Today is the day all of the new year’s parties are done. You now know what to do and what to buy. But do you know really? I have broken this blog down a couple of different ways. Many of us hear the words Protien,Carbohydrates and fats but do we really know what they are? Hopefully this blog will help you with that underestanding.
Have you ever walked into your local supermarket with your new and exciting nutritional meal ideas in mind and been overwhelmed with what to buy? At Healing Strength Personal Training we strive to educate our clients on proper nutrition to reach their health and fitness goals. Many people are not aware of what to buy or even the wide variety of choices they have. So let’s begin with the basics.
Clean Food List
1. Lean meats (protein) – Lean beef 90% or leaner, Lean pork, any lean game meat such as Deer, Buffalo, Ostrich, Salmon, turkey breast, chicken breast, egg whites, fish- just about any type of fin fish (No Cat Fish) If you choose deer meat make sure that it is processed lean
2. Complex Carbohydrates- Brown Rice, sweet potatoes, oatmeal and all variations of beans
• Low Carb Vegetables and Fruit- all green leafy salads (no iceberg lettuce) spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, green beans and just about any other green or yellow vegetable (summer squash)
• Low Carb fruits- grapefruit, strawberries, blueberries, cantaloupe, and peaches
3. Dietary Fats- fish oil, olive oil, almond butter, heavy cream, coconut oil, flax oil, sunflower, walnuts, and safflower oil
Free meal or cheat meal- Once every seven days you are allowed to have a cheat day. This means you can eat what you desire within that 24hrs. window. As your body adapts to the clean foods you will not have as strong of an urge to eat sweets and junk food. But you will have a craven for some particular foods every now and again. Use this day wisely!
Note: Water is the key to any nutrition program. You have to keep your body hydrated, if the body is dehydrated in any way you will yield the results of burning body fat. You should start by drinking at least 1-2 liters a day and build from there.
Beverages- unsweetened tea, Crystal Light, green tea, water
Note: If you choose to drink a sports drink such as Gatorade during training or Cardio mix it with water. You should have about 50/50 of each.
You should be eating 4-6 meals a day with 3 of these meals containing 1 protein, 1 complex carbohydrate, and 1 vegetable. When preparing your meals always use the “fist rule.” The “fist rule” is comparing your portions to the size of your fist. As you can see your grocery list is simple broken into 3 categories including proteins, carbohydrates, and fats.
Here are a few examples of meal plans including the above list. Please note these are only SAMPLES as each nutritional program is specific to each individual.
Meal 1
2 Egg whites (protein)
1serving Oatmeal (complex carbohydrate)
1/2Grapefruit (fruits)
Snack 1
3-4ozTurkey breast (protein)
5 stalks of Asparagus (vegetable)
Meal 3
6ozSalmon (protein) note: use Salmon once a week other days replace with lean chicken breast
Sweet potatoes (carbohydrate)
Green Beans (vegetable)
Snack 2
Yogurt
7 whole almond nuts
Meal 5
6-8oz Tilapia fish (protein) or chicken breast
1 cup Broccoli (vegetable)
or
1 cup Summer squash (vegetable
So now we lead up to the famous question, what do you eat for snacks? You should always eat at least 3 meals along with 2 snacks. Here are a few examples of ideas for including snacks throughout your day.
Snacks
Any fruits
Fresh leafy vegetable
Nuts (Almonds)
Egg Whites
Yogurt
Tuna
Quality meal replacement shakes or nutritional bars.
****Please note these snacks must be used in moderation as too much of these could lead to unwanted fat.
Most of my clients share with me they have a difficult time eating healthy meals long term because of the lack of taste. I am one who believes in using seasonings to spice up your foods. Ideal seasonings to use when preparing your meals can include Ms. Dash, sea salt, natural herbs, almond butter and coconut oil.
Supplementation
I highly recommend a quality line of supplements including Amino acids, glutamine, and quality meal replacements. The body naturally produces non essential amino acids; however, it doesn’t produce essential ones. Amino acids are the basic building blocks of muscles, with a complete program I highly recommend supplementing Branch Chain Amino Acids (BCAA). All of essential and non essential acids need to be available for the lean muscle building process to take place. Glutamine helps with muscle tissue recovery, which is essential when working the muscles during intense training sessions.
I hope you found this blog to be helpful in assisting you with your health and fitness goals. Good luck and remember that weight loss or gaining lean muscle mass must begin with execution. The first step in this process is to fuel your body with the right nutrients.
Posted under 2009 Grocery List
