Croton Mom/Bodybuilder's Nutrition Advice

Fat is bad.  For a long time, fat has been touted as bad.  Rather than consume it, we turn to fat free cookies, fat free ice cream-really fat free everything.  The fact is, we all need fat.  Fat aids in the absorption of nutrients, in nerve transmission and fat helps maintain the integrity of cell membranes.  This doesn’t even scratch the surface of how important fat is to a healthy body.  Your brain is fat!!  We need fat.  It’s getting the right kinds of fat in our diet that needs to be cleared up.  All fats are not created equal.  Some fats promote good health, while others increase the risk for heart disease.  The key is to replace the bad fats in your diet, the saturated and trans fats and replace them with good fats.  How does one do that?  Using olive oil in your salad dressings and for cooking, throwing some flax meal in your yogurt or your morning cereal.  Bring wild Alaskan salmon, walnuts, seeds and various nut butters into your diet.  There are also DHA fortified foods available for purchase in the local supermarkets.  You can also buy flax seed oil in your local health food store.  Add it to your smoothies; use flax oil over your salads instead of olive oil for variation. 

Skipping meals will make you lose weight. If you skip a meal, your body will think that you are in starvation mode and therefore slow down metabolism to compensate.  Also, when you skip a meal, you tend to overeat at the next one.  Your body is already sluggish, and you over consume calories because you are famished.  These two factors lead to weight gain.  An ideal approach is to eat smaller frequent meals throughout the day.  Basically, 3 small meals with 2-3 snacks worked in between.  For some this definitely is not ideal for a busy work day.  But with a little planning it can be done.  Throw some fresh fruit and pre packaged nuts in your briefcase and you are all set.  Take dinner leftovers for your snack.  Just make it a smaller portion.  Made pancakes on the weekend?  Make extra and refrigerate.  Use these extras as a snack option.  Whenever cooking, make extra!!  This is a huge help when planning out snacks for the week.