Fruits are full of natural sugars. Yes, it's better to eat a bowl of strawberries than a jar of cookies but you still have to limit your fruits. If fruit replaces sweet foods like candies and muffins, indulging is OK. Fruit may be safer to eat in excess than other foods, however, fresh fruits contain 15-20 calories per ounce. A medium sized apple contains about 120 calories, for example. Calories are calories, they stick around unless you burn them off.
There are a group of people that only eat fruit, called fruitarians. Fruitarians eat nothing but raw fruit and experience all sorts of health issues such as, dental decay, osteoporosis, chronic fatigue, skin problems, thinning hair, and more. This proves that a balanced diet is important. Especially for us yogi's, we need carbohydrates to be able to practice for 2 hours, right?So how much fruit is right for me? For most adults the recommended amount is 2 cups per day. It's not bad to eat more, just know that you will have to spend some extra time on the mat.
In addition to eating a balanced diet it's also important to have a balanced exercise routine. Use yoga as your daily centering and then get outside! Go for a walk, hike, bike ride! It's good to get our bodies all sorts of exercise and it's always good to be outside and connect with nature. It's not necessary to do a 2 hour yoga practice every day, actually if we all did that we would be burnt out! Remember, a yoga practice can be as simple as sitting and meditating for 5 minutes. No one ever said it had to be physical.
Click here for a great website called the Dietary Guidelines for Americans
Yoga is about treating our bodies like a temple, so being conscious of what you eat is of much importance! Remember, we are supposed to eat to fuel our bodies, not for recreation.
Happy eating!
No comments:
Post a Comment