Fruits are awesome!

Fruits are the "dessert" category of what we should eat, to me anyways. But the good news is that they are really not. In fact, the average person should be eating 1 - 2 cups of fresh fruit a day.

Now the USDA defines fruit as an actual fruit - or a fruit juice. We couldn't disagree more. fruit juice is often devoid of any of the solid parts of fruit that contain essential nutrients and fiber. Without those, fruit juice just becomes empty calories.

The only exception is if you take the entire piece of fruit and drop it in a powerful blender (like a Vitamix) so that you are still gaining the benefits of the entire piece of fruit.

How Much to eat?

• Half of what you eat should be fruits and vegetables. About 20% of what you eat overall should be fruits.
• Like most quantities, a lot has to do with gender and age.
• Male:
• Age 2-3: 1 cup
• Age 4-14: 1 1/2 to 2 cups
• Age 14+: 2 cups
• Female:
• Age 2-3: 1 cup
• Age 4-8: 1 - 1 1/2 cups
• Age 8-19: 1 1/2 cups
• Age 19-30: 2 cups
• Age 30+: 1 1/2 cups

Nutrients:

The Nutrients in fruit do an amazing job of keeping you healthy. Most fruits are naturally low in fat, sodium, and calories. None have cholesterol. So it's always a smart choice.

Every once in a while, everyone has trouble falling asleep. Maybe it's stress. Maybe it's caffeine. Maybe their sick. Who knows. But you lie in bed - and you don't fall asleep.

Fortunatley for us, human beings have been around and been not able to fall asleep for a long time. Tens of thousands of years (in one evolved state or another). So the problem of "How to Fall Asleep" is not new.

Thank Goodness, neither is the solution.

The ancient Indians called it pranayama - or breathing regulation. Although you can go into a lot more detail, suffice it to say that regulating your breathing can affect you mentally, physically, and psychologically. And the Indians aren't the only culture that discovered it, you can find these techniques in Yoga and throughout other ancient cultures.

We all know that rapid breathing can be a sign of fear or anxiety and is accompanied by a very alert state. But did you know that when you choose to breathe rapidly (like for a minute) - it will put you in that state? Maybe not afraid, but perhaps a little anxious and definately alert.

I'll wait for you to try it, because I can tell your going to. When you're done and say "Wow, he's right. That worked." You can keep reading.
Welcome Back. See how I squeezed that ad in their while you were busy? You're welcome.

So the opposite is true as well. Those clever Ancients also discovered that slowing your breathing can make you calm, relaxed and more prone to fall asleep. Recently a Modern Doctor claimed he "invented" this ancient technique.

Ummm. No.

Here it is in its simplest form.

1. Exhale through your mouth. (In most breathing exercises you inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Just so you know.)
2. Inhale slowly for about 4-5 seconds.
3. Now hold your breath for about 5-7 seconds.
4. Then Exhale slowly (through your mouth) for 8-10 seconds.
5. Finally, breath normally for about 10 seconds to "reset" yourself.

Take a look at (our rather janky) Healthy Living Guide Logo. There's actually some important information in there. Do you see the "X" in the middle? Above and below, in the big sections, are vegetables and grains. The two small side sections have protein and fruit. That's proportionately how you should be eating.

You'll notice that there isn't a section for Sugars, Sweets or Fats. Those are empty calories. If you want to stay healthy, limit empty calories to 100 calories a day. That's about 1 small snack.

So as you decide what to eat during the day, think about those proportions. High nutrient, good calorie foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, and lean protein foods contain the nutrients you need without too many calories.

Here are some ideas to get you on the right path:

Fruits and Vegetables:

• Eat red, orange, and dark-green vegetables, such as tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and broccoli, in main and side dishes.
• Eat fruit, vegetables, or unsalted nuts as snacks—they are nature’s original fast foods.

Making Dairy Work:

• Switch to skim or 1% milk - they have the same amount of calcium and other essential nutrients as whole milk, but less fat and calories.
• Try calcium-fortified non-GMO soy products as an alternative to dairy foods. 
• Try Fat Free Greek Yogurt. Its basically regular yogurt that has less moisture. It also has 23 grams of protein per serving!

Smart Grains

• Choose 100% wholegrain cereals, breads, crackers, rice, and pasta.
• Check the ingredients list on food packages to find whole-grain foods.

Protein - Here to pump you up!

• Twice a week, make seafood the protein on your plate. 
• Eat beans, which are a natural source of fiber and protein. 
• Keep meat and poultry portions small and lean.

EMPTY CALORIES

Eliminate empty calories by cutting back on foods high in solid fats, added sugars, and salt. Eating foods that have mostly added sugars and fats loads you with extra calories you don’t need and changes your metabolism to a fat storing mode. Too much sodium may increase your blood pressure.

Dissolved Sugars are Sneaky Bastards. This isn't jus soft drinks. It's fruit drinks, Super Sweet Coffeeccino's from your favorite coffee bar and more. Seriously, just drink water. Personally, I like sparkling water (buy in a bottle or make with a Soda Stream) and a twist of lime. There are 0 calories in that drink. Conversely, there are about 10 teaspoons of sugar a can of soda.

Cake-like, frosting laden dessert? Think again. Try plain fruit for dessert.

Look for hidden sugars using the ingredients list. When a sugar is close to first on the ingredients list, the food is high in added sugars. Some names for added sugars include sucrose, glucose, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, maple syrup, and fructose.

You may want to look out for salt (sodium) in foods you buy. But you may not, recent studies seem to be mixed. But if you're concerned or your doctor has advised you to limit your sodium intake, compare sodium in foods like soup, bread, and frozen meals—and choose the foods with lower numbers. Add spices or herbs to season food without adding salt.

Saturated or solid fats are the death of me. I dropped 40 lbs by reducing solid fats to 10g a day. Some people just have a hard time processing them. I'm one of them. Look for sources of saturated fats—such as cakes, cookies, ice cream, pizza, cheese, sausages, and hot dogs—and put them on a 1 small serving a day list. Hell, be choosy.

You shouldn't eat an entire Hershey's chocolate bar or a sheet cake from Costco. But you can have a small serving. But why choose crap? I only eat high quality dark chocolates and gourmet cakes. If I can only have a small serving, I'm going to make sure it's worth it.

You can also switch out solid fats (like butter) for olive oil in cooking,and recipes.

Solid fats can be hard to find, but here are some places they hide:
Beef, pork, and chicken fat, Butter, cream, and milk fat Coconut, palm, and palm kernel oils Hydrogenated oil, Partially hydrogenated oil Shortening, Stick margarine.

DON'T EAT TOO MUCH

Finding out how much you should eat is easy with a lot of the available apps. myfitnesspal and LoseIt! both make it easy for you to set a goal and reach it. Don't worry about calculating items. Both apps put the data you need to make smart decisions in the palm of your hand.

One Simple Trick
Drink an 8 oz glass of water before you start your meal. It'll help fill you up. Then you can avoid oversized portions, use a smaller plate, bowl, and glass and stop eating when you are satisfied a lot easier. Cook more often at home, where you are in control of what’s in your food.

When eating out, choose lower calorie menu options.
Check posted calorie amounts. Choose dishes that include vegetables, fruits, and/or whole grains. Order a smaller portion or share when eating out.

You don't have to pay anyone to lose weight and stay healthy. Just make smart decisions. If you know the data going in (check the nutrition label), you can figure out what works and what doesn't.

There's really no secret to staying fit and being healthy. It doesn't cost anything extra. There are no pills to take or equipment to buy. In fact, it's so simple that the Fitness and Nutrition Industry will do whatever they can to make hide the truth.

It's a smart diet and regular exercise. And it's free.

But what is a smart diet? Do I need to subscribe to a special fad - eat only brussel sprouts for a week? No. It's actually published by the USDA and the HHS. It's so easy to follow that almost everything you eat has a nutritional label that maps right to the recommendations.

The hardest part is collecting the data from what you eat and how much you exercise to track your progress. At least that used to be the hardest part. Now, there's an app for that. Actually a lot of them.

You'll need two different types of Apps or trackers.

1. A Food Tracker: Lose It! and myfitnesspal are the two most popular. Lose It! is easier to use. myfitnesspal has more food items in it. But they are both good. All you do is record what you eat - and it maps it against the USDA guidelines so you can see if you've had too much fat - or not enough protein.
2. A Fitness Tracker: This may already come bundled with your phone. the iPhone 6 and newer Android models have it built in. Just turn on the app (iHealth or Google Fit) and it will start tracking your steps and activity. The downside of those two are that they are rather under-featured. I prefer the FitBit. They have a bunch of models, a robust community, a great app - and you wear them on your wrist.

Dave Hampton