The Nutritional Component in a Healthy Lifestyle at 50 and at any age

​​​​Hopefully, if you are reading my second post, you are serious about some sort of fitness journey.  Maybe you’ve started the challenge of doing a simple plank every day.  I hope so! And if this is the case, congratulations!  You’re doing it!  Stick with it, just do something everyday and gradually build up to more.  Some days will be tough.  Just tell the little voice in your head that you’re going to do it.  This is key.  The second piece is to face the foods you’re eating.  I am not saying to give anything up- just log it.

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Do NOT Be Overwhelmed by food.  
​This is very important!  The whole food part of getting in shape is a little overwhelming at first.  It stresses most people out. It looks different for each person.  It’s hard to imagine giving up your favorite foods.  Let me tell you I have not.  I do not recommend trying to give it all up. It’s just important to monitor and become aware.   If you are using an app like MY Fitness Pal, which is free and I’ve mentioned in previous posts. Or even if you’re logging everything on a piece of paper this part of your journey will come together faster than you think.   I am still logging every single thing I consume, every single day.  I have been doing this for the last 3 years. My daughter has been logging food for over a year now. We even log it all on vacation and when we blow out our calorie count so we always stay aware.  

The important items to note in a food log are calories, protein, fat, and fiber.  According to www.healthline.com “The macronutrient distribution ranges are 45-65% of daily calories from carbs, 20-35% from fats and 10 - 35% from protein.”  Now, using the app, it will automatically tell you how much of each thing you need and you can monitor how much you have already consumed and how much you have left for the day.  Again, this may seem overwhelming at first but it gets easy, very quickly.  My 15 year old daughter started using the app as well and has quickly learned what her eating habits should be.

It is necessary if you are using an app to adjust your weight and goals as things change so that your calories adjust accordingly.  I cannot emphasize enough how helpful using an app is.  My daughter told me after she started noticing results that she cut back on things like ice cream and chocolate. She had no idea portion sizes or how much she was consuming in wasted calories every day.  I was exactly the same when I started.  Stopping to put it in the app causes a PAUSE and requires you to think about portion size and the calories versus worth of this food to you.  Of course we still love ice cream and chocolate but we have found some healthier versions.  My daughter is now a huge foodie and loves to be involved in the grocery shopping.  I went from 15 minutes in store, to an hour sometimes.  It is so worth it!  We look at all the labels and discuss ingredients.  I know my daughter has a great foundation for healthy habits for a lifetime.

The key takeaway, though, is thinking about your food and having to act on it, writing it down or inputting it in an app forces one to be honest and really reflect before consuming.  This is huge when it comes to habit or stress eating.  Using the app caused us to see good days and bad days and overall trends in our eating.  It helped to eliminate items and to find better options.  One major change for our family was meal prep.  We figured out very quickly if all of the fruit and vegetables were washed and easy to grab that made it so much easier to choose healthy over junk.  I started washing it all, cooking a huge batch of veggies and lean meat in portioned sizes once a week.  Even though it’s all portioned to grab and go in our refrigerator we still log each thing we consume.  I, as the cook, log what I am prepping as I go and send a screen shot to my daughter so she has it all there.  Sounds like a lot, I know!

Is it a lot though?  Actually the meal prep is fun in our house.  This is important.  If you can get someone else involved or do it as a way of relaxing and not a chore it makes all the difference.  My oldest daughter is home from college for the summer and these days of meal prepping find us all in the kitchen as a family talking about our lives and snacking on the healthy stuff.  For us it has become fun and not a chore.  As far as logging the foods, it’s easy.  While I prep, I scan barcodes, input the ingredients and measure portions.  It’s not too much once you get in the routine.  If this seems overwhelming there are meal services and delivery companies that will do all of that for you.  Most of what I suggest is low cost and do it yourself methods.  Our workout routine is low cost and at home; and our food prep is the same.

Just start by entering what you eat in a day in the app, or writing it all down.  Actually measure portions so you see what the portion size is.  It doesn’t matter if it’s healthy or not just start the process.  Once you do that you will be able to see where you are and realistically face what changes you need to make.  Do it in small steps.  I can tell you logging it will be surprising at first.  So many eat and have no idea just how much we are consuming mindlessly. That was me. If I can do this, anyone can.  Please contact or comment, I love to engage with my readers.  Follow me for our ongoing journey and more tips that we’ve incorporated.  Check out my Instagram @SheDo50Too for what’s happening daily.  Our newsletter subscribers get all sorts of bonuses like meal planning and exercise routines.  Subscribe if that sounds good to you.  Good luck on your quest for good health!

Photo notes:   Items in my house on a meal prep day.  Fresh vegetables being washed and chicken breast cut into serving size portions, pan seared. 

I am not a health care expert, but I am sharing what works for our family.  Please consult your healthcare provider before implementing any of my ideas.  Nothing in this post is sponsored.  Everything mentioned is what we actually do.  There is no intention of any copyright infringements with any material posted.  All posts and media are the property of SheDo50Too.  

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