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A healthy lifestyle – top 5 biggest pitfalls

Photo by Simon Migaj - Serenity and a healthy lifestyle

A healthy lifestyle - top 5 biggest pitfalls

There’s libraries full of literature about it: living a healthy lifestyle. As well as the internet, where there are thousands of lists and tips to living healthy. Even though this information can be very valuable, we have to admit we already know a lot about it. Just like us, you know very well that daily exercise and eating fruit is healthy – whereas smoking and going to the local kebab shop is not. We figured it would be smart to find out where things tend to go wrong. Therefore we created a list of the 5 most common pitfalls to living a healthy life, that way you can prevent falling into them.

Why wait until tomorrow, when you can start today with Jake

1. Getting too ambitious

It’s not a rare occasion that people decide to completely change their lifestyle overnight. They wake up and decide to head to the gym every day from now on, only eat cucumbers and to run 10 kilometres – untrained. After a few weeks they ‘crash’ down on the couch: “It’s impossible to maintain a healthy lifestyle.” If you recognize this part, then you’ve probably – together with many others – planned your lifestyle a little too ambitious. Becoming healthy, fit and strong starts with baby steps.

2. The ‘unhealthy-domino’

When people make one unhealthy decision, there’s often more that follow: it’s a domino effect. You wanted to work out this morning, but did not feel like it at all. In the afternoon one of your colleagues offers you a slice of cake, that you can not say no to. Then when you come home at night, the lights of the local kebab shop shine brightly and you simply can not resist. A lot of people that are experiencing this unhealthy-domino will often use the same excuse: ‘today was a failure anyway’, resulting in one unhealthy choice after another. Rather, after an unhealthy choice – which occasionally is okay – try getting a grip again on your (new) healthy lifestyle.

3. Poor choice of nutrition

Making the right choice when it comes to nutrition is not easy. A common mistake people make is eating too little or eating too little healthy variety foods. In order for your body and mind to stay healthy, you need a lot of different nutrients. If you have trouble doing so, consider trying the meal replacement shakes we make. Our shakes contain the exact amount of nutrients your body needs, like: protein, minerals and essential fats such as omega 3 and 6. And they’re tasty!

4. Taking on more than you can handle

There’s people who are always ‘busy bees’. Of course there is nothing wrong with an active lifestyle, but there are limits. In order to live and maintain a healthy lifestyle, it is of high importance to set and stick to your personal boundaries. And if you don’t? Well, stress is out there looking for you and it will find you. In the long run it can bring you nasty affixes like insomnia, mental health issues, and in the worst case: heart and vascular diseases. So listen to your body, and take a step back when you notice you’re under a lot of stress.

5. Make a routine out of it

A healthy lifestyle is not achieved in a day – and you do not have to. Rather, try going step by step choosing the healthy option in life, whenever you can. Go to work by bike instead of car, grab some fruit during lunch and meet up with a friend every week to do some exercises or work out. When you stick to this routine for a longer period of time, you’ll notice that you start making the healthy choices subconsciously: it’s now part of your routine and lifestyle. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle becomes a lot easier using this approach – even for you!

Jake makes complete food, like healthy meal replacement shakes. Our products contain all the nutrients your body needs – easy and quick, in one meal. Want to try Jake? Click here

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How many carbohydrates per day?

How many carbohydrates per day? Photo of salted fries in basket

How many carbohydrates per day?

We often get the question: “How many carbohydrates do you need to consume a day?”. The somewhat lame answer would be: “It really depends on the person.” Whether it’s lame or not, it is true. The ideal amount of carbohydrates you have to consume per day, depends on a long list of variables: your age, height, gender, weight, body-type, the amount of exercise, and so forth.

Carbohydrate management was never this easy

Okay, so we can’t say anything about the amount of daily carbs? Of Course we can: we’ve listed 3 categories down below, where we discuss the carb intake – from maximal to minimal intake. We also give some pointers on how you can easily manage and measure the amount of carbohydrates you take in.

What are carbohydrates?

Before we dive deeper into the ideal amount of carbohydrates per day, we’d like to briefly explain what carbohydrates are exactly. Carbohydrates, together with protein and fats, are the fuel your body needs. Your body turns carbs into sugar, which you can then burn. Furthermore, it’s good to know that one carb is not the other. There are significant differences between healthy (slow) carbohydrates and less healthy (fast) carbohydrates. The healthy carbs can be found in vegetables and fruit, whereas the less healthy carbs can be found in soda and candy.

Category 1: 120 - 200 grams of carbohydrates per day - normal to high intake

For the average human, who wishes to maintain its weight, an intake of 120 to 200 grams of carbohydrates a day deems normal. An important side-note: scientific evidence shows that taking in more than 200 grams of carbohydrates a day is rather unhealthy. Top athletes who spend hours a day on a racing bike, are an exception to this rule. If you’re not an athlete and exercise very little on a daily basis, you’re better off sticking to the 120 grams of carbs rather than 200 grams. This way you prevent your body from storing excess carbs as fat.

Category 2: 75 - 120 grams of carbohydrates per day - limited intake

In this category we discuss the limited intake of carbohydrates. If you’re trying to lose weight, this is the category you should try sticking to. Especially if you combine this intake with regular, daily exercise, you will lose weight over time. However, the rate at which you lose weight highly depends on the previously stated list of personal characteristics.

Category 3: 50 - 75 grams of carbohydrates per day - minimal intake

Whether there is a true minimum to the carbohydrate intake per day remains a topic of discussion to this day, even among scientists. But it is a healthy choice to make sure your body is not structurally getting too few carbohydrates. If your body receives too little carbs a day, it’ll start burning your muscles instead. Which is bad for your body, when done long-term. If you do decide on sticking to a low-carbohydrate diet, make sure to listen to the signals of your body, like headaches or nausea. When you’re not too sure on what you’re doing, do not hesitate to call in a helpline, like a nutritionist or dietician.

How do we measure the amount of carbohydrates per day?

Neat, we know how many carbs we need per day, but how do you know how many carbohydrates are in your food? Most (consumer) products have it written on the back. However, with a banana for example, it’s a lot more complicated. There’s plenty of information and nutritional tables you can find online, where you can find the amount of carbohydrates per product (like this table). When you keep track of your carbohydrate-intake for a while, you’ll notice that it gets easier over time – even without listing everything.

Jake makes complete food, like healthy meal replacement shakes. Our products contain all the nutrients your body needs – easy and quick, in one meal. Want to try Jake? Click here
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What Makes Jake Healthy?

The front-side of the Jake informational booklet held by a man with tattood arms

When we say Jake is healthy, what exactly does this mean? Here, we’ve summarised some of the key nutrition facts that make Jake a good choice for any meal of the day.

Jake is high in protein

Protein is an essential macronutrient with many functions in your body. One of these functions is to support muscle building and the growth of muscle mass. Protein is also important for the composition of your bones.

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Jake is a source of potassium

Each serving of Jake provides you with 25-33% of your daily needs of potassiumSource: Jake. Potassium is a mineral which helps maintain normal blood pressureA normal blood pressure level is less than 120/80 mmHg.
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Jake is a source of these vitamins and minerals:

  • Iron and copper

Iron and copper are minerals, which your body can’t make itself. They both contribute to the normal functioning of your immune system.

Every Jake meal provides you with 25-33% of your daily RDA for iron and copperSource: Jake.

  • Calcium and magnesium

Calcium and magnesium help you keep your bones strong and they’re good for your nervous system.

Every Jake meal provides you with 25-33% of your daily RDA for calcium and magnesiumSource: Jake.

  • Vitamin D

Vitamin D increases calcium absorption in your bones. It also supports the normal levels of calcium and phosphorus in your blood.

Every Jake meal provides you with 50-67% of your daily RDA for vitamin DSource: Jake.

  • Iodine, thiamine, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12

Every Jake meal provides you with 25-33% of your daily RDA for iodine, thiamine, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12Source: Jake.

Afraid to miss out on essential nutrients your body needs? You can always take our Jake meal replacement shakes or one of our delicious meal replacement bars.

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The Vitaminbar: Everything You Need to Know

We love food that’s easy, healthy and sustainable. Every meal replacement shake we make meets these three requirements. And yet, when it comes to ‘easy’, we know all too well that it means different things in different situations. Sometimes even pouring water into a shaker can be too much work. That’s where the Vitaminbar comes in.

The Vitaminbar is a 330-calorie snack that is ready to eat and easy to bring with you wherever you go. You can use it as a light breakfast, a 4pm snack or just anytime you get the munchies.

What’s inside?

Let’s start with what’s not inside. The Vitaminbar is completely soy-free, nuts-free, lactose-free and animal-free. As for the rest, it’s packed with nutrients.

Macronutrients

Each Vitaminbar contains 19-20g protein and has a complete amino acid profile. It’s all about the right combination of protein sources. The protein in the Vitaminbar comes from peas, oats and rice. Pea protein lacks the sulphur-containing amino acids cysteine and methionine, whereas oats and rice protein provide a surplus of them. Together, they make for a complete amino acid profile.

At 12-14g sugar per bar, the Vitaminbar packs less sugar than a banana and twice the amount of dietary fibre, at about6g). Fibre is important for the normal functioning of your digestive system and it helps lower your blood pressure.

There’s fat in there, too. The good kind. The Vitaminbar is a good source of essential omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. At the same time, we’ve kept saturated fat to a minimum, at 1.6-2.2g per bar.

Vitamins and minerals

With each bar you’re getting at least 25% of the recommended daily amounts of every vitamin and mineral. For particular vitamins and minerals, like vitamin D, phosphorus and iron, you’re even getting more than that. Here’s why.

Vitamin D and iron deficiencies are among the most prevalent micronutrient deficiencies worldwide. By increasing the amounts you get with each Vitaminbar, we’re minimising the risk that you don’t get enough of them.

At the same time, we always consider the absorption rate of different nutrients. Just like the rest of our ingredients, the iron we use in the Vitaminbars comes from plant sources. Its absorption rate is about 10%, which is rather low compared to the 25% absorption rate of iron from animal sources. To compensate for this difference without involving animals in the process, we’ve boosted the amount of iron per bar.

Vitaminbar flavours

The Vitaminbar is available in two flavours, Forest Fruit and Coffee Cacao:

Forest Fruit is a tight mess full of nutrients, whole grain oats and fruity bits. It tends to make a good first impression with its fruity scent and a flavour that’s just the right level of sweet.

Coffee Cacao is a chunky bar with a mild cacao flavour and an extra kick: it contains the same amount of caffeine as a regular cup of coffee. You can trust Coffee Cacao to wake you up and get you going.

Want to take a closer look at the Vitaminbars’ nutritional info? All details are here. For the closest look possible, order a box of Vitaminbars here.