FITNEXT

Yes, nutrition is the most important factor when attempting a physique transformation.  I use the word attempt because your best efforts after months and months of training will only be “a good attempt” if you aren’t disciplined with what goes into your body.

 

Nutrition is at least 75 percent of success.  How close have you been to reaching your fitness goals and fell short?  Along with resistance training and cardio, how swiftly did you lose a pant size?  When you strayed from your diet, how swiftly did you gain the pant size back?  Finally, in overall health and body functions, did you feel better or worse while eating healthy?

 

To aid in your nutrition clean up process start by drinking more water!  Dietary recommendations posted by the Institute of Medicine suggest that men consume roughly 3 liters (equivalent to 13 cups) a day and women consume 2.2 liters (about 9 cups) per day.  Water also helps you stop snacking out of boredom or just because food is there.  Next time random hunger sets in, drink a glass of water.  15 to 20 minutes later if you are hungry it may actually be time to eat again.

 

When it comes to what you eat, eat perfect six days a week and allow the seventh day to do whatever you want (still abiding to reasonable portions ice cream, chips, alcohol, etc).  This allows room for sanity and lowers the chance for a poor nutrition relapse.  Here are some things you can do to prevent these relapses from happening:

 

-         Don’t make junk food easily available by keeping it in the house, in a book bag, car or a purse.  The less convenient junk food access is when food cravings kick in, the easier they are to control.  You are less likely to go out of your way to attain the item.

-         Make a conscious effort to familiarize yourself with food labels (serving sizes, nutrient grams, and calories).  Referring to the saying, “You are what you eat,” what happens to our midsection if we eat too much of a food high in fat?  Yes, we can pinch more of it.

-         Preplan by knowing what you are going to eat for every meal and snack.  Taking out the guess work will leave less room for aimless blissful eating; particularly if you always find yourself in a hurry with no time to eat!

-         Cut out all binge drinking!  This is a top reason why many of you have a hard time seeing results.  Alcohol is full of empty calories meaning, there is very little/no nutritional value to it.  In one nights outing drinking beer, mixed drinks, and shots, you can consume in excess of 2400 calories.  For an active male 2400 calories is equivalent to one day’s worth of eating.  Check out this article for alcohol intake guidelines, benefits, and risks. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/alcohol/SC00024  The following is another good site that provides calorie counts for your favorite drinks.  Pay close attention to that 12oz frozen margarita 739 calories, ouch! http://recipecircus.com/recipes/awsum34/TIDBITS—You-Need-To-Know/Beer.html).

 

Going a bit more in depth for preparation of meals:

 

1.   Know roughly how many calories you should be consuming for the day based off of goals and activity levels.  Keep in mind that healthy males should never drop below 1400 calories per day and females shouldn’t drop below 1200 calories per day unless advised by a trained health professional.  (This article posted by the Mayo Clinic goes in more depth on why calories play a major role in dietary success http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/calories/WT00011 it also provides other tips for successful eating!)

2.         Based on goals, know your nutrient intake ratio (carbohydrate, protein, water and fat).  For example, individuals looking to gain muscle mass should consume 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound in a day.  (A 160 pound male should consume up to: 160 * 1.5 = 240 grams of protein)

 

3.         Adhereing to nutrient ratios and caloric intake, break foods into 5-6 small meals/snacks.  Be sure to get use to measuring portion sizes.  This aids in managing calorie count.

4.        Once again, eat perfect six days and allow the seventh day for aimless blissful eating (within reason of courseJ)!

 

I like to base meal planning off of the food guide pyramid, this site is posted by the USDA, (http://www.mypyramid.gov/pyramid/fruits.html# ). The food guide pyramid offers recommendations for well balanced and nutritious eating habits that are essential to getting you results.  After browsing the website if you have more questions about nutrition guidelines don’t hesitate to drop us a line.

 

In closing, many have been falling short of our goals.  I want us to challenge ourselves starting tomorrow by following the tips for successful eating.  Also, incorporate some of the nutrition guidelines from the food guide pyramid.  This along with consistent resistance training and cardio will definitely get you the results you are looking for.  Stick with it for two weeks and see how far you can push your results, who’d know, maybe you’d want to keep it up because of the noticeable results.

 

Here is a quick/easy protein rich, energy snack or meal:

 

-         ½ cup low fat cottage cheese…90 calories

-         1 cup strawberries…50 calories

-         2 tablespoon sliced almonds…70 calories

-         Add Splenda for taste (if desired)…0 calories

                                                                       

Total calorie count 210.

 

Let’s get serious folks.  Break the cycle and make it happen!

 

Criston Smith

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 7th, 2008 at 1:56 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.