Michi's Ladder is a simple way to assess your diet plan! Here's how it works... Michi's Ladder is composed of five different tiers of food. Tier 1 is the highest (i.e. best foods for your body - low-calorie, low-fat, with high amounts of nutrietns), and Tier 5 is the lowest (i.e. worst foods for your body - high in calories and fat, or low in nutrients). The goal is to focus on maintaining a diet that primarily consists of foods in Tiers 1 and 2.
So what do the tiers look like?
Tier 1: The Pious Tier
Foods in this tier include apples, asparagus, blueberries, broccoli, spinach, quinoa (and the most of your basic superfoods)!
Tier 2: The Happy Tier
Many of the foods in this tier are also superfoods, but these tend to be higher in fat. This tier includes foods like coconut, avocado, cheese, olive oil, and raisins
Tier 3: The Swiss Tier
These foods are ok, but in moderations. They include items like lean beef, honey, white rice, and popcorn
Tier 4: The Dodgy Tier
These are foods we should really try and stay away from - hot dogs, chips, artificial sweeteners, and potato salad
Tier 5: The Newburg Tier
And these foods are the worst - french fries, soft drinks, pastries, onion rings, and nachos are just a few of the items on this list
Michi's Ladder offers no serving amount or specific timeline for when to eat; instead, it is designed to help you assess your diet and make positive substitutions and changes. A great exercise I like to use is to print out the guide (click here for a copy of the Michi's Ladder Guide) and assess my current choices. Which Tiers do most of your foods fall into? Be honest with yourself!
Once you've determined this, it's time to climb the ladder! Look at tiers above yours and find out if there are suitable substitutions you can be making. For example, if you eat a lot of butter (Tier 4), consider switching to olive oil (Tier 2). Or if you find that you enjoy a lot of ice cream (Tier 5), how about switching to non-fat frozen yogurt (Tier 3)? Remember: the higher the tier, the more nutrient dense your food will be. (Note: While you may notice some healthier foods in the lower tiers, these are either calorie dense or nutrient deficient.)
Need help with your nutrition? Send me an email or follow me on Facebook! I love to help people reach their goals :)
So what do the tiers look like?
Tier 1: The Pious Tier
Foods in this tier include apples, asparagus, blueberries, broccoli, spinach, quinoa (and the most of your basic superfoods)!
Tier 2: The Happy Tier
Many of the foods in this tier are also superfoods, but these tend to be higher in fat. This tier includes foods like coconut, avocado, cheese, olive oil, and raisins
Tier 3: The Swiss Tier
These foods are ok, but in moderations. They include items like lean beef, honey, white rice, and popcorn
Tier 4: The Dodgy Tier
These are foods we should really try and stay away from - hot dogs, chips, artificial sweeteners, and potato salad
Tier 5: The Newburg Tier
And these foods are the worst - french fries, soft drinks, pastries, onion rings, and nachos are just a few of the items on this list
Michi's Ladder offers no serving amount or specific timeline for when to eat; instead, it is designed to help you assess your diet and make positive substitutions and changes. A great exercise I like to use is to print out the guide (click here for a copy of the Michi's Ladder Guide) and assess my current choices. Which Tiers do most of your foods fall into? Be honest with yourself!
Once you've determined this, it's time to climb the ladder! Look at tiers above yours and find out if there are suitable substitutions you can be making. For example, if you eat a lot of butter (Tier 4), consider switching to olive oil (Tier 2). Or if you find that you enjoy a lot of ice cream (Tier 5), how about switching to non-fat frozen yogurt (Tier 3)? Remember: the higher the tier, the more nutrient dense your food will be. (Note: While you may notice some healthier foods in the lower tiers, these are either calorie dense or nutrient deficient.)
Need help with your nutrition? Send me an email or follow me on Facebook! I love to help people reach their goals :)
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