Let’s feed your body to be lean, strong and healthy.
BODYGEM: THE BODYGEM INDIRECT CALORIMETER IS A STATE-OF-THE-ART, HANDHELD DEVICE THAT ACCURATELY MEASURES RESTING METABOLIC RATE (RMR). SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT TODAY WITH ME TO FIND OUT HOW MANY CALORIES YOUR BODY BURNS.
Luckily, I have a number of ways to support you where smart eating habits are concerned so you can reach your goals faster. Don’t feel like you have to start doing everything on this page, immediately, all at once. You could start by picking one and incorporating it into your program. I will be happy to work with you on a personalized nutrition program that matches your goals and fits your lifestyle. Just don’t be surprised to find yourself exploring more of these options as time goes on because you’ll feel better – and look better – when you do.
Start a Food Log today with MyFitness Pal
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Click HERE to go to Livestrong daily plate.
Check the balance on your Alcohol Credit Card
If you’re trying to get leaner around the middle, you should cut and/or eliminate alcohol from your diet for at least one month.
“Why?” you ask, “Isn’t red wine good for my heart???”
Carbs and Protein have 4 calories/gram. Fat has 9 calories/gram. Guess how many calories/gram there are in alcohol? SEVEN! It’s almost as fatty as fat, but your body has no use for it; it goes straight to your liver for processing! The leftover goes to your belly, hips, and thighs. This is why alcohol calories are called “empty” calories.
Even the “bad” sugary carbs are useful for your body after a hard workout. Good Fat from olive oil, nuts, avocado are good for hair/skin/nail health and overall joint mobility.
Back to the red wine: Yes, it’s a rich source of antioxidants flavonoid & resveratrol (in grape skin/seeds), which increase the HDL (good) choleserol, and prevent blood clotting. But you can just eat grapes to obtain the same benefits and save the empty calories for a piece of chocolate or a bite of sweets.
Drinking alcohol also lowers your metabolism and your blood sugar, which makes you want to eat things like pizza, carbs, sweets, and chocolate!
So if you want to have a drink now and then, which I DO by the way :-), then remember this helpful tip: For every drink you have, commit yourself to an additional 10-20 minutes on the treadmill or StairMaster to burn it off!
Think of drinking as “charging” on your Alcohol credit card. If you have time to pay off your debt by working out, then drink away! Otherwise, the debt will accumulate, and in this case, around your midsection! 🙂 Remember you can’t “charge” your food intake with your alcohol card. Which of the following is not a factor that affects resting metabolic rate?
Basic Food Rules:
Stop trying to starve yourself skinny, you are only starving your muscles. Let’s feed your body to be lean, strong and healthy.
1.Eat 20g of real protein asap in the morning (within 30min)
-1full egg + 3 whites, 6eggwhites, 1cup of full fat greek yogurt, any other lean meat 4oz (chicken, fish, pork, beef, lamb, all is good! Just good cuts)
2.Eat 20g of protein every 3 hours, for a total of 6meals
Work on getting two cups of veggies with each meal, even breakfast. Once a day eat nuts or seeds for your protein (its healthy fat, good for your skin)
3.Carbs are for only post workout, and necessary post workout, do not skip.
Eat 1cup of quinoa, barley, brown rice, steelcut oats, garbanzo beans, or a sweet potato. If you work out twice, eat carbs twice.
4. Every other meal besides post workout you want some healthy fat.
This is why you want full fat greek yogurt. Salads add some dressing, other meals add some pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, or a couple of nuts (all are ok except peanuts!) Not only is this good for your skin and helps to feel full, it helps your body digest everything and absorb nutrients better.
5. EAT your veggies!!!
You can have two green smoothies** a day, but the other four meals any veggie you can stomach (except corn, which is actually a grain, not a vegetable). Bake quiches*** and load them up with veggies. Make the massaged kale salad, try roasting the veggies for more of a crunchy treat. Cucumbers, carrots, zucchini, whatever! If you can, work on eating asparagus every day (helps keep water retention down).
6. Spend at least two hours on Sunday preparing all of your food for the week.
This is a MUST. If you go into the week with a plan and all your supplies, you will be 90% successful (which is all you need for your one lb a week). This means, baking all the chicken, hard-boiling the eggs, baking quiches, cutting all of your veggies, making your snack baggies, cooking your grains. Its not any fun, but you will feel so good when its done, I promise! If you leave things to chance, you will at best be at 50% compliance 🙁
7. Cheat times:
Do your best to stick to the rules, but everyone is human! If you are really craving something that doesn’t fit the rules above, eat your bad stuff after you workout. If you want/need to eat something sweet (like you have been craving a cookie!!) this is the time to eat it. Your body needs carbs post workout, and your metabolism is at its highest at this point. But don’t skip the protein to save calories, your muscles need it!!