Author: T Ross

I spent the first part of my life playing piano and composing music. I graduated from UCLA with a degree in music composition and cognitive science. Then I became a User Interface Engineer for four years. I moved home to Raleigh, NC to be closer to my family and began to freelance. On the side, I created a company called Elemental Nutrition & Wellness that uses interactive resource calculators to give people the tools they need to lose weight and boost nutrition. Now I have my own practice as a holistic nutritionist. I help people meet their weight loss goals by fostering self-motivation. You can reach me at ross@elementalnutritionandwellness.com.

Whole vs. Empty Calories

When it comes to calories, it is important to remember that not all calories are the same. The calories that come from whole, fresh fruits and vegetables (whole calories) are far superior than calories that come from ultra-processed foods (empty calories). Also, some foods have naturally empty calories like white rice. When faced with a decision, choose foods with the lowest W factor and avoid empty calories. The only exception is when you are trying to boost the energy in your meal to create balance.

Reinforcers

A reinforcer is a special kind of resource that is extremely nutrient dense. Use them to augment and boost the nutrition in your meals. A typical meal might need whole wheat tortilla (fiber value and protein value), blackberries (fiber value), or water (energy value) in order to be below threshold. You can see the list of reinforcers on the site here:

https://elementalnutritionandwellness.com/reinforcers.php

A Fast Food Meal

Here is a formation showing a typical fast food meal. As you can see, it’s low in fiber and protein, and high in sugar and carbs. This is an example of processed (empty) calorie foods.

Modulation Tool

You can use the modulation tool to scale resources. 1) Click on the orange arrow next to one or more resources. 2) Enter the scalar(s). 3) Click the blue update button and the scalars will be applied to the resource(s).

Nutritional Equivalence Proof

The following is an example of a mathematical proof using the Wellness System. The Nutritional Equivalence Proof shows that resources that have equivalent fiber and protein will always have more wholeness than resources that have disparity. To view, right-click and select “Open Image in New Tab” or touch and hold.

Smart Calculator

With the smart calculator, use the sort order itself to help decide what to eat. Simply choose resources near the top of their resource group. For example, pick the veggies with the smallest WF and meats with the smallest EF first. In this way, choose based on nutritional value instead of name or preference. By selecting nutrition, less nutritious foods can be added to gain energy. For example, below is a powerhouse breakfast and it’s only 391Cal. The nutrition comes mostly from the quesadilla and the energy comes mostly from the egg and the juice. Visit the Smart Calculator here: https://elementalnutritionandwellness.com/smart.php

Animal Products and Cheese

When it comes to animal products (or fibreless resources), we cannot sort them according to their W factor since it is infinite. So instead, we sort according to the E factor or energy density. Since fat has more calories per gram, this tends to create a cascade from lean to fatty. Looking at cheese, you can see how the leaner cheeses give way to the fattier ones. Use this analysis next time you cook something with cheese in it.

Keto and water

In order to eat a ketogenic meal, you naturally have to eat a larger portion of fat. This translates into an elevated E factor in the calculation. This is normal and is to be expected for keto eating. Luckily there is a solution for those keto dieters: water. Just drink more water and the E factor will go down. An average keto meal needs at least 480g of water to raise the energy value.

Juice

Juice is perceived to have many health benefits. They say juicing can reduce your risk of cancer, boost your immune system, remove toxins from your body, aid digestion and help you lose weight. Even though juice does have important micronutrients, it has too much sugar to be considered healthy. Besides, eating the whole fruits or veggies will give you the fiber and protein that the juice lacks.

Soda to Water

Are you trying to make the transition from soda to water but keep getting stuck? This is what I did. First, switch from soda to diet soda until you have some success. Once you’ve done that, switch to soda/sparkling water mixed with liquid Stevia (you can get this at the grocery store). This will feel like you’re drinking soda but you’re not. Lastly, drink water with small amounts of lemonade or lemon juice. Then just water with the occasional splash of lemon juice (lemon juice helps with your alkalinity).