Nutrition Tips

The following nutrition tips are taken from Tosca Reno’s 10 calls to action. These are great ways to maintain your weight and are recommended for people of all fitness levels and ability.

Nutrition 101. 

Action 1. Drink 2.5 to 3 L or 10-12 cups of water each day, even more if you are physically active.

2. Replace sports drinks and concentrated juice with water or lemon water. 

3. Find hidden sugars and remove. Try to do so in increments if you’re having difficult with heavy restrictions.

4. Eat protein at each meal and during sugar cravings.

5. Get in at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity each day.

6. To revive tired adrenals put several grains of unrefined sea salt on your tongue and add to water intake.

7. When you are feeling sluggish in the afternoon, drink water and eat a snack of lean protein paired with a complex carbohydrate and healthy fat.

8. Eat greens at every meal possible including breakfast.

9. When cooking, make planned leftovers.

10. Carry a cooler packed with eat clean foods to get through the day.

1. Drink 3 litres or 12 cups of water each day, more if physically active. Expectation – improves bodily hydration, restores us from being dehydrated to hydrated, body is 60% H20.  Benefits – replenishes primary component of all bodily fluids. Accelerates healing process. Delivers nutrients to all parts of the body; delivers healing components to injured tissues. Promotes effective digestion and elimination. I personally like pure glacial water but have cut back on single use plastics. Get a 1 liter water bottle that you can reuse and fill it up 2 or 3 times throughout the day.

t3. Find hidden sugars and remove. Expectation – reducing caloric intake and simple sugars. Removing most simple sugars from your diet is highly beneficial. Replace carbonated, juices and sports drinks with water. Expectation – significantly reduces daily caloric consumption. Will help reduce cravings and degenerative diseases such as diabetes and heart disease. I can’t begin to express the results our clients have seen through this seemingly small change. 

4. Eat protein at each meal and during sugar cravings. Expectation – protein is a key macronutrient of the human body; good quality protein is needed for optimal human health and function. Benefits – ensures robust repair, healing and growth; enhances immune function since antibodies are built from protein; improves hormone function as hormones are built from protein; improves quality of blood as red blood cells made from hemoglobin; ensures robust enzyme activity thereby increasing metabolic rate.

5. Get 30 minutes of exercise per day. Expectation – 30 minutes of exercise performed at MHR of 75% or higher is optimal Benefits – builds a strong heart and lungs; improves endurance; contributes to improved bone density, increases balance and flexibility; promotes release of “feel good” hormones or neurotransmitters in the brain thereby contributing to improved mood; promotes growth of axons and dendrites in the brain along with increased vascularity, thereby improving synaptic connections which in turn improves learning; helps prevent disease particularly Type II Diabetes; promotes longevity; protects against certain cancers; promotes the circulation of the lymphatic system thereby improving lymphatic drainage.

6. To revive tired adrenals put several grains of unrefined sea salt on your tongue and add it to your water intake. Expectation – replace regular table salt with unrefined sea salt. Benefits – increases mineral intake as unrefined sea salt contains ninety-two minerals and trace elements necessary for optimal health and function; helps to soften hardened lymph nodes while softening glands and muscles; stimulates salivation, an important step in digestion.

7. When you are feeling sluggish at midday, drink water and eat a snack of lean protein paired with a complex carbohyrdrate and healthy fat. Expectation – provides clean, whole, nutrient dense nourishment. Benefit – satiates hunger through the consumption of all three macronutrients; stabilizes blood sugar fluctuations; buffers release of glucose and other nutrients into the blood; hydrates; stimulates metabolism; satisfies hunger.

8. Eat greens at every meal possible including breakfast. Expectation – boost greens intake to increase health and eat greens with fat. Benefit – increases fibre content of daily diet thereby improving gut health, digestion and elimination; increases nutrient intake as most plants contain abundant phytonutrients necessary for optimal health. Provides alkaline materials for balancing blood pH. Helps fight disease through presence of antioxidants and other phytochemicals; enhances immune function.

9. When cooking make planned leftovers. Expectation – proper preparation helps increase success with endeavors to manage weight and improve health. Benefits – maximizes efforts in the kitchen; reduces cost of food by preparing in bulk and keeping you out of fast food restaurants; gives you control over what you are eating; allows you to manage your diet better by knowing what you are eating; helps manage weight; saves time; increases success with weight management efforts

10. Carry a cooler packed with Eat Clean foods to get through the day. Expectations – during the work week or busy times, pack a cooler with clean food to get through the day. Benefits – having a cooler with clean foods on hand prevents binge eating or eating commercially prepared and processed foods. It also saves time and money and prevents snacking.

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