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I would
bet that without even thinking, you could name
4 or 5 diets or eating plans that are in the popular
media...Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem, Atkins,
South Beach, etc. Every time you turn around,
there's a fantastic "new" approach to
eating. It's enough to make your head spin!
But
it doesn't have to be that complicated. I've got
some easy-to-follow nutritional principles that
will help keep you on the right track. Beginner
or advanced, these will work for you!
1. Focus your eating on natural,
unprocessed foods as much as possible.
While
I know it's not always possible to get fresh fruit
and veggies and other unprocessed foods everywhere
you go, your body will always respond best when
you feed it foods that are not altered through
processing. Your body has evolved over thousands
and thousands of years to process foods in their
natural state - it's only relatively recently
that processed foods have appeared on the scene.
Your
body has the digestive mechanisms for efficiently
processing foods in their natural state. When
you add in the fats, salt, sugar, additives, etc.,
your body starts having a hard time digesting
and coping. Think of it like trying to put regular
gas into a vehicle that runs on diesel. It may
run, but it's not going to be very efficient with
the fuel and it could cause problems down the
road (no pun intended!)
Bottom
Line: Eating foods that are not processed allows
your body to function more efficiently. You'll
lose fat without even trying.
2. Get plenty of good quality,
lean protein sources in your diet
When
you're training, your body has a much greater
need for protein. During weight training and endurance
training especially, your body is constantly breaking
down muscle tissue. Protein is required to rebuild
it. By regularly feeding your body good protein
sources, you'll be able to hold onto and build
muscle mass easier.
Good
sources of lean protein include meats (look for
leaner cuts like sirloin), poultry, eggs (while
not lean, eggs will not shoot up your cholesterol
as many worry), fish, low-fat dairy, soybeans,
and various legumes (beans).
As
far as how much protein your body needs, this
will vary according to how much you weigh and
your activity level. A level of around 1 gram
per pound of lean bodyweight is a good guideline
(we don't count total bodyweight because fat is
not metabolically active and doesn't require protein
to sustain it).
3. Don't be afraid of "good"
fats
Fats
can be extremely beneficial, even when you're
trying to lose weight! Fats are important in a
tremendous variety of bodily processes including
hormone production, immunity, joint and organ
protection, and even burning bodyfat. Without
the "good" fats, your body will not
function as well as it could.
"Good"
fats include sources such as fish, nuts, flax
oil, borage oil, and olive oil (there are many
other good sources as well). Increasing your intake
of these good fats can help keep you feeling good
and burning your own bodyfat more efficiently.
Your
total fat intake should be around 30% of your
daily calories. A good way to go about getting
this is to try and keep your focus primarily on
low-fat foods while purposefully adding the "good"
fats into your diet (like eating a few almonds
every day or taking fish oil or flax oil capsules).
4. Carbs are fine
Despite
all the talk about carbs being the enemy, it's
important to note that carbs and foods that contain
carbs can actually be quite good for you! It's
generally the refined sugar added to foods that
is the problem, not the carbohydrate as a nutrient
on its own.
5. Non-nutritious foods should
be minimized
This
is an easy one. More than likely, you already
know that you shouldn't be eating Cheesy-Poofs
or chocolate bars 3 meals a day. The calories
you get from these foods don't come with any actual
nutrients. When your body is missing nutrients,
it craves more food (not to mention the insulin
response to the sugar in many of these foods)
and you tend to eat more of the poor food that
doesn't have nutrients in it.
It's
ironic to think that many overweight people are
actually malnourished! When you eat nutrient-dense
foods, your body gets the nutrients it needs and
functions much better.
5. Salads, fruits and vegetables
will give you lots of fiber, roughage and nutrition
Eat
plenty of salds, fruits and veggies every day.
This is usually one that everybody already knows
yet doesn't normally focus on. The fiber in the
foods helps keep you from getting too hungry and
helps keep your digestive system clean.
6. Just do the best you can
It's
not always easy or convenient to follow good eating
principles. There are plenty of tasty temptations
to be found every time you turn around.
The
REAL key to proper nutrition is to focus on trying
to do well MOST of the time, not all of the time.
It's what you do most of the time that will give
you the long-term results you're looking for.
Determining that you MUST be perfect all of the
time is a sure way to set yourself up for disappointment
when the time comes that you don't eat a perfectly
healthy food choice.
Sometimes,
you just have to eat those Cheesy Poofs and not
worry about it.
---
For
more information on sound nutrition, I HIGHLY
recommend checking out the website of Dr. John
Berardi.
Dr.
Berardi is a well-known, highly sought-after sports
nutritionist who works with many national-level
sports teams and individuals (he nutritionally
coached a number of athletes in the last Olympic
games in Italy!). His eBook "Gourmet Nutrition"
is one of the most complete and well-put-together
performance-nutrition books I've ever read. Well
worth the price!
In
fact, I thought so highly of Dr. Berardi's expertise
in sports nutrition, I asked him to write the
meal plans for my "Metabolic
Surge - Rapid Fat Loss" program.
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