Rochelle’e Healthy Mailbag

by Rochelle Griffin

Yesterday on social media, I asked “What question would you like me to answer?” I loved the responses that I received…so Thank You to everyone who took the time to comment, tweet, and email me. For the sake of time (or we’d be here for quite a while,) I’m going to tackle 3 of the questions that I actually get asked a lot:

Mary asked “What foods should I eat on a Budget?”

Tim asked “How Much Protein should I eat?”

And Rochelle (love the name! <G>) asked “Nutritional Labels: What should I look at?”

So let’s jump right in, shall we?

“What foods should I eat on a Budget?”

It’s a misconception that eating healthy is expensive. Now, yes, it CAN be expensive if you only shop at specialty, organic stores, but you DO have options. It simply takes some planning.

I did a GoFitCoach.tv episode a few weeks ago about this very subject! Grab your pen & paper and take notes as we tackle this question. Watch Now!

“How Much Protein should I eat?”

Let me preface this answer with I’m speaking about protein needs for the average person…not the pregnant woman, the body builder, or someone ill.

Ok, with that understanding, protein is important to our body and the maintenance of our muscles. As important as it is, many of us actually eat more than required.

In general, having 2-3 ounces of cooked lean meat at each meal is sufficient.

To figure out your specific needs, grab a calculator. According to the recommendations of the Institute of Medicine, the average adult needs 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. For those in countries who use pounds instead of kilogram, be sure to convert over to kilograms first (1 pound/2.2 kilograms.)

So if I weigh 140 lbs, I need to divide 140 by 2.2 first. 140 lbs = 63.6 kilograms. Next I multiply 63.6 kilograms by 0.8 grams. This means that I would need a minimum of 50.9 grams of lean protein per day.

There are a few pitfalls to eating too much protein. 1) If you aren’t eating lean protein, you are placing yourself at greater risk for heart disease. 2) You can’t forget that protein has calories. If you eat too much protein but aren’t working out and burning those calories, the excess will actually turn into fat. Yep, it’s true. 3) Excess protein can put a strain on our kidneys.

Lesson: Protein is important, but it’s not the only thing that our body needs.

“Nutritional Labels: What should I look at?”

Anyone else go into the grocery store and just stop and stare at all the information available to us…not knowing what to exactly look at? If you answered yes, you are NOT alone!

Because everyone is different and has different medical needs, I’m never going to tell you to not look at specific information on a label. Instead I’m going to share with you what I tend to look for.

I always look at the serving size and the calories. Often you may think you are holding 1 serving size, but it’s actually 2 or 3!

Next, I look at the ingredients. If sugar is one of the top 3 or 4 ingredients, I put it back. If I can’t pronounce something in the ingredients, it does not come home with me.

If I’m still holding the item at this point, I move onto the fat content. I want something low in saturated and trans fats.

Lastly, I look at sodium content.

Now here’s a secret that I’m going to share with you about nutritional labels. If all of this seems a bit overwhelming to you, I have a solution…

If you choose to eat clean, healthy, whole, fresh foods, you aren’t going to have to worry about what the label says! It’s the pre-packaged, preserved foods (that aren’t good for us anyways) that we must be concerned with.

So today we tackled eating on a budget, protein in our diet, and reading nutritional labels. I must tell you…this has been fun! It’s an honor to serve you daily, and I think that I’ll need to do “Rochelle’s Mailbag” more often!

To Living Your Best Life,

Rochelle Griffin, RN BSN FDN-P

Rochelle Griffin, The Wellness Detective™, is a Registered Nurse (with over 22 years experience) & a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition™ Practitioner who has transitioned her love for fitness, health, & freedom into a 7-figure International company that now helps others live Their Best Life.

She founded Your Best Life, Inc with her husband Keith after stepping onto the edge of physical ruin with her health & the health of their young son. Having experienced a complete turn-around, they now desire to give hope & support to those who are dissatisfied with their current situation.

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