I had Pandora on in the background the other day, and I couldn't help but notice a commercial that came on between songs.
"Truly Hard Seltzer... Only 1 gram of sugar!"
The phrase had to have been repeated a few times because it stuck in my head. I immediately went to my phone to look up the nutrition facts for Truly. Sure enough, only 1 gram of sugar! And that definitely beats out a can of Coke at 39 grams of sugar!
Overall, though, a Truly has 100 calories and a can of Coke has 140. Clearly the sugar content is a no-brainer, but overall calories are similar.
While we often gasp at those folks who still drink regular, non-diet pop, we somehow celebrate those who choose Truly over beer, or White Claw over a margarita, as if the 300 calories from 3 Trulys won't interfere with any health and fitness goals. But I digress.... this post isn't even about alcoholic beverages per se, it's about choosing quality foods (and drinks) that promote health, performance and longevity.
So while these tips have been around longer than I've been alive (which to Yessica Martinez is centuries), I think they need to be repeated. And before you just scan over them and think "yeah, yeah, old news", see how many you can check off the list.
(NOTE: nutrition strategies differ from person to person, but generally speaking, these are good rules of thumb to fall back on.)
1. Choose whole "natural" foods. Remember that the more closely the food is as it appears in nature (apple) is better than a more processed version of that food (apple sauce or apple juice). Even if the ingredients say "organic" or "no added sugar", be mindful of not only what else is in the food item, but also that any processed food is digested and absorbed differently. (And also looses some nutrients in the processing process.)
2. Have balanced meals. Before you can decipher how many pre and post workout carbs, can you piece together a meal that has balanced macronutrients? What that means is, do your meals contain a quality protein source, quality carbs and a "good" fat? Many of my female clients struggle with this, as their meals end up being carb and fat heavy, with little to no protein. This protein issue can be an entire post in itself, but make sure your meals have a balance of all 3 macros.
3. Choose food over drinks. While this kinda goes along with number 1, I will always promote eating actual food. Some of my clients argue that they just have to have a glass of OJ with breakfast, or their daily coffee run is a fancy drink. Even if you justify those calories into your daily needs, you'd still be better off replacing your 500 calorie drink with an actual food meal or snack. Nearly every time I work with a client where we switch out liquid calories for real food, we see progress, even if calories stayed the same. And yes, this includes alcohol. Your Truly hard seltzer might have no sugar, but it still contains 14g of alcohol (which your body processes very differently!)
4. Fruits and veggies. Let me say something bold.... no one ever became obese by eating too much fruit. Have you ever tried to eat an apple, and a banana and a cup of berries all in one sitting? It's tough! Why? Because it fills you up! So generally speaking no one is going to over eat their calories in fruit. Plus, the micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) we receive from fruit far outweigh the sugar debacle. Fruit sugar does not just turn to fat. In fact, I encourage my clients to grab some berries or an orange if they are craving something sweet or get hungry between meals. It's a great option instead of the chocolate bar. A little goes a long way.
5. Don't let marketing labels fool you. This whole post started out talking about how the Truly brand makes us thing that just 1g of sugar isn't bad! That's just a small example of how packaging makes us think we are choosing something good. "Low fat", "gluten free", "organic", "whole grains".... do your research and be mindful of what is in the product regardless of how it's marketed. Also another good reason that choosing whole foods is a great option... there's no packaging to fool you!
5.5. Eating out. I'm adding this in here because it's a big culprit for people. While there are tons of good options besides McDonald's nowadays, being in control of how you cook your food is a plus. You can control the amount of oil, sauce and other things used. And the biggest culprit here is portion sizes. It's easy to choose a "healthy" meal, but later find that it contained 3 serving sizes.
While these things seem so simple, they are good rules of thumb to fall back on when nutrition overwhelms you. In this day and age, yes, it can be tough to always choose perishable foods because they go bad. But with some practice and planning, I'm confident you can do it. (Frozen options are a good back up as well.) To give you an idea of what we eat on a daily basis, here's our staple list of groceries:
Chicken breast
Ground beef and/or steak
Red/yellow potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Rice
Veggies (peppers, onions, tomatoes, broccoli, brussel sprouts, celery, carrots, etc)
Fruit (bananas, apples, Cuties, strawberries, blueberries)
Eggs and egg whites
Plain greek yogurt
Peanut butter and other nuts
Oats
(NOTE: We also buy waffles, cereal, bread, rice cakes, pasta, taco shells, deli meat and a few other things. We do have 2 kids, and these items listed Christian and I eat sparingly and strategically.)