New Year, New You! It starts with what you eat!

By now if you read my last article, you should have set yourself both a long-term and several short-term health and fitness goals to shoot for. Also, you should have taken steps to get yourself into the right frame of mind. Positive thinking and a good support system are going to be important aspects to help you reach your ultimate goals. If you are working with a coach or professional trainer, then I would advise you to adhere to the diets and workout plans they set forth for you. If you would like my opinions, and to learn how I start my training diet and workout regimen, then I am more than happy to share:

Nutrition is KEY!!

First off, let’s start with Nutrition. We all live busy lives and have packed schedules throughout each day, so by planning and prepping most of your meals ahead of time, you are going to feel way less stressed and also lessen the likelihood of being super hungry or “hangry†between meals. When you’re more hungry, you’re more likely to fall off the horse and eat something you shouldn’t… or worse, the dreaded binge eating.

Get yourself a food scale!

Get yourself a food scale! Consistency is SUPER important! As we go along in our training, there are going to be slight adjustments. If you are not being consistent about your portions, then how are you going to know what is working and what isn’t? If you’re not a Type-A personality like myself, or OCD, you’re going to be learning some new skills! I learned this first hand, if you are off by a half ounce for example on your food (up or down), it may not seem like a big deal for one meal… but what if you’re giving yourself an extra ounce or two for every meal? You may be eating enough for a whole extra meal that day! And if you’re not seeing results that may be part of the cause. Also, if you looooove peanut butter as much as I do… don’t try and lie to me and say you only ever eat the “one serving†recommendation on the jar. I know what 1 tbsp looks like. On average, most regular recipe peanut butters are approx. 190 calories for one serving. Double that if you’re gorging on it by the spoonful, and while it won’t be the only contributing factor hindering your weight loss, it will be a significant self-sabotage. Even the natural peanut butters may have less sugars and lower carbs, but it can still be tempting to overindulge.

How many meals per day should I eat?

There are different methods behind number of meals per day. When I am in the “off season†and not training for a competition, I will tend to eat more like 3 traditional timed meals. But when I train to compete, because of the structure of my diet and coupled with my increasing metabolism from exercise, I will eat 5-6 smaller meals a day. Again, find what works best with your lifestyle. But do eat! Starving yourself is extremely counterproductive. Your body is smart, and it will adapt. And in many cases, you will only be placing yourself into starvation mode. This means because your body can’t anticipate when you’re going to refuel it again, it will cling to every fat sell you currently have and store it to supply you with the energy you need. Starting this new lifestyle may mean you are going to be eating considerably MORE than usual. It was a culture shock for me for sure, but you have to trust the process. If you do not suffer currently from diabetes, and can manage to keep your glucose and insulin levels from extreme highs and lows (which starving yourself will release insulin to trigger the cling-fat phase) then your body will adapt and shed the excess fat. *Because, ultimately your goal is fat loss not just weight loss!

Remember, you want to lose pure fat, not just weight!

Prep your meals ahead!

Not everyone has the luxury of time to be able to prepare every meal separately. For example, Jeff and I buy several pounds of chicken and smoke it all at one time, and then bag it up by portions and freeze it. Or we will bake up several potatoes at once and seal them in bags in the fridge. Before he and I met, I used to bake my fish. He turned me on to his smoker and has forever changed my mind about how cooked fish should taste! Smoking it is the best! If I travel, I use a vacuum saver to vacuum seal my food from leaking, and it will last longer.

Let’s talk Protein.

Personally, I typically try to have 4-5oz of a lean protein. Guys, if you’re reading this I am giving my portions and so I cannot say with certainty what the sizes should be for ya’ll. In most cases, it’s cooked chicken, ground turkey, cooked egg whites, or white fish and occasionally it’ll be a lean cut of beef steak, ground beef, or salmon. I reserve the higher fatty proteins to once or twice a week. I apologize if you are vegan or vegetarian, I am not very well versed in plant-based protein alternatives… but there are some! Pea plant protein is a vegan alternative for example. I am hesitate to encourage anyone to try soy plant protein. Merely because the extensive research I’ve personally done says that soy “could” elevate your body’s natural estrogen levels. I don’t know for sure, but for now I personally enjoy edamame in moderation. Estrogen, so I’ve read, can be a tricky hormone to manage when dealing with weight loss. This is why your husband or man in your life can quit drinking sodas for a couple weeks and take up golf and lose 20lbs, but you have sacrificed all that is delicious and slay yourself in the gym and may only see a 5lb loss. If you’re concerned that you may have a pre-existing hormonal imbalance, then prior to starting your goal you should visit with your doctor. There are several tests they can perform to confirm or rule out that possibility. But for what I do as a figure competitor, when it comes down to the remaining weeks of preparation before a show, I will eliminate anything that may naturally interfere with my body’s own hormone levels, to rule out the possibility of inadvertently sabotaging my success. I always err on the side of caution…

Whole foods are always the best option, but sometimes our busy schedules may not give us enough time to have a meal. This is where having a protein shake may be your saving grace. There are a ton of different types of protein shakes out there. It’s important to know your goal in order to help narrow your selection. Some shakes are designed as “meal replacement†shakes and will have considerably more carbs and calories. If you are looking for a shake to drink around your workouts, or to compliment your weight loss goals, I would recommend one that is relatively low in carbs and fats. There are different ingredient mixes of shakes as well. The most common shake you will find is “whey†protein shakes. Whey is a product of the dairy process. Some protein powders will say “isolate†on the label, or other matrixes… On average, you will get about 20-40 grams of protein per serving depending on which brand you go with. There are several calculators available on the internet if you wanted to break down your macros to determine specifically how many grams of proteins you need to consume daily. I try not to get bogged down on the numbers too much and for myself as a female will average a scoop to scoop and a half of protein in my shake. This on average will give me about 30-35 grams of protein per serving depending on the powder mix I use. I like to swap out flavors so I don’t get bored of them. I enjoy vanilla and chocolate flavors, and others like coffee or cookies and cream. I’m not sponsored or endorsed by any of them, but personally some of my favorite brands are Quest, Muscle Tech, Cellucor Performance Whey, and Isoflex. If you are sensitive to dairy products, I’d recommend taking the lactase enzyme that helps break down lactulose. Some protein brands like Cellucor Performance Whey will include lactase in their product. Others may include bromein and other digestive enzymes to help with the undesired gas and bloating that drinking shakes can cause. I will also caution you that chugging a shake right after you’ve shaken or blended it will mean you will swallow a lot of air bubbles with it, and that can lead to some serious discomfort. You can mix it and let it sit for a few minutes and then sip or drink it and it’ll help lessen that from happening.

To pair with my lean protein, I will select a (semi) healthy carbohydrate, like baked white potato, steamed white rice, whole grain rotini or spaghetti noodles, sugar free oatmeal (without fruit), baked sweet potatoes, etc. I can hear you saying to yourself, “But Jennifer, didn’t you know brown rice is better for you that white?†or “Don’t you know white potatoes are bad carbs and will spike your blood pressure?†Well, while that may be scientifically true… I personally don’t like the chewy texture of brown rice. So, I could either try to stomach it and turn my diet into a negative experience, or know that white rice is still a better alternative to saying “I give up†and eating a bag of potato chips. And being that I am a very analytical person (I am a data analyst by trade), I have done my own research and you would be surprised of the nutritional benefits you can get from white potatoes as well… and if you are exercising and eating a well-balanced diet, eating potatoes shouldn’t spike your insulin in such a dramatic way as to cause you serious negative consequences. That is unless you are diabetic, in which case I am no doctor and would recommend you trust their expertise. Later on, I will share more with you how you can take advantage of knowing about the way certain foods cause reactions in your body, and use them to your benefit! Which is great because since I limit some dairy and other food groups from my diet, the more vitamins and nutrients I can get from whole foods and not rely on vitamins or supplements as much, the better…and let’s face it, cheaper too!

You should strive for a balanced meal which would have protein, carbs, and healthy fats. There is a fine line however when it comes to the portion of healthy fat you should have. By far, healthy fats are the most palatable (meaning they taste good!). Over the years of training, I have tried multiple diets and have learned that my body responds the best to a low-fat diet. My mom however has had great success with the keto or high fat/extremely low carb diet! She lost over 40lbs and was able to maintain the diet for over a year. Now, she still enjoyed her cheat meals, which are strategically scheduled meals that you are considerably less restricted from what you may eat. For example, you can be great on your diet all week long and anticipate a nice dinner out with friends to that favorite pizza joint of yours, eat and enjoy a reasonably portioned dinner, and then the next morning return to your diet plan. If structured properly, a cheat meal will not sabotage your goals or set you back, and research has shown it may significantly help. I will discuss this in greater detail in a future blog, and you will find it fascinating like I did!

Healthy fats can consist of 2 tablespoons of cooking oil with your salad or meals, things like Balsamic vinaigrette for example or olive oil; half a medium sized avocado, or better yet 2 oz of guacamole. Our local grocery store has pre packaged 2 oz guacamole cups which I love! The healthy fat may already be accounted for if you are having a 4-5oz cut of salmon for your meal, 1 or 2 whole eggs with yokes, or 4-6oz lean red meat.

When it comes to vegetables, personally to me there are less reservations to what you can have. The experts would say preferably darker greened colored vegetables because they have a lower natural sugar content. There really aren’t many vegetables that I shy away from, unless I am a couple weeks out from a figure competition. I particularly favor green beans, cabbage, brocolli, asparagus, and brussel sprouts! Then I will stop eating ones like onions, red bell peppers, carrots, etc. which may naturally have more sugars. I don’t eat salads that often, mostly for one because I love excessive amounts of Ranch and Caesar dressings which aren’t the easiest to portion control, but also I have learned that raw vegetables give me stomach pains and discomfort, which isn’t pleasant. I do enjoy cooked bell peppers, baked asparagus, steamed broccoli and Brussel sprouts, boiled cabbage (hey, I’m a Texas girl!) among others.

A sample meal plan that I like to prep for the week might look like:

Pre. And Post Workout

• Low Carb Whey Protein Shake (*Isolate Whey when on competition prep)

Breakfast

• 2 whole eggs, 2 egg whites over medium (no oil used, just calorie free cooking spray)

• 1 package of Sugar Free Oatmeal (1/4 cup dry)

*Splash of liquid Sucralose for added sweetness

Mid-morning Snack

• 1 small apple

• 1 tablespoon natural peanut butter

• 1 whey protein shake

Lunch

• 5oz smoked chicken breast

• 1 cup white rice

• 5-6 spears of baked asparagus

Mid-day snack

• 1 tablespoon natural peanut butter

• 1 whey protein shake (or Quest/Hero bar if unprepared)

*this can also be replaced with a meal similar to lunch

Dinner

• 6oz lean ground turkey

• 5oz baked potato

• 1 cup Steamed broccoli

If still hungry by bed time:

• Whey protein shake

Or

• Low fat Greek yogurt

Or

• 5oz grilled white fish

If we go on a scheduled cheat meal date night, say to Outback Steakhouse, I can manage to maintain my diet and still enjoy myself by getting a small salad (minus croutons), 5oz medium cooked sirloin, 5oz plain baked potato, and you can specifically ask them to blanch you some broccoli or asparagus otherwise they will sauté it in butter. I have actually been known to bring my food scale with me to make sure my portions are correct. Fortunately, most dining restaurants are fairly accurate with their portions of lean meats, and the smaller sized baked potatoes average around 5-6oz. The skins are healthy for you to eat, but often times they have coated them with oil and salt before baking, so after I scoop out the potato it ends up being only 4-5oz.

A big topic of discussion I could have a whole separate conversation about is regarding condiments! You would be surprised the hidden number of calories you consume in a day from just adding that mayo to your sandwich, that ranch dressing to your salad, and that ketchup to your eggs. There are some condiments that are less taxing to your diet plan than others. Mustard is a great one! It’s low in calories, and provides some added flavor to your chicken for example. I enjoy low sugar ketchup as well. Ranch dressing and Caesar dressing you really need to be sure you are portioning out your servings. I know for a fact there’s hardly anyone out there who limits their ranch dressing to the serving size. It’s a hard habit to break, but necessary if you really want to see results. Barbeque sauce for example is loaded with sugar. There are low sugar options, but if you’re a BBQ connoisseur like myself (Texas girl check) it’s hard to fake the real thing. Moderation is key. Let’s face it, you don’t want to spend 45 minutes on the treadmill to burn 200 calories, to eat it all back with a couple servings of dressing on your salad…and pretty much waste your time and defeat the purpose.

Now you might be reading all of this and just wanting to throw your hands up and say “this is too much workâ€, “no one has time for thisâ€. 5 years ago, I would have agreed with you! But suffice to say, if it wasn’t for my having stayed so consistent throughout each prep., I couldn’t say I would have had as great of chances of succeeding with my goals. I have also witnessed friends and family implement similar lifestyle changes, like measuring portions, and seen them succeed in their goals as well. In the beginning, it may feel awkward and time consuming, but over time you will get the hang of it and I will try and share simple tips and tricks to make it easier for you.

In addition, keep in mind what I said earlier about different strokes for different folks. My low-fat diet may not appeal to you or work for you. In which case, I encourage you to do some further research and find one that does. There are many out there, so I won’t accept there being any excuse you can’t find at least one. Basic principles still apply. You have to be CONSISTENT! That means pick one and stick to it for the entire length of your goal, or at minimum 6 weeks. If you are changing up your diet every couple of weeks, how in the world are you ever going to see results… and if you do begin to see results, which diet do you credit as being the best one?

But diet and workouts alone may not get you to your goals as quickly as you want. In that case, there is a whole market of supplements and potions and spells out there that claim to help you lose weight fast, shed the fat, drop the pounds but which ones do I use and which ones do I feel have worked for me? Check out which supplements and vitamins I use!

*Disclaimer: I am not sponsored or affiliated with any of the products or services referenced in my blog articles.