Gluten Free Avocado Toast

This is a way dang super easy breakfast! But i'll be honest, I eat it this for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It's just so fast and simple and this meal covers all your macro nutrient needs!

For those of you who need a refresher on what the "macro" nutrients are, these are nutrients that your body requires in large amounts for normal growth and development. Broke down into six classes of nutrients: 1. Water 2. Carbs 3. Fats 4. Proteins 5. Vitamins 6. Minerals.

Now, I could go all scientific ape wild on y'all but basically just know that each macro nutrient is processed through a different metabolizing system in your body. Each producing different kinds of energy your body needs to function over the course of all the days of your life. As we all know ignoring eating guidelines often produces a stereotypical unideal body image but what we really need to be observing is how unbalanced eating skews our body composition.  

Body composition refers to the absolute and relative amounts of the structural components of the body--- fat, fluid, muscle/tissue, and bone.  Body composition is best improved by following a combination of the dietary guidelines outlined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture and The Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA) training guidelines:

1. Consume a variety of nutrient dense food/beverages among food groups, limit sat/trans. fat, sugars, salts, and alcohol

2. Engage in regular physical activity (A minimum of 3 times a week, 30-60 minutes, low to moderate-                     intensity aerobic exercise. Resistance exercise two to three times weekly)

3. Choose a variety of fruits and vegetables each day

4. Consume 3C of fat free or low fat milk products each day

5. Achieve physical fitness with cardio, stretching, resistance, calisthenics

6. Consume 3+ oz. whole grain products a day

7. Consume <10% calories from saturated fatty acids and <300 mg/day of cholesterol, keep trans. fatty acids as low as possible

"Crash dieting and semi-starvation, especially without exercise, are not suggested due to the related loss of muscle and lean tissue. Weight loss can be estimated on the assumption that the loss of 1 pound of fat requires that a subject expend 3,500 kcal more than consumed over some given length of time, preferably about a week. The typical changes in body composition observed with appropriate exercise and diet include a loss of body weight, a loss of body fat, and no change or an increase in muscle and lean weight" (AFFA). 

To prevent weight gain over time, make small decreases in calories (300-500 fewer calories)

                  

Gluten Free Avocado Toast

2 pieces of gluten free bread toasted and buttered

1/2 of an avocado split and spread onto toast

4 pieces of lunch meat, 2 per slice of bread

1/2 a roma tomato laid on top

Sprinkle salt and pepper over your masterpiece and enjoy!!

          

 Just like our body composition needs balance and direction, so does our lives. In the book Launching Leaders by Steven A. Hitz, a proactive set of steps on how to find balance and organize our core values is laid out. "Core values are a concrete set of beliefs, principles, and ideals that guide the way a person chooses to live their life, and that motivates them to become a better person"

Step 1: Find Holy Ground

Step 2: Ponder

Step 3: Write Core Value Statements

Step 4: Rank Your Core Values

Step 5: Do Your Core Values Align

"Find Holy Ground" means to find your own personal physical location where you can go to find inspiration. Such as the beach, your bedroom, your favorite outlook. 

"Ponder" is the step while at your "holy ground" you ponder the type of person you currently are. Next, think deeply and seriously about the type of person you want to become in the future. 

"Write your core values" after you have pondered and have the image of your ideal self in your mind. This makes your dreams concrete and more attainable.

"Rank Your Core Values" means to list them in order of importance so you can focus your attention to what needs to be accomplished first and so you refrain from becoming overwhelmed. 

"Do Your Core Values Align" This step puts you back at your holy ground location to ponder on your list. Seeking for your inner voice and heart to validate these goals and give you the green light go ahead. 

When you discover who you are and what you were put on this earth to do, you will be filled with unstoppable power. Its within each of us. Remember self discipline is self love. Find the balance in both your health and your passions. You can do it!