Your Wellbeing: Simplifying a healthy lifestyle

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — Working on a diet plan can be tough, especially with the internet offering all kinds of advice at every turn; one chef says it doesn’t have to be stressful, and success can come with small gradual changes.

Chef Tyler Layne is the owner and head chef at Box Eats. It is a whole-food-driven meal prep business for people looking to eat well but may not have the time to cook with all-fresh ingredients. It was born from Layne’s own health journey that began in college.

Latest Headlines

“I started having, my friends over for dinner, and I called it Paleo Night, and I was in culinary school. It was an easy way for me to make some side cash.”

Paleo is a diet focusing on unprocessed foods like meat, vegetables, fruits, and fish. It excludes dairy, grains, and legumes. Chef Layne doesn’t practice a diet that strict anymore, but he says adhering to a diet like that for so long taught him a lot about fueling his body in a way that ensured he got the nutrients he needed while still enjoying his meals.

“The best thing you could do is just try to eat real food as often as you can,” he said.

While Box Eats makes a point to offer Paleo and Whole30-friendly options, the basis for his weekly recipes is built on macronutrients.

“Macronutrients are proteins, carbohydrates, and fats, and that’s basically the fuel source your body needs on a daily basis just to operate,” he said.

Click here to see all of our wellness stories 🩺

A subset of dieters count their macros, and it can be a good way to monitor if your body is getting enough of those essential nutrients to either lose, maintain, or gain weight.

Chef Layne maps out the macros so his customers know, along with calories, how many grams of protein, carbs and fats are in each of his dishes.

Finding your macro count is an individual journey, one Chef Layne says doesn’t have to apply to the average person just looking to live a healthier lifestyle.

“You don’t have to do that if you’re just eating real food,” he said.

By real food, he means choosing unprocessed options over processed ones, thinking about options that have a decent amount of protein to feed your muscles, carbs to keep you full and healthy fats. If you can do that, he says, you’ll have more energy and feel fuller longer.

📲Download the WHNT News 19 App to stay updated on the go.
📧Sign up for WHNT News 19 newsletters to have news sent to your inbox.

A fan favorite at Box Eats is the meatloaf meal. He said on the surface, meatloaf with mashed potatoes may not sound like the healthiest option, but when it’s made with whole foods, the macro count and caloric intake fits a healthy diet.

He said the challenge comes when you don’t know what’s going into your meal. It’s especially hard to follow when going out to eat.

“There’s just so much garbage in food that you eat out and you don’t even realize it. You’re just getting nothing out of it,” Chef Layne said.

That’s not to say, ‘never go out to eat.’ Chef Layne said it’s important to have a good relationship with food and eat those feel-good favorites; just in moderation.

“If you want to do the 80-20 rule that’s a good one to follow. 80% of your meals can be healthy and 20% of the time you can add a cheat meal.”

CLICK HERE for News 19’s Interactive Radar 🌩️🌦️☔

He follows a similar formula.

“Listen, I’ll have McDonald’s sometimes, too, all right,” he said. I’m not saying you have to cut all that stuff out completely, but, you know, as soon as you start to notice that you’re feeling way better when you eat real food, you won’t you won’t want to eat that stuff.”

Prioritizing a healthy diet can also prolong your life. The CDC reports good nutrition can ward off health problems like heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.

“All you really have to do is, is just do a little bit of Google research and you’ll see that, like, changing your diet can change your whole life,” Chef Layne said.

To see more about Box Eats and the business meal plan, click here.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHNT.com.

link