Monday 23 May 2011

Beachcamp Rule #3: Natures diet pill

As I've blogged before fruit and vegetables (particularly vegetables) are natures diet pill - the higher the percentage of your diet that is made up of fruit and veg the easier you should find it to lose weight.

This is because your body uses your appetite to increase your intake of essential nutrients for both macronutrients, as per yesterdays blog, and micronutrients. Fruit and vegetables are rich in two important macronutrients - fibre and water - but also a great source for lots of vitamins and minerals. These will help satiate the bodies need for these micronutrients and are also nutrients used up in the fat burning pathway in the body so actively help the process of fat burning. In addition the antioxidants they contain help get skin and hair in good condition, important for looking your best on the beach.

Therefore Rule #3 of BeachCamp is to eat some fruit and/or vegetables with every meal and snack you have.

For example have berries with breakfast, a banana for a mid-morning snack, salad with lunch, carrot sticks with hummus for an afternoon snack and a few different vegetables with your dinner.

Always aim to eat more portions of vegetables than fruit in a day (I try and restrict fruit to mornings only) and limit tropical fruit, such as bananas and mangos, to just one portion per day.

Not only will this make sure you're getting all the nutrients you need, but by making sure you include fruit and veg with every meal and snack it will fill you up and stop you eating other less healthy foods and snacks.

if you're not a fan of fruit and veg and struggle to get enthusiastic about them I strongly encourage you to read Jason Vale's Slim for Life: Freedom from the Diet Trap
for some healthy brain washing to the virtues of eating a diet high in fruit and veg,

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