Here at Fitter Body Bootcamp in Northampton we put new and exciting sessions together every week ensuring workouts are fun and invigorating but we also offer nutritional guidance to all of our members.
Depending on who you believe it is said that when you are trying to improve your body composition the nutritional side of things makes up between 50% and 80% of the success. This is very true as long as we work as hard as we can in the gym, because the discipline and commitment to such weight or fat loss goals is never more tested than at home in the kitchen.
It’s hard when the easy, tasty food that is available to us is the stuff that it is going to get in the way of our goals. But to reach any goals you set you need to be organised, disciplined and committed to eating the right nutrition to compliment your training and getting that lean body you desire.
Don’t worry, I have got 6 simple rules that you can easily follow that can guide you on your way to eating healthy foods that will keep you on track and boost your capability to achieve significant fat loss.
- Greens are Vital. Vegetables need to be the foundation of your diet and should be eaten at every meal. In terms of portion size half your plate should be covered in a variety of greens and fibrous vegetables at every meal. If you want to get lean and show of that ‘toned’ look, it’s worth remembering that you’d have to eat half a kilo of asparagus to ingest the same amount of carbs as you get in a single wholemeal pitta bread.
- Eat Protein at Every Meal. Protein is probably the most important component of your diet. Eating a high protein diet will mean you are generally going to be lees hungry throughout the day, and therefore less inclined to eat and consequently lose weight. Don’t worry about eating too much protein because it is very difficult, but it is vital that enough protein is eaten. Be sure to eat lean, high quality protein (e.g. turkey, chicken, white fish) with every meal and try to aim to eat between 1g-2g per kilogram of bodyweight – depending on your goals.
- Fat is NOT the Enemy. Firstly, fat does not make you fat. In fact, good quality fats are needed to maintain muscle and burn body fat as it plays a number of roles in energy expenditure and vitamin storage. However, it is key to make sure that you identify and avoid the bad fats, Whilst there is no need to avoid the fats from red meat, avocado and nuts, do avoid trans and hydrogenated fats found in food like cake and biscuits.
- Macronutrients (carbohydrates, fats and proteins) Are More Important Than Calories. Just a quick question. What’s going to make you fatter: 2,000 calories from ice cream or 2,000 calories from white fish and veg? Once again, not all calories are the same! Rather than merely counting calories it is much more important to eat the correct macronutrients. Before you move on though, calories are still an important consideration that needs to be managed when wanting to lose fat. Just imagine the impact on your body composition from eating 5,000 calories compared to 2,000 calories of white fish and veg. So it is important to eat the right macronutrient numbers without eating unnecessary calories.
- Start The Day As You Mean To End It. Breakfast should be thought of as like any other meal. In other words, you need a blend of protein, fats and veg. This may be strange eating meat and vegetables first thing in the morning, but eating the right foods for breakfast will get your metabolism firing and start the supply of quality nutrients to your muscles. Consequently setting you up for the rest of the day ahead.
- Eat Whole Foods. If you end up following one rule from this list then this should be the one. By following this rule you will follow all the others almost by default. This rule is simple; eat something that either came out of the ground or once had a face. Or think would this have existed thousands of years ago and will rot in the future. If the answer is no, then steer clear of eating it. If you avoid the canned and processed foods in the middle of supermarkets and stick to the outer aisles where fresh produce is usually kept this is a good rule of thumb when shopping for food.
Fitter Body Bootcamp in Northampton is a ladies only indoor small group personal training facility. No two workouts are the same!
Kristian