Nutritional Planning 101

You have heard it before and I’ll say it again. “You can’t out train a bad diet.”

Clients, who have worked with me, for any extended period of time, will undoubtedly tell you they have heard me repeat these words OFTEN!

Don’t get me wrong, hell it would be great to eat whatever we want, whenever we want and achieve a fabulous physique, just by simply exercising more. Sorry to be the bearer of the obvious, but it’s just not meant to be.

                                                                                            

For the majority of our current clients at some point were a “health club” or “regular gym” member. It is here that they fell into that all too familiar comfort zone. Exercise low to moderately intensely (usually using some type of boring machine), perform too much cardio (usually while watching their favorite TV show or news station) and either restrict their calories too much or just ignore the importance of a solid nutritional plan all together. Usually the thought of many is, “well, hey I work out, I can eat whatever I want.”  

                                                                                            

The truth of the matter is exactly the opposite without proper nutrition you will continue to spin your wheels and your body WILL NOT CHANGE!

When starting a new exercise program start making small incremental changes with your Nutrition.

1.)    Keep a Food Journal for a minimum of 7 days. (A weight-loss study published in the August 2008 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine participants who kept their food diary six or more days a week lost an average of about 18 pounds in six months, compared with about 9 pounds for those who didn’t keep food diaries.)

2.)    Weigh and measure everything for a 14 day period. (You will have absolutely no clue how much you are consuming unless you see it!) 

3.)    Eat Whole Based Foods including lean proteins, fruits, veggies, good fats.

4.)    Think FIBER! When you think of carbohydrates think fiber and think green.  (Fiber helps regulate your hormone levels, ladies are you listening?)

5.)    Avoid processed everything. (Chances are if it’s in a bag or a box it should be AVOIDED!)

6.)    Drink nothing but water. (To start aim for half your bodyweight, in ounces, and increase from there.)

7.)    Eat every 2-3 hours.  (This will help control your blood sugar levels giving your more energy and a faster metabolism all day long, which means more calories burnt post workout!)

8.)    Eat 5-6 times per day. (Start with three balanced meals for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner and work in 2-3 snacks in between.)

9.)    Eat breakfast with complex carbohydrates EVERY morning! (Your blood sugar is at its lowest point after fasting for 7-9 hours while sleeping. Your body needs carbohydrates first thing in the morning, in order to get your metabolism working.)

10.)  Do not neglect your Post Workout Nutrition. (After breakfast your post workout meal is your next most important meal! To speed up your recovery process consume a recovery drink with a 2 to 1 carbohydrate profile like a Prograde Workout.)

Put these to work and let me know how your doing.

Remember your nutrition is 80-90% of the game!

Train hard, eat smart and get better,

Tyler English, NASM-PES, CPT

PS- Check out Connecticut’s Top Fitness Boot Camp!

PSS- Looking for the right post workout shake look no further then ProGrade Workout!