Nutrition: Fuel for Life – Think Balance!

It’s amazing what you can eat! Obviously – because most foods simply taste so good. The truth is, as long as you’re practicing regular physical exercise, it is incredible what you can get away with.

I enjoy life and I love my food. However, I just can’t eat whatever and whenever I want it. If I did, I’d be even bigger. Years ago I wasn’t paying much attention to what I ate. I suppose a combination of being young(er), working a desk job, my naturally huge appetite, work stresses, and the fact I used to go out drinking as if I was still at University didn’t help. The end result was that I didn’t like the way I looked and felt most of the time. So I changed it. And so can you! I lost over 25 kilograms in less than 6 months. If you’ve been following my blog until now, you don’t need me to tell you about in society well documented health implications of being overweight and the benefits of looking and feeling good.

Would you like to change the way you look and feel great by making a couple of minor lifestyle adjustments? Perfect, you’re in the right place.

I mentioned in my previous post titled How Often Should I Train, in order to adjust our physical appearance we need to assess three life aspects: Exercise, Nutrition and Rest. One other factor (this is not to be underestimated) is how well we balance those. Think Balance!

There are more exercise routines coming up on this blog soon so be sure to check in soon. Today, let’s focus on our diets. I want to start off with the good news. You do NOT need to starve yourself of your favourite foods! I’m no friend of famous diets such as the Atkins Diet, the Raw Food Diet Plan, the 1,200 Calorie Diet, Caveman Diet Plan, Hollywood Cookie Diet, etc. Yes, they work short term but these diets are simply not sustainable. So, rather than cutting out the things we enjoy, let’s simply monitor and adjust our overall intake. Ask yourself, do you like chocolate? If yes, eat it, in moderation and enjoy every last bite of it. Do you like savoury sweets like crisps? If so, then indulge every now and again and in moderation but especially after you’ve been good for a while. Just completed 5 days of sticking to the 6 rules posted in my post titled Adjusting Your Lifestyle? Reward yourself for that – have a donut. Go on! I want you to! Enjoy the all taste and flavours. But do not binge eat and consume 5, 10 or 15 Crispy Cremes Dunkin’ Donuts. And remember – afterward that one it’s straight back to the 6 rules.

If you are the type of person that can’t stop after 1 you must do three things. (1) Don’t shop for bad foods you know you will eat. (2) Never hide food in the home. It doesn’t work. You hid it. You know where it is. You will find it and you will eat it. Don’t bring it home in the first place. (3) Remember, everything you consume has an effect on your body (Rule #1 @ Adjusting Your Lifestyle). That one donut isn’t good for you. But 15 of them are incredibly bad for you. Your liver needs to work through all that sugar, saturated fat and sodium contents. Think Balance! If you really can’t stop, hit the emergency break. Drink a pint of cold water as fast as you can and restrain yourself for a further 5 minutes. The hunger feeling will pass. By the way, feel free to repeat this process as often as hunger cravings outside of meal times appear. Never diet – make lifestyle changes.

One thing is for sure … You’ll end up on one of the above mentioned diets with the best intentions. And you will see short term results. But it will only last for a few weeks or months if you’re really determined. Eventually, you will crumble and give in to what you’ve deprived yourself of for so long. The way these diets are built you set yourself up for failure. Always Think Balance!

Before going into more detail on what you can eat and what you should not eat in huge amounts, it’s important to understand the various food groups, what they do for you, and where they can be found:

-          Carbohydrates (they give you energy) – found in sugary and starchy foods like potatoes, rice, cereals, pasta, bread and some fruit and vegetables.

-          Proteins (they help your body grow & repair itself) – when it comes to choosing meat, keep the following in mind. Lean cuts are the better choice because they are lower in calories and fat. Lean meats include white meat poultry products without the skin, extra-lean ground beef, pork tenderloin, beef eye of round, veal cutlet, lamb shank, 95-99% fat free luncheon meats. Fish, shellfish, tuna, salmon and even tofu are other great sources of protein.

-          Fats (they provide energy and help in re-building) – found in dairy products, red meats, some poultry and fish. IMPORTANT: Let’s cap this at 40-50gr / day!

-          Fibre (helps you digest food) – found food like cereals, fruit, bread and vegetables.

-          Minerals – (1) Iron is good for the blood. (2) Calcium is good for your bones. (3) Magnesium is good for your nerves. Minerals are in lots of foods but are especially in fresh fruit and vegetables.

-          Vitamins e.g. vitamin A, B, C, D, E - (they’re good for keeping your body healthy) – particularly good for your skin, bones and teeth. Vitamins are mostly found in dairy products (eggs, butter and milk), fresh fruit and vegetables.

In order for me to change my physical appearance I need to build lean muscle mass. If you’re still reading, you do too. To do so, it's essential to combine (1) an adequate calorie intake with (2) a solid muscle strengthening program. Once again, we need to get the right balance here! Not only is it essential to eat the right foods but we also need to slightly adjust our lifestyles to be eating at the right times. Now, it’s a good thing if you love food and enjoy eating (if you don’t please email me directly. I can help you!) because from now on you get to eat all day. I know this sounds strange but trust me, rather than having 2-3 large meals, lets switch to an all-day snack eating style. From now on we’ll be having Breakfast, Morning Snack, Lunch, Afternoon Snack, Dinner, Late Night Snack. That’s right! Below are some ideas and suggestions for what to have once for each of those meals.

Breakfast Meal Options:

-          Egg whites, or 1 hard boiled egg whites, whole wheat bread, jam or peanut butter

-          Yogurt, milk, cereal (whole wheat grain cereals – multi grains is the best option)

-          Lean Meat on whole wheat bagel or bread / toast

-          Protein shake or yogurt smoothie

-          Low calorie protein meal replacement bar

-          Banana, apple, small carrots, pears or orange

-          Water – ½ - 1 pint

Morning Snack:

-          Low calorie protein meal replacement bar or post workout protein shake

-          Yoghurt smoothie or yogurt with granola / fruit

-          Celery sticks with ranch dressing (low or no fat)

-          Assorted Nuts and berries mix – 1 cup

-          Beans and brown rice / celery sticks and peanut butter & milk

-          Fruit options – 1-2 cups of honeydew / watermelon  and/or mango

-          Water – 1 pint / or green tea (hot or cold)

Lunch:

-          Green leafy lettuce Salad with roasted chicken or tuna fish

-          SubWay Sandwich (6 inch)

-          Vegetable beef stew

-          Whole wheat pasta and arrabiata sauce

-          Sushi roll (8 pcs)

-          Spinach Salad with almonds, strawberries, lean meat

-          Cold water (1 pint) / or hot water & lemon juice

Afternoon Snack:

-          Fruit salad - variety

-          Two slice ham and cheese roll

-          Can of tuna with water

-          Milkshake or protein shake

-          Chopped chicken with hard-boiled egg and lettuce or rice

-          Yoghurt smoothie with protein powder

-          Water – 1 pint / or green tea (hot or cold)

Dinner:

-          Chicken/ lean meat, tuna/other  fish sandwich on wheat bread, no mayonnaise

-          Mixed salads with variety of vegetables – green leafy lettuce, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, onion

-          Chicken, asparagus or broccoli, brown rice, wheat bread – fruit dessert

-          Veggie or Turkey burger with lettuce, tomato onion – mustard – no mayo

-          Lean sirloin, green or lima beans, salad, whole grain garlic bread

-          Broiled Fish, steamed brown rice, salad

-          Cold water (1 pint) / or hot water & lemon juice

Late Night Snack:

-          Water - make up for missing glasses at end of the day to be better hydrated tomorrow

-          Whole wheat bagel

-          Whole wheat toast

-          Low / no fat popcorn

As you can see, there are plenty of choices out there! I promise you, stick to the 6 rules posted in my post titled Adjusting Your Lifestyle while enjoying these 5-6 meals daily and YOU WILL SEE AMAZING RESULTS!!! If you have to swerve off the road, always remember our overall goal is to limit fat grams to under 50gms a day and lower carbs to as needed for pre – post workouts.

While a large number of calories are needed to fuel both the workouts and tissue repair and muscle building, it is crucial to eat the right combination of calories to encourage muscle gain. More good news here, once you’ve built lean muscle you will need to consume a high amount of calories to keep muscle.

The above ideas should get us started for now and there is more to come. Firstly, let’s get into a good rhythm of regularly exercising (see How Often Should I Train) and we’ll be able to gain muscle and lose weight. Eventually we’ll be able to eat pretty much all day without putting on weight. That’s right – put the weights on the barbell/dumbbell (not on the body) while eating all day. Just remember small portions. Graze away!

Upcoming nutrition posts will include advice on identifying and picking healthy options at restaurants. I’ll also suggest some quick, easy and healthy meals you can cook at home at home. Keep checking in!! For now, I have to focus on training every other day. Eating right will just come naturally. 

If you don’t have enough time to eat healthy, stop watching TV!