I believe you have to eat to lose weight. The trick is eating right food and at the right times.
My goal is to show you that a balanced diet of carbohydrates, lean protein and healthy fats works! No more starving yourself, no more fad diets, no more diet pills, no more slimming teas, no more wraps or anything else that might be out on the market these days! Just good ole fashion FOOD!
There are numerous supplements and shakes to help you get and stay fit. Depending on which products you choose you can make huge changes. But without proper knowledge of how our bodies work, even with the best intentions, we can just end up spinning our wheels. I believe that proper nutrition comes from a mindset to eat healthy.
Now, most people think “healthy” means boring or bland tasting, but that is just not true.
This is not as complicated as you may think. What works for you and your goals depends on understanding how our bodies work and what nutrition really is.
Protein- The main nutrient that helps us repair and grows our muscles. When we work out, we are making microscopic tears in our muscles. Protein is what allows us to help repair those tears and bring us back stronger than before.
Carbohydrates- This is our bodies main source of energy. Yes, we do need carbs. The goal is to eat the right kinds. There are two basic kinds of carbohydrates (carbs); simple and complex. Simple carbs are basic white grain foods, like rice, bread, sugar, etc. These give us a quick boost of energy but fade quickly. Also, our bodies can only process so much at one time and the extra is what turns into fat. Complex carbs, however, release energy into our bodies slowly and fuel us for longer. Complex carbs are much easier on our digestive system.
Fats- First off, not all fats are the same. It has been a long time misconception that fats are bad for you. This is just not true. There are good fats and bad fats. Bad fats like trans fat, or saturated fats are extremely harmful to our bodies. Not only does it raise your bad cholesterol, but it is linked to heart disease, stroke, and many other chronic conditions. While good fats like Monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are good for us. Good fats can improve your mood, give you sustained energy and help you lose weight.
Learning portion control is the key to eating healthy. Even the most healthy foods can hurt us if we overeat them.
When we eat healthily we experience many benefits
My belief is that to maintain proper fitness and be healthy you must eat. For many of us, that is hard to maintain properly. This is where mixing supplements with healthy foods come into play. There are many supplement options to help you throughout the day.
When we work out our muscles are using the sugar in our bodies to fuel our exercise. Without proper nutrition, our bodies will suffer. My goal throughout the day is to constantly have the nutrition I need to fuel my body.
This is because you are not eating properly. We need to fuel our bodies to have the energy to workout and get our metabolism to burn off that fat. If you eat properly you should finish your workout feeling strong. I have more energy when I’m done with a workout, than when I started.
One of the first things I noticed when I started paring my healthy eating with my workout was an immediate change in my overall mood, and energy. I felt great. This, in turn, made me want to do it more. This made my self-esteem go up, which helped me in all aspects of my life.
An area of nutrition that many people forget about is, drinking water. This may be the most vital part of your diet. Water does so much for our bodies that most of us don’t realize how important it is to stay hydrated.
I suggest starting with the old 8×8 rule. 8 glasses of 8 ounces. For those who work-out, I would suggest upping that to 10-12 glasses a day.
Staying hydrated helps keep our bodies running like the machines we need them to be. It also gives us the added benefit of fighting off hunger.
*Nutrition Tip- Snacking is the killer of a healthy balanced diet.
As your coach, part of what I do is teach, encourage, and motivate you to eat healthy.
A goal without a plan is just a wish. The most important thing to do right now is to start.
