Nutrition and Food Choices

Nutrition and Food Choices:

Nutrition is the most important and fundamental key to fitness! Not only does it complement our hard work in the gym, but it also aids in the body's recovery from intense effort exertion and it enables the body to actually exert the effort. The body will function, react, change, and maintain when the tank is not only full but filled with high octane energy.

Basic Guidelines to keeping the tank filled with energy and power: Eat like an athlete

• Eat clean: Lean and whole food full of nutrients and power
  
• Properly hydrate: 10-12 glasses of water a day
• Eat 5-6 meals a day, every 2 to 3 hours
• Limit sugar, alcohol, white flour, salt and fat
• Consume a variety of vegetables and 2-3 servings of fruit daily
• Combine protein, carbohydrates and healthy fat in each meal
• Protein builds muscle: .8-1.5 kilograms of protein per pound of body weight
  
• Keep a food journal, tracking daily calories as well as grams of protein, carbohydrates and fat
• For 5-6 hard workouts a week= 1800-2000 calories a day=3 higher calorie meals and 1 pre-workout and 1 post-workout snack
• For 2-4 mild to hard workouts a week=1600-1700 calories a day=3 lower calorie meals and 1 pre-workout and post-workout snack
• Treat yourself: Include cheat days so you are never in a constant "craving" state

Food Choices:

• Low fat and low carbohydrate protein powder
• Low fat and skim dairy products
• Complex carbohydrates, whole grains, sweet potatoes, and beans
  
• Lean meat: Chicken, Turkey, Lean red meat, Fish, Tuna fish
  
• Oatmeal, berries and nuts
• Cream of wheat, berries, and nuts
• Cottage cheese, plain yogurt, low-fat string cheese
  
• Egg whites
  
• Dark leafy vegetables, peppers, green beans, and squash
• Berries, apples, bananas

Quick food choices: Pack your meals!!!!!

• Central Market Instant plain oatmeal
  
• Hard boiled eggs
• Individual cottage cheese packs
• Individual plain yogurt packs
• Bulk nuts
• Rotisserie chicken
• Hormel and Purdue pre-cooked chicken packs: in lunch meet section
• Boars Head sliced turkey: in deli
• String cheese
• Peanut butter and almond butter
  
• Peanut butter and banana sandwiches
• Central Market whole grain waffles and peanut butter
  
• Turkey and avocado and tomato sandwiches
• Carrots and Hummus: pre-made hummus is great (choose original or flavored)
• Celery, peanut butter and raisins
• Birds Eyes frozen brown rice, frozen vegetables, frozen pasta meals: all to be steamed in microwave for only 5 minutes - These save my life daily!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  
• Canned beans: just rinse thoroughly to get salt off
• Skim milk "kids" cartons: Good source of calcium and energy before a workout
  
• Protein shakes: GNC can help you with proper choice

When we work hard in the gym, building muscle and reducing fat, we need adequate energy, fuel, and power. If not properly nourished, our body will store any food consumed if it has gone into starved mode. Also, when pushed to it's max and not properly nourished, the body will not use stored fat as fuel, it will go into the glucose in the muscle! This will contradict our efforts to build lean muscle mass.

Fueling the body before and after a workout are very important. We need energy and power for a workout and our body will need it 30-60minutes after a workout. Again, if not properly nourished, the body will think that it's being starved, fight or flight response, and it will store consumed food if sugar levels are too low!

Train like an athlete. Eat like and athlete. Think like an athlete.