Nutrition

Why. 
Healthy food is fuel for your body.  The opposite is true: junk in, junk out.  For women over forty, the margins for what you can eat and get away with start to narrow.  Most women notice that they just can't seem to eat the way they used to without feeling a bit bloated, gaining weight, or having a food "hangover." 

Many women over forty begin to crave what they don't need.  Like sugar and white food carbohydrates.  Why?  Sometimes it's because they are exhausted, and in an attempt for a pick me up, or to address hunger, they eat what's at hand – like sugar, white flour products, or drink another cup of coffee.  However, these foods, while good in the moment, don't give you the real fuel your body needs overtime.  And, eating too much sugar, for example, can make you crave it more.  Too many bad carbs and sugar will get stored as fat. Waists and hips begin to expand. 

Being over forty requires better food choices.  Choosing to eat nutritiously will give you the stamina, vitality, weight management, and well being that you need to enjoy your life and all the things you do.  Most important, there is a vast body of compelling scientific evidence that shows eating nutritious foods – vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, lean protein, fiber, soy – will reduce your risk for disease.  How you eat is up to you.  But consider how you want to feel and make the connection with the foods you are eating. 

What to do. 
We’re not saying you can’t eat what you love.  Just think about how much you are willing to invest in eating better.  You don't have to completely overhaul your diet, just make small changes, and over time they just might become the way you eat.  You may not want to eat vegetables or cut back on sugar, but just try it, and see if you don't feel better.  You are worth it.  Nutrition works wonders!

You don't have to give up what you love to eat.  Just think about it as the 80/20 rule.  Eighty percent of the time make good healthy food choices.  Twenty percent of the time eat what you love in moderation.  Find out what works best for you.  Here are some basics:

• Reduce sugar and white flour products and saturated fats and “bad fats" including deep fried foods, partially hydrogenated oils, and chips containing partially hydrogenated oils;
   
  
• Eat organic foods as much as possible;
   
  
• Eat the rainbow. Choose brightly colored foods like all the yellow/orange/green vegetables and fruits. Try and get 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables per day;
   
  
• Fish can be a great source of Omega-3s – the good fats.  Choose wild salmon, halibut, trout, or others;
  
  
• Eat small amounts of raw nuts and seeds like almonds, walnuts, filberts, cashews, and seeds of sunflower, sesame, pumpkin and flax - all good choices;
   
  
• Choose lean poultry and meats- when you do, prefer free range or organic poultry, and meat raised on grass vs grains.  These grass fed animals are lower in total fat and higher in good fats (omega 3 oils);
  
  
• Good fats like olive oil, nuts and seeds, nut butters (without sugar and partially hydrogenated fats);
  
  
• Drink plenty of pure water – sodas, juice beverages, or coffee are not substitutes – we mean pure water;
  
  
• Eat your beans such as pinto, red, kidney, black, or and lentils;
  
  
• Soy foods  = tofu, edamame, soy milk, soy nuts, soy yogurt;
  
  
• Eat grains in their complex carbohydrate form vs. their simple carbohydrate form.  Examples: brown rice (vs. white rice); whole wheat bread (vs white bread);
   
• Fiber is important.  Wheat or oat bran, fruits (like apples) and vegetables all contain fiber.  Make sure you get some everyday;
    
• One serving per day of low fat dairy – low-fat yogurt is a good snack and can aid digestion. Dairy is a good source of calcium.  Try nonfat or low-fat milk, low fat cheeses, cottage cheese;
   
• Avoid overeating, be mindful of when you are full; and
  
  
• Alcohol - Be mindful. Drink less than 7 glasses wine or beer per week. 

Some women find that eating moderately higher protein diet and lower (starchy) carbohydrate diet works very well for them.  You may want to explore this option.   

Tips for weight loss or management

• Exercise is critically important to maintaining or losing weight.  Make sure you exercise at least three times a week.  Do some form of cardio, or heart pumping exercise, which tends to burn more calories;
   
• Cut out or cut way back on sugar and white flour products;
   
• Be mindful of your eating. Stop when you are full.  Take smaller servings;
   
• You might consider smaller, more frequent meals, up to five or six per day and about 200 calories each.  You can stay satisfied longer and curb those sugar and carbohydrate cravings.  Choose protein snacks, as it can stabilize your hunger.  Or choose vegetables and fruit to snack on;
   
• Cut out sugary drinks, and high caloric beverages.  Drink water;
    
• Eat more rainbow foods.  Choose brightly colored foods like all the yellow/orange/green vegetables and fruits;
   
• Eat starches and fats sparingly; they are not the main dish.  Have your vegetables be dominant, with lean proteins and small servings of whole grains;
  
  
• When energy drops and cravings come, instead of grabbing junk food choose foods that will help you go the distance; and
  
• Get in touch with emotional eating patterns that are not good for you, and do something else, such as going for a brisk walk right after work instead of foraging through the pantry.
  
  
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