Today I am going to focus on nutrition! But…before I do that
I want to talk about the difference between a diet and a lifestyle change. Diets
have an expiration date, once you reach the goal most go back to the old way of
doing things. This is detrimental because you end up right
back where you started. Another reason why diets are bad is because most people
partake in “crash diets” defined as,
“A
weight-loss diet undertaken with the aim of achieving very rapid results”
You may be happy that you lost all the weight so quickly,
but the majority of people gain it back and then SOME! You also want to be careful when participating in “fad” diets
and anything that says you can lose “10 pounds in 10 days”. Losing weight
quickly means that you are at such a calorie deficit that your body is actually
gone into starvation mode and is burning muscle because it is energy dense,
instead of fat burning.
The most important thing that I have learned about diet is
that your body needs, requires nourishment! This
comes from getting a steady amount of protein, carbohydrates, and fats. I have
been on multiple different diets, and I can say with certainty that I feel my
best when I have a balanced diet of protein, carbs, and healthy fats. Now everyone is different and goals are
different so I, nor anyone else, can tell you how many you should get on
average. For my competition I am trying to cut (get leaner) while still
building muscle, so my protein is high and carbs are lower. Here is a website
that you can go to and put in your info and it will tell you what you daily
should look like. I know that it is a pain in the butt to calculate the exact
amount of food that you need at each meal, but in the end it is worth it I promise.
I am three weeks in and can see an amazing difference!
When I started my fitness journey I knew that I was going to
have to make lifestyle changes. No more Taco Bell runs or Kit Kats during the
day. I don’t worry so much about calories, as I worry about the “macros” of
what I’m eating. One thing that I have learned recently is “macros” and
“micros”. Macros are your proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Micros are your
vitamins, phytochemicals, salt, etc.
Now with all this information we can start to make a meal
plan! The best meal plan is one that has six meals spread throughout the day in
order to maintain an active metabolism. You want to plan three larger meals; breakfast,
lunch, and dinner and three small snacks. You need to think about the times of
day that you will be active and plan around those (i.e. I work out at after
work so I need to eat a larger dinner to help with the calorie deficit). If you
work out in the morning, breakfast should be your biggest meal, etc.
****Before you read
my meal plan please be aware that I am currently cutting for a bikini
competition so my diet is very strict, this is not an average diet. Use the
macro calculator to find how much you should be taking in daily and use this
meal plan as a base****
My basic meal plan…
Breakfast:
4 oz of protein (eggs)
1/3 cup of carb (oatmeal, Ezekiel bread)
Snack 1:
4 oz. of protein
½ oz. of nuts (or 1 tbs. of natural peanut butter)
1/3 cup of carb (brown rice, black beans, sweet potato)
Lunch:
1 cup of green vegetable (broccoli, small salad)
4 oz. of protein
1/3 cup of carb (same as above)
Snack 2:
1 ½ scoop Protein shake (whey protein, yummm)
½ oz of nuts (1 tbs. peanut butter)
Dinner:
5 oz. of protein
1 cup of vegetable (anything green!!!)
1.5 oz of avocado
1/3 cup of carbs (same as above)
Snack 3:
4 oz. of protein
1 oz. of avocado (1 tbs. of peanut butter)
This keeps me full and satisfied all day! I like this meal
plan because it gives me the ability to make different kinds of protein (ground
turkey, chicken, and fish) that way it doesn’t get boring! I love peanut butter
and avocado so I usually eat those instead of nuts (make sure to buy NATURAL
peanut butter, more to come on that later!) Once you start a meal plan you may
be thinking to yourself “man that’s a lot of food!” Your body becomes accustom
to being fed regularly and starts burning fat more effectively. I can actually
tell what time it is by the way my body feels. I don’t really have to use an
alarm clock anymore because my body knows that at 7:30 am it is time to eat! If
you start to see yourself getting hungrier you can always add more vegetables!
Many of you are probably like “ok, we get it food is
important but where is the workout?!” The very first thing that I learned in my
fitness journey is that food is 90% of losing weight/being healthy. Exercise
will help, but it is important to get a good firm grasp on your nutrition
first!
First hand experience, I have been eating relatively clean
for about 6 months. Stayed the same weight, 136.4 to be exact! I would have a
cheat meal once a week and little cheats (like a Kit Kat) throughout the week. Not
until I became fully committed to my diet did I start to see SERIOUS changes. My
body has changed so much! I promise that workouts are coming soon, but
nutrition is by far more important and my favorite thing to talk about!
If you
have any questions leave me a comment!!
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