What Does Good Nutrition Look Like?
With so many conflicting debates, diet books, fads and approaches it seems an almost impossible task to wade through it all.
Where do you begin and more importantly what are you aiming for or looking to achieve?
Like training and any fat loss goal, it pays to have the end result in mind.
Nutrition is goal dependent and habit based. Fat loss nutritional strategies will differ to health specific strategies. Sports nutrition will differ to aiding ladies through the menopause.
There are, however, common threads that can be applied in any strategies.
Habits underpin good nutrition. How many of us undergo a diet programme and attempt to change everything over-night? We hope to mystically transform our entire approach to nutrition over-night and follow a ‘eat this don’t eat this’ approach.
Here’s the thing – It doesn’t work.
One step at a time.
Here are a few of our habits that should be deployed with most nutritional programmes. In an ideal world, you should consult a professional to find a nutritional programme tailored to your needs.
1. Eating a protein rich breakfast – meat and nuts are a great start to the day, contrary to the dead-nutrition found on the side of a cereal packet. Foods rich in tyrosine such as red meat will stimulate dopamine levels – a hormone designed to give us sustained energy, focus, drive and motivation. Cereals tend to work the opposite.
2. Following a Caveman approach to nutrition. If it ‘doesn’t run, swim, fly and isn’t a veggie’ don’t eat it. The only exceptions to the rule are nuts and oils.
3. Keeping a food diary if you want results. We all tell a few white lies to ourselves you know the ones that start with the words ‘This wont hurt’. Well it does. It all adds up particularly if you are looking to lean up. Keep a food journal and you are 80% more likely to hit your targets. Not a bad little habit to keep.
4. Preparing your food in advance. Develop a little ritual the night before where you bring some foods with you to work or in the car. Trying to eat healthy snacks in this country is like asking finding a needle in a haystack.
5. Drinking water as your source of fluids. Consider that most of your body is made up of water and you can see how important it is to stay hydrated. Coffee, Tea and other hot drinks tend to be water-robbers. Water – pure and filtered is the best. There really is no comparism. As a guideline, consume your bodyweight in kg x 0.033 to find your ideal amount in litres. The only real exception is green tea. Shoot for 3 cups a day of this mighty beverage.
6. Making sure you have a serving of protein with each meal. Protein will maintain a healthy blood sugar level assist you in burning fat and keep your digestive system healthy. It is also the number one nutrient at keeping hunger pangs at bay.
7. Consuming veggies with each meal. Everytime you feed there should be a source of vegetables. Spinach in omelettes, salads, chopped veggies, grilled (a really great way to sweeten veggies) and stir-fry and ‘Greens Drinks’ are all great ways of getting more veggies in to your nutrition. These little beauties are packed with vitamins and minerals (the building blocks of good nutrition), fibre and calorifically very low.
8. Get the skinny on fat – fat can make you thin. Fact. Did you know that supplementing your diet with fish oil is a sure fire way to get those fat furnaces burning fast. Coconut oil, rich in SATURATED FAT, can also help you get leaner. Fats are your friends. Now I am not talking about those artery-clogging fat  found in fried foods, cakes, biscuits and take-aways. You would be best to avoid anything on the packet that has ‘hydrogenated’ on it like the plague.
Instead shoot for fats that are rich in Omega-3. These include fish oil (pharmaceutical grade only), flax seeds, hemp oil, nuts and olive oil. Cook with coconut oil.
9. Consuming Fewer Carbohydrates Overall. We don’t tolerate the likes of bread, pasta or rice very well. Think I am mad? Look at the expanding waste lines despite the low-fat craze that is absorbing us. Fat is not your enemy. If you want to get lean and healthy then ditch the sugary carbs and switch to a diet rich in veggies, protein and healthy fats.
John Lark is a Fat Loss Specialist and Personal Trainer in Dublin and Kildare providing tools to help you get healthier and leaner – faster. He can be contacted at 01-505213. Download your free fat loss report at www.spherefitnessstudio.com
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