The purpose of food

Scott Schwab:
The food we eat obviously acts as a sustaining force for our bodies. However, what else does the food we consume do? The food we eat helps us in many ways and should not only be looked at as sustenance. We should look at the food we eat as fuel or energy for our daily activities, and a rejuvenating or cleansing agent.

Through our digestive track we are able to push the previous food and even toxins through our body and on its way to the sewer. However, have you thought about what happens when the food stops moving or does not move as frequently as it should? According to a popular health magazine, we should urinate 4-7 times per day and have a bowel  movement 1-3 times per day.

Naturally we will have a slowing of our metabolism as we age. However, we still should be going daily. A healthy digestive track would suggest that it is being used daily. For our digestive track to be used on a daily basis, we need to be eating food multiple times per day. Dieting and other myths may have people missing meals and consuming their calories through liquid.

Though I am a proponent of cleanses and even fasting regularly, it should be the exception to the rule and not the rule. This is what creates such a harmful effect for our bodies. Going hours without food only prohibits our ability to lose weight and to be healthy. Missing meals, does not always equate to losing lbs. What does equal weight loss is healthy choices, all things in moderation, and a defined lifestyle of how we want to live.

If we are serious about getting into shape, all of our goals should support that. Socializing is great and many of our gatherings include food. I'm all about the gathering, but we need to include the control aspect as well. With the holiday season approaching, we can gain 10-20 pounds before January. However, we can also take the precautions of maintaining our health through a couple of different suggestions.

Here is a list of 5 things we need to be doing all year round and especially now.

1) Drink plenty of water ( remember the recommended is 8 glasses per day). If you want to go the extra mile and get the extra benefits, you can take your weight and divide it by two and that is the amount of ounces you will drink per day.
2) Take a fiber supplement (I recommend Myogenix Pro-fiber + Enzymes). We carry it at our store and if any of you are looking for a product with digestive enzymes, fiber, and pro-biotic, you will not find anything better. I take it daily and love the results.
3) Portion control means controlling our intake throughout the day. For best results we should be eating 5-6 times per day. This is only hard, when we have not planned. Eating 2-3 meals per day our body holds onto fat every time it gets hungry. That process happens every 2-3 hours.
4) Eat the right foods would be the most beneficial thing that we can do daily. Even more than getting exercise, our intake is the most essential element to our health. Our focus should be getting fruits and veggies throughout the day and mixing in whole wheat, grains, dairy, and nuts for a complete pyramid.
5) Exercise is important and will create definition and continue to provide the calorie burning that our bodies do on a daily basis. Remember that more muscle takes more energy. The more we spend building muscle, the more calories our body burns on a daily basis without doing any exercise.