You Can Never Out-work a Bad Diet

 

 

 

Alright, so I'm sure you've heard something along these lines a million times, and it really is true. Today I wanted to share with you guys the importance of knowing what goes in your body, how it will affect your goal, and how to optimize your food intake.

First of all, you should find a way to keep track of what you're eating for a week or so before you try to make any changes in your diet. It's important to know how many calories, vitamins, and grams of protein you're taking in on a daily basis, because you don't want to shock your body by adjusting too quickly. You can always use a journal, a physical log, a spreadsheet- whatever works for you. My personal favorite, however, is the MyFitnessPal App (*I do not own this app*). It's free on the Apple App Store and it's the most convenient log I've across so far. You can search, store, or even scan barcodes on the foods you eat throughout the day, and this app does all the work for you. It stores complete nutritional information for everything you eat, and even shows you what you should be eating to reach your goal. You can also add fitness activity to your log, which is great because it updates your caloric needs according to what you burn! I've attached a few pictures above from my personal log yesterday, and as you can see I'm just about right on track. I'm a little over my goal in protein and under in carbs and fat, but since I'm trying to build lean muscle, that's actually ideal!

 

Second, you should familiarize yourself with how to eat properly according to your weight, height, goals, and preferences. Generally, you should eat about five to six small meals a day, or three average sized meals with complementary snacks in between. Eating smaller portions more often helps to speed up metabolism, therefore burning more fat than your body is storing. Most meals should be composed of three things- a protein (meat, eggs, beans), a vegetable (usually green or leafy have the highest nutritional value), and a grain (brown rice, quinoa, whole grain pasta). Snacks or smaller meals should also be high in nutritional values such as protein and vitamin C/D (yogurt, fruits, granola). You should also try to eliminate most, if not all, sugary drinks from your diet. The best drink for your body is water, of which you should drink at least a gallon every day.

 

A Few Pointers:

• It's not all about counting calories- too few calories is more detrimental to progress than too many.
• A good diet does not eliminate the need for a good workout, and vise versa.
• The highest meats in protein are chicken and fish.
• Meal prep will make your life 100X easier. The number one reason people eat unhealthy is convenience. Cook in bulk and store for the week. This will ensure you have healthy food on the fly.
• Take your time. Don't rush your body.
• Remember- this month's diet is next month's body. It WILL catch up to you, I promise.

 

Now that you know what you're already taking in versus what you should be taking in, start logging. It may take a few days or even weeks to get used to paying attention to what you're eating, but remember- every time you feed yourself, you should be fueling your body.

 

Eat clean,

Train mean,

Get lean!