Food can have very different meanings and connections with different people. Often those who are athletes and dedicate themselves to something like bodybuilding look at food as only fuel. However, there are others (myself included)who see food as enjoyable and something which allows them the chance to be imaginative.
If you have the ability to look at food as just a fuel source, then cool. Your choice. But just to let you know, this blog is directed to those of you that really do love to eat!
TRAIN SMART, EAT SMART
Training and eating can be combined really well together to help you achieve your physique goals, whilst also being able to enjoy some seriously nice food.
I am not starting to say that you can now go away and gorge on a ridiculous amount of calories just because you’ve now started exercising 3x per week. But we can combine your love of food and training sessions while also working towards your weight loss goals.
Now I can imagine there are quite a few of you out there who have very sedentary jobs. This means being forced to sit for most of your working day. As a result, not many calories are being burned on a day-to-day basis due to the lack of movement done during the day. We then also have much less freedom to eat more of the nicer foods that many of us enjoy, as this could have significant repercussions on the waistline.
But what happens if we start to incorporate some good, consistent exercise?
For example, let’s say we train 4 times a week, with 2-3 of these being resistance based (weights) training and the other 1 being a form of cardio exercise; so running, swimming or long walks.
Our bodies then start to become much more active and we also are starting to burn more calories, giving us that freedom to enjoy those nicer foods without the impact on the scales or our waistlines
You see you don’t have to change your love of eating, the only thing that will put you in the minority is that you use this ‘love of food’ to work really hard in sessions allowing the ability to eat a great and appropriate mix of proteins, fats and carbs that leave you feeling awesome and mostly full of energy.
THE BASICS IN A NUTSHELL
So for those of you that love your food, here are a few things that might help to guide you in the right direction to unloading that unwanted weight:
- TRAIN/EXERCISE
Don’t worry so much about what exercise you do just get up and move. The ideal would be to exercise 3-5 times a week, but even if you could just get to 2 workouts then that is a start. Over time you can build up your exercise frequency and make your exercise more specific; whether it’s lifting weights in the gym to a decent endurance ride on your road bike. Just this alone will put a dent in those calories consumed.
- CHOOSE MORE WHOLE FOODS OVER PROCESSED FOODS
Making some smart changes with your food is a very good place to start, and likely you’ll start to feel a ton better and your energy will most likely increase, meaning you will be able to train harder. You’ll also recover better and have more vigour throughout the day.
- WASH THAT FOOD DOWN WITH PLENTY OF WATER
Help move those micronutrients around your body and keep up your concentration and energy levels by drinking plenty of water; water is something we can’t do without so get it down you! Just make sure you chew and swallow your food first…
- KEEP THAT PROTEIN CONSISTENT
If I could give you one tip regarding your nutrition, make sure you keep up with your protein. This can come in the form of all meats, plant based foods, eggs and whey protein. Ensuring you get a decent amount of protein in your diet will help with keeping your lean muscle tissue. This will keep your metabolism super revved up, while also helping you feel fuller for longer.
- GET THOSE CARBS AND FATS RIGHT
These are your fuels and also help with your hormones. Consuming these in the right amounts, in conjunction with your training is going to be the key to getting you to your goals. A simple format is lower carb, higher fat on rest days and higher carb, lower fat on training days.
- USE THIS LOVE OF FOOD TO SLEEP BETTER
Sleep soundly at night while knowing that you’ve nailed all the above. Do all you can to help yourself when it’s time for beddy-byes. Aim for 7-8 hours of sleep in a dark room. Then if you can try and avoid screens in the last hour before bed, but focus on your 7-8 hours first.
HOW A COACH CAN HELP
All the things I’ve mentioned above are why plenty of lovely ladies we work with are able to eat more, whilst still being able to maintain weight, look great and feel great. However, this needs to be done over time remember, so take time to understand what you’re doing or enlist the help of a coach to guide you through this journey.
For those of you who are unsure of where to start or just starting your journey and are not sure where to go, if you feel that I or another member of the Fitterbody Bootcamp team can help with this, please don’t hesitate to talk to us; this is what we do, this is our trade.
So good luck and get building those healthy habits.
Kristian