Lets face it, you are what you eat! Nutrition accounts for about 80% of your weight loss goals. You can work every day and not change any of your less than desirable eating habits and not lose the weight! Lets take a look at some small changes you can make to help you see and feel the difference of all your hard work.
Let me help you with your nutrition goals. I can offer assistance or point you in the best direction that meets your needs. I am not a certified nutritionist but I do have some super suggestions for breakfast, lunch, dinner, mid-morning snacks and mid-afternoon snacks.
If you need more detailed nutrition plans then please seek out a specialist.
NUTRITION TIPS FROM SHANDRA
1. Eat breakfast! This is the most important meal of the day, break the fast from the night before! Eating early creates a metabolic reaction and gets your engine really going. Ever notice when you don’t eat breakfast you aren’t hungry until noon or later? However, after that intitial meal, you become ravenous and may even end up bingeing. How can your car run without gasoline or oil? If it runs on gas and not with oil look out, eventually things are going to break down in the engine.
Eat every few hours and you will maintain and gain lean muscle mass, burn excess fat, and lose the cravings because you’ll maintain even blood sugar levels, lose the hunger, and have more energy. You’ll even think more clearly and be less grouchy!
2. Take some time during your week or weekend and prepare foods for when you get busy. Having some good base foods in the refrigerator is very helpful when you are short on time. Boil or broil chicken breasts, ground turkey, chicken or lean ground beef. Hard boiled eggs are great to keep on hand for a quick snack anytime of the day. Keep packages of tofu or tempeh. Cook up some brown rice, sweet potatoes, old fashioned oats and store them in containers. Have fresh veggies cut up, carrots, celery, bell peppers, snap peas, green beans. Make a batch of hummus that you can use for just about anything! The possibilities are endless with foods that you can have ready to go in a pinch.
3. Be a label reader at the store and shop on the outside perimeter of grocery stores where most of the fresh foods are kept. The center aisles have most of the processed foods that should be the last if not least on your list. Look for hidden sugars like sucrose, glucose, dextrose, fructose, maltose, lactose and the like. Choose foods with whole grains listed first.
4. Drink plenty of water throughout the day. That’s 8 to 10 glasses per day as water aids our bodies with absorption of nutrients, hydration and detoxification.
5. Eating out tonight? Don’t be afraid to ask for substitutions, as restaraunts are used to this and if they give you a roll of the eyes then maybe this is not your kind of place! You can ask for just about anything on the side, more veggies instead of a starch option like a baked potato. Ask them how the food is prepared and try to stay away from anything that is fried, creamy, buttery rich, you get the picture.
If this is your special treat day then enjoy the treat but realize that just because you are eating out you don’t have to sacrifice everything that you have been working so hard on. You can even eat pizza and make it healthy, ask for less cheese, more veggies, maybe no cheese or just modify and have 1 slice instead of 3 and eat a salad with your slice.
6. What should I eat before an early morning workout? I am asked this question every day. The first thing you should have when you wake up is a big glass of water to hydrate your muscles. If you only have about 30 minutes before say a 5:30am workout then something quick that is easy to digest is the ticket. Try this; piece of fruit and a glass of milk, some OJ mixed with 1/2 scoop of protein powder, 1/2 c. of plain yogurt with real fruit on the top. (Stay away from the sweetened fruit yogurts, these usually have more calories and sugars than anyone wants! Some good brands are Nancy’s, Fage (this is a Greek style yogurt)
If you have more time before a workout say an hour or more have some oatmeal and low-fat milk and a piece of fruit, or maybe some whole grain toast, 2 hard boiled eggs, OJ.
**Remember this, your body needs fuel to work hard, even in the early morning. Our bodies run on stored glycogen the first 15 minutes on an intense workout. After this your body starts to really burn some calories and your it needs energy from that small morning meal to work hard for you! The harder you work the higher and longer your metabolism will continue to be during the rest of your day. This equals more calories burned!
7. Don’t be fat phobic! Our bodies need fat to burn fat! Healthy fats are beneficial to eat every day, our bodies need them! Olive oils, Flax oil, fish oil are the good guys. Avocado and nuts like almonds, walnuts and sunflower seeds are great to add to your oatmeal, muffins, top on salads. Stay with servings sizes and remember think in terms of moderation, even too much of a good thing will eventually add up calories.
Click the following link to be redirected to MyPyramid for additional excellent nutrition recommendations.
Oregon Wine Country Half Marathon
"The Eat Clean Diet Book"