I imagine that no one reading this is going to be shocked at the basic message of this nutrition article – sugar is unhealthy for you. Hopefully, some of the facts and numbers that are shared will illustrate just how poor our eating habits in the United States are today.

For more healthy recipes, check out our Doctor of Fitness Healthy Recipe Corner!

Ingredients

• 1 Cup dried organic & unsulfured apricot pieces
  (0 g Fat, 4 g Protein, 116 g Carbs, 16 g Fiber, 480 calories with fiber, 416 calories without fiber)
• 1 Cup dried pineapple pieces
  (0 g Fat, 0 g Protein, 136 g Carbs, 4 g Fiber, 544 calories with fiber, 528 calories without fiber)
• 2 Cups almonds
  (136 g Fat, 8 g Saturated Fat, 92 g Unsaturated Fat, 36 g Monounsaturated Fat, 60 g Protein, 48 g Carbs, 32 g Fiber, 1656 calories with fiber, 1528 calories without fiber)
• 2 Cups walnuts
  (120 g Fat, 8 g Saturated Fat, 20 g Unsaturated Fat, 92 g Monounsaturated Fat, 32 g Protein, 24 g Carbs, 12 g Fiber, 1304 calories with fiber, 1256 calories without fiber)

Since it is quite true that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, I decided to start by sharing some of my oatmeal recipes. So stop having breakfasts of coffee and donuts, or coffee and bagels, and start eating healthier.

Oatmeal is an incredible food. Of course I am referring to the whole rolled oats, or steel cut oats, and not the instant, loaded with sugar varieties. Below is a comparison between a typical sugar-laden instant oatmeal, whole rolled oats oatmeal, and steel cut oats oatmeal.

“What do you mean not all calories are not the same? Your last e-newsletter discussed how 100 calories from broccoli was different from 100 calories of white bread or chicken. I was totally shocked by this. Can you explain this a little more for me?”

This was just one of many similar questions that I received in response to my last response to a question on counting calories. Here is a little more background on calories and nutrition. The definition of a calorie has nothing to do with the human body. A calorie is defined as the amount of energy needed to raise one cubic centimeter (cc) of water one degree Celsius.

Most people may remember from their nutrition classes that certain fats, carbs, and proteins each provide a set number of calories per gram. Fats provide nine calories per gram, carbohydrates and proteins each provide four, alcohol provides seven, and water provides none. However, once nutrients are in the body everything changes.

Here is one question that I was asked this past week.

“It has been stated that women should eat a minimum of 1200 calories per day or else their bodies go into 'starvation mode' and their metabolism starts slowing down.  That said, if you are exercising, do you have to net out at 1200 calories (ex - eat 1600 burn 400) or can you eat 1200 and then burn off calories from there?  What is the optimal mix to exercise and lose weight?  Does it include a high protein diet? “

This is a great question. I have been asked this or similar forms of this question numerous times by my clients over the years. There are many parts to this question, and I will try to address them each individually.