Nutrition Basics NUTRITION, NUTRITION, NUTRITION!!! Should I say it again? Yes, nutrition is the KEY to your success. It is by far the most important piece of the puzzle. You can work out all day long and kill yourself in the gym and see results but they will not last long and before you know it you will be back in the same boat as you were when you started. Perhaps even worse. NO MORE! By reading this that means you have already committed to changing your lives. You were shown the door and have decided to walk through it. Congratulations! Now let’s get your nutrition on! Beachbody does a great job at getting you started in the right direction with your nutrition when you purchase one of the workout programs. As part of the Focus T25 currently being used in my Challenge Groups, I recommend using the 5 day startup nutritional guide. As a follow up to what Beachbody offers I transition my coaching clients to a more advanced understanding of not only what they eat but why they eat it. It is my intention not to just throw recipes at you but to give you the informed freedom to make educated choices in your life. One of those educated choices is using Shakeology every day. I use it to replace my breakfast every morning. I recommend to my coaching clients to use it every day. It is one of the smartest and healthiest choices I have ever made. More on this later. To Count or Not To Count Everyone has a different answer when asked this question. If counting calories works for you, then more power to you. I do not count calories nor do I recommend it to my coaching clients. We follow the Whole 30 recommendations or a modified version close to it. The essential components of the Whole 30 are to remove those food items that are processed, artificial, inflammatory, and/or greatly affect your insulin production. It is not about what you cannot eat because once you understand what these particular foods do to your body, then you shall understand why it isn’t even a choice in whether you should be including that in your diet. It is about what you CAN EAT, and eat you will. Frankly, I’ve never eaten so well and never felt so good doing it. It truly has changed my life and that of my coaching clients. Basic Components Eat the leanest protein you can afford for breakfast, lunch, and dinner along with a healthy serving of produce, a small quantity of healthy fat, and water. In between meals eat a snack consisting of a healthy fat and/or protein. That’s really it. Simple and to the point. Of course, to fully appreciate the Whole 30 one must read the book and grasp the “WHY” of what it is about so that you can understand the consequences of your choices. Portion Control I don’t recommend scales. I follow the Whole 30 recommendations which are based on finger and palm sized portions. We all have a different physiology and, as such will eat different quantities of food based on our metabolic demands. The finger and palm method is a good way to tailor those differences to the individuals we are. The Bad, The Worst, and The Downright Ugly I recommend removing all sugars, artificial and otherwise from your intake. Besides causing major fluctuations in your insulin levels, they serve no nutritional purpose. Remove any unhealthy fat from your diet. An example of a healthy fat would be cashews, macadamias, hazelnuts, pistachios, almonds, avocado, ghee, and several others. Remove all grains. OMG, yes I said it. Remove ALL grains. They are inflammatory and provide very little nutritional value to your body. Remove or drastically reduce your consumption of legumes. Remember that peanuts are a legume not a nut so no more peanut butter. Consume almond butter or cashew butter instead. Finally, the worst for last, remove the dairy. The list of things that dairy causes, to include gastrointestinal upset, bloat, and directly contributing to your visceral fat (the most resistant and difficult fat to lose). Be Patient and Plan Accordingly Depending on your age it may have taken you decades to get to the condition you are at now. Remember that as you progress through this transition. The first week of the Whole 30 is the most challenging because your body is still fighting the cravings, the roller coaster fluctuations, the late night munchies, and the drive through dilemmas. Go cold turkey! By the fourth or fifth day your body WILL adjust and you will be well on your way to a great life. Be patient. Be consistent. You will succeed. Plan your meals ahead of time. That doesn’t mean you have to slave over stove for hours on Sunday making meals for the week. I like to keep things simple and minimize my time in the kitchen. I cook whole chickens and large cuts of beef and use them over several days for breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner. I don’t have the need to eat something different every day. I’m happy with a few simple staples like my salads with homemade dressing, my chicken, my shredded beef, and my egg scrambles. When I have the time I treat myself with making something more extravagant or I just go out to a great restaurant and eat like a King within my parameters to get my variety. Point is, I say it often, if you are failing to plan then you are just planning to fail. This is your choice. It is all just a matter of the choices that you make each and every day. I choose to be healthy, disease free, lean, limber, regular, and have an immune system that rocks. What do you choose? Shakeology So many people ask what it is, how it works, and why I should try this over other meal replacements. I’ve done the research. I’ve compared it to other popular meal replacement products. I would be happy to give you the details and will do so soon on my page. I will tell you this…it works. I am a walking talking example of the Shakeology product. I not only represent the product and stand by it proudly, I live it every day. I’ve lost the weight I needed and still losing more. It has helped get and maintain my lean body. It has helped my immune system stay strong. I have never been so regular. It makes me feel great and energized after I drink it. It sets the tone for the rest of my day. If you want more information I will gladly provide it to you. Thanks for taking the time to read this and letting me, help you, help yourself. #Getuppressplaygetiton! beachbodycoach/mydrivenfitness
Posted on: Thu, 22 Aug 2013 03:33:42 +0000
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