Eat to live
what does eat to live mean?
Eat to live, not live to eat. As time has passed and food has become readily available, we have been living to eat rather than eating to live (survive). The amount of calories have gone up, because we are consuming way more food than what we require to live each day. Our whole perception around food has changed, because it isn’t scarce anymore, we don’t even have to leave the house in order to get food.
How to eat to live
The biggest focus of eat to live is to make sure that you are getting: the correct amount of calories, the correct macronutrient ratio and most importantly, the correct amount of micronutrients. When you focus on these aspects, you will be eating to live.
what is calories?
A calorie is a unit of energy or heat that could come from a variety of sources. In a nutritional sense, all types of food including: protein, fats or carbohydrates are all important sources of calories which people need to live and function. Every cell in our body requires energy to function in its optimal state. If you eat as many calories as you burn, then you’ll maintain weight. If you consume less calories than you burn, you will loose weight and if you consume more than you burn, you will pick up weight. Just be careful not to eat too little calories, this will ruin your metabolism and cause you to go into starvation mode where your body will store and hold every calorie back, because it does not know when you are going to eat again. Consuming too little calories will also increase hunger and cravings and can lead to binge eating which will all be stored if you are in starvation mode. There is a fine line between eating less calories and eating too little calories.
What is macronutrients?
Macronutrients refer to the three basic components of every diet: protein, carbohydrates and fats and then a bonus which is water. Macro, meaning large, means that these nutrients are needed in larger quantities. Macronutrients help us grow, develop, repair, give us energy and make us feel good. They each have their own role and functions in the body. Macronutrients are mutually dependent in our systems. Everyone needs the same basic macronutrients, just not the same proportions. Our needs vary depending on our individual metabolic requirements including age, sex, occupation, activity level and hereditary factors.
What is micronutrients?
Micronutrients are not energy producing nutrients, but are needed to release energy from food. They are required in less quantities than macronutrients, but are just as important. Vitamins and minerals have important roles to play in the health of the human body.
Vitamins are components of our enzyme systems. It can be described as, acting like spark plugs in your car, energise and regulate our metabolism, keeping us tuned up and running at high performance. Although taken in minute amounts compared to macronutrients, a deficiency in even one vitamin can endanger the whole human body. Vitamins do not need to be digested, but need to be released from food. They give us vitality and are needed to be used as coenzymes to allow other chemical reactions to take place in the body. E.g. In metabolism, we need good supplies of B vitamins or our metabolism will be unable to efficiently turn our food into energy.
Minerals are those elements on the earth and in foods that our bodies need to develop and function normally. About 60 different minerals have been identified in the body, of which 21 are considered essential. Which means that they should be consumed on a daily basis. Gross minerals or macro minerals are required in big amounts i.e. calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, and phosphorus. Others are needed in trace amounts i.e. boron, chromium, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, selenium, sulphur and zinc.
Putting it all together
The biggest focus is to eat to live and not live to eat. Do not plan your day around eating, instead plan your eating around your day. Focus on getting the correct amount of calories, macronutrients (including water) and micronutrients and you will be on your way to a healthier happier you. For any more information regarding eat to live go check out my nutritional guide. This guide is about 206 pages long with all of the information you’ll need to start your journey to eat to live and continue it throughout your life.