eating experience

 

Why Eat Often?

When you eat often, you avoid those annoying, hunger feelings that people usually develop during gaps in between meals. And we both know that when you’re hungry, you’re hangry. Being hungry, or hangry, usually leads to bad food choices and habits.

Gaps between meals, such as skipping breakfast or waiting more than 4-5 hours between meals, negatively effects your blood sugar, especially if you’re involved in an intense work environment or focused project. Your blood sugar drops, along with your energy. As this happens, your body will start to send signals to remind you to eat again, such as shakiness, mood swings, and, of course, hunger. You can see where this is going. No bueño.

Portion size, or calorie control for the number-obsessive community, does matter in the big scheme of an ideal eating routine. When you have large time gaps between meals, you’re likely to overeat due to hunger. Your fork becomes a shovel, and you’re less likely to savor the taste and eating experience, which leads to overeating. No one wants to feel hungry, so the natural reaction is to eat until full. Fullness is a double-edge sword, which perpetuates into another time gap between meals, thus continuing the cycle of overeating.

These common eating issues are avoided when you have a systematic style of eating often.

The sweet spot is eating small meals every 3 hours. Here’s an example:

  • 7am: Small bowl of oatmeal w/ fresh fruit

  • 10am: Cup of greek yogurt w/ granola

  • 1pm: Bowl of chicken w/ veggies & avocado

  • 4pm: Piece of fruit or handful of nuts

  • 7pm: Salmon with quinoa & asparagus

 

Don’t overthink it. Keep it simple, just eat often.

Prioritize Proteins

A healthy, sustainable diet needs to be person-specific, catering to each individuals’ preferences and habits. Whether you have an active health goal (losing weight, adding muscle, increasing performance, avoiding diseases, etc.) or just eat according to your natural routines, you’ll want to keep the macronutrient PROTEIN prevalent in your food choices.

This doesn’t mean every meal must be filled with protein. Instead, be mindful of choosing a protein when constructing (and eating) most of your meals. Over the course of any given day, you want to aim for at least 30% of your foods were protein-based.

Think about it –> that means protein will account for at least 1/3 of your daily food intake.

Protein is a macronutrient, along with Carbohydrates and Dietary Fat. All three macronutrients account for Calories. All three macronutrients have important roles and are all necessary for optimal health.

Protein plays a vital role in maintenance and recovery of the human body. There are trillions of cellular reactions occurring at all times within your body, and protein aids in the repair and growth as the body is constantly adapting and evolving. Protein is known as the building blocks of life.

The main functions of protein are:

  • Repair and rebuild muscle tissue to become stronger and more efficient

  • Maintain a strong skeletal and respiratory system for performance

  • Maintain the immune system to fight off stresses and health invaders

 

Protein sources vary from plant to animal. Both have their own purposes and values, but ultimately each person should choice their protein source based off their lifestyle and ideology.

If you follow a Plant-based eating routine, the best choices for proteins are:

  • Broccoli, Spinach, Kale

  • Quinoa, Buckwheat, Amarth

  • Beans (including Lentils)

  • Nuts

  • Soy*, Tempeh, Seitan

                       *Known to cause many health-issues if consumed regularly or in high amounts

 

If you follow a typical Western-diet, the best choices for proteins are:

  • Fish (Salmon, Tilapia, Cod, Shrimp)

  • Turkey

  • Chicken

  • Eggs

  • Greek Yogurt

  • Meat**

  • Pork**

                       **Known to cause many health-issues if consumed regularly or in high amounts

 

Drink Clear Liquids

This is a relatively obvious concept of health, yet is vastly underutilized.

Hydration is the utmost important priority for an optimal body and health markers. From performance to basic life functions, water is a necessity.

Unfortunately, thanks to large beverage marketing and advertising, water isn’t regularly consumed by most people.

Without a steady flow of water, the body begins to break down.

Hydration accounts for every cellular function.

The more you hydrate, the better you feel.

Everything from skin, hair, nails, strength, energy, mood, hormones, etc. are all effected by hydration.

An ideal eating routine will emphasize hydration as one of its core principles.

This does not mean you cannot consume alcohol, soda, juices, coffee, milk, and other beverages.

Instead, think of hydration as a standard, not a substitute.

All “wants” can be consumed in moderation, as long as water is regularly consumed FIRST and FOREMOST.

Ideally, sip on water between meals.

If you’re eating often and drinking water in-between, you’ll experience amazing health benefits on any diet/routine.

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