Eat. Move. Improve.: A Practical Nutrition, Fitness, and Mindset Guide Creating Momentum Toward

1 Common Core

Diets and nutrition advice takes many forms. If you look closely, common core principles reveal themselves. Following these core principles will most likely provide positive health results.

-Anthony DiMarino

 Everyone is different. We have unique nutritional needs and wants. Some people function well on low carb, low fat diets. Others function well on low fiber vegetarian diets. Some people have extreme allergies and need to avoid certain foods altogether. Some people need to lose weight while others need to gain weight. You get the picture.

But, we all want the same thing.  We all want that strong and sexy core.  We want that perfect body with hard muscles and curves.  We want those formed, rock hard abdominals and obliques.  To get there, each person needs to follow certain common core practices to stay healthy, well, and improve their bodies. These principles are pretty universal and agreed upon by most health professionals. First, each and every one of us needs to feed our bodies with certain, necessary nutrients:

High quality protein for strength and healing

Whole grain carbohydrates for long lasting energy

Fruits and vegetables for vitamins and minerals

Low fat dairy for healthy bones

Healthy fats for maintenance

Water or fluids to stay hydrated

Consider these principles as well when choosing your foods:

No one food is good or bad. We create our personal beliefs about foods and humanize them from our experiences and thoughts around them.

Moderation is key: small and occasional desserts or snacks are OK.

Choose to eat high quality foods to satisfy hunger and nutritional needs. Do your best to avoid eating out of boredom or emotions.

High quality foods and calories will almost always create better health than low quality foods and calories.

Preparing foods at home will be more healthy than eating out most of the time.

Consistent portion sizes are key. Appropriate portion sizes of foods will help you get to a healthy weight and keep your body working well.

Exercise will make your body strong and get you to a healthy weight over time.

Of course, this is a short list of core principles toward a balanced, healthy meal plan. Consult a dietitian and/or personal trainer to find realistic food practices for you.

2 Eat from the Earth

If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.-J.R.R. Tolkien

In my opinion, there are WAY too many food choices out there. Convenience foods, fast foods, natural foods, cooked foods, raw foods, TV dinners. I can go on and on. No wonder most of the American population is growing larger and larger every year. There is so much food available at our fingertips. We feel that we have to try it all or we will miss out. OR, we become confused on what to buy. We walk up and down the grocery aisles trying to decide on which foods are actually good for us. Companies throw claims onto every package in an attempt to sway the buyer to buy their cookies, chips, soda, granola bars, or any other food product you can find.

Food manufacturers, health advocates, and scientists have made nutrition more complex than it needs to be. They throw around the claims such as all natural, non GMO, gluten free, and many others. While some of these are rooted in truth, some may not matter! For example, all natural has been thrown around so much without any standard definition. An all-natural product may not help you achieve the results you want. Think about it: sugar is all natural. However, it does not aid in weight loss! Also, the gluten free movement has gained momentum in the last few years. Many people perceive that gluten is a bad nutrient and causes weight gain. In reality, gluten is a protein that helps bind carbohydrates together to form starch. Gluten does not contribute to the total calorie count of a food. The only people who need to worry about gluten are those with celiac disease.

Instead of falling prey to these claims, focus on foods that come from or were made with ingredients from nature. Look around. This world is a wonderful place. Nature offers awesome wonders wherever you are. The bold colors of nature amaze me whenever I stop to appreciate their beauty. If you think about it, each and every color is represented by nature:

Green grass

Blue seas

Orange flowers

Red birds

Purple vegetables

Yellow leaves

Black rocks

Brown wood

White sand

Obviously, this just names a few. I’m sure each and every color shows itself in some way in the natural world. More importantly, foods come in all different colors. In order to have a balanced, low calorie diet, it is imperative to eat a multitude of colors. I have had so many people tell me they won’t eat one food or another because of its color. For example, they won’t eat anything green. They prefer brown and white. Where is the fun in that? Eating foods that only have neutral colors sounds boring!

Fruits and vegetables are the most colorful of all the foods. They have vibrant and bright colors inside and out. There are purple plums, green grapes, red raspberries, and blue blueberries. You can buy pineapples and apples or watermelons and watermelon radishes. You get the point. Interestingly enough, each of these colors usually contribute something specific to your body:

Dark leafy greens: vitamin K for blood clotting and blood flow

Orange and yellow citrus fruits: vitamin C for a strong immune system

Purple and blue produce: antioxidants to fight cancer

Red beans: iron for healthy blood

Brown grains: complex carbs for long lasting energy

Bottom line: The colors of foods bring more benefits than what you see on the surface. If you’re committed to changing the way you look and feel, consider adding more color to your plate. You may be surprised how much your eyes and your body thank you!

Everything we need to eat was created on this earth for our use. Animals, fruits, vegetables, nuts, herbs, spices, seeds, and water are all renewable food resources that come together onto our tables to form a healthy diet. They are fresh and can be cooked in unlimited ways to create amazing dishes. If you know it came from nature, you can feel confident that it could fit into a healthy diet. Now, please don’t take this as an end all, be all list. There are still natural food products that do not totally contribute to a healthy diet: sugar, bacon, fatty meats, whole milk, butter, etc. Use your common sense. However, if you stick to foods that come from nature, there will be less questions and fewer doubts about whether or not they are a good choice. There would be no need to check if they are all natural or made with artificial ingredients. Keeping it simple: if your food choices came from the earth, you can be confident they can round out your plate!

3 Marketing Misdirection

You can take a 2 pound bag of sugar, and slap a label on it that says 100% fat free, and while factually true; this is unbelievably misleading.

-Jason Vale

What Marketers Want: Currently, everything is marketed to some degree. Products are marketed. Services are marketed. They get advertised in many forms: radio, television commercials, written ads, posters/banners, product demonstrations, trade shows, etc. Marketers and advertising agents WORK HARD to gain your attention. Once they gain your focus, they tell you what they want you to hear: buy this, use that, switch to us. Their main goal is to get your business and make you a loyal customer.

What Consumers Want: Consumers want different things than marketers. Basically, we all have needs or wants that need to be satisfied. Each customer has differing wants and needs. For the most part, consumers want CONFIDENCE AND HONESTY. They want products and services that meet or exceed their expectations and match what is promised by marketers. When it comes to food, consumers want safe, tasty, and unaltered foods. They want foods that are non GMO, all natural, fat free, gluten free, guaranteed to help lose weight,,etc. They also want foods low in fat, sugar free, low in calories, or even organic.

Claims to Question: The trouble is, most marketing terms do not have a standard definition. Marketing, labeling, and advertising is a creative and artistic aspect of business. Therefore, it is open to interpretation. Marketers use keywords and hot topics to gain consumer’s trust. Many food manufacturers develop their food products by switching out ingredients to satisfy these claims. Sometimes, they add harmful or