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Author: Michael Dimas Article source: http://www.womensweb.ca/. Used with author's permission.
R...real food
E...exercise
S...spiritual stuff first and the other stuff second
U...ultimately, you and you alone are responsible for your results!
L... long term success requires long term committment
T... thanks for everything. Be grateful
S...seek out the best in yourself and others
The following guidelines will help you with the most difficult and confusing part of a fitness program: the diet stuff. I am using the word, diet, to mean life style eating program. Also, I am focusing on producing world class results where you experience vibrant health and explosive energy on a regular basis all day long. Why would you settle for less?
Meal Frequency
For optimum results you need to eat real food and lots of it on a consistent basis. Your body is naturally designed to use food as fuel and needs to be refueled. Most people need to add fuel to the body every three or four hours. If you go without eating longer than this the brain gives the body a series of signals: insufficient fuel coming in so prepare for fat storage as protection against starvation. The longer the body goes without fuel the more intense these signals will be. The signals include hunger, cravings, irritability, etc.
If you sleep 8 hours per night, then you are awake for 16 hours. Using my outline formula from above then you would need to eat 4-5 times per day. If you sleep only 6 hours nightly then you will be awake for 18 hours and need 5-6 meals per day. The longer you are awake the more you need to eat.
Meal Composition
These meals should be balanced in terms of macronutrients: protein, fats and carbohydrates. The exact amount and ratio will be determined by how active and fit you are and/or want to become.
There are so many different diet approaches that it is overwhelming to go to a bookstore and browse the diet book section. All the authors claim to be experts and that their diet will work wonders for you. The most common theme is that these books contradict each other!
This article is my solution to this dietary confusion. We need protein. Good sources include fish, chicken, turkey, lean red meats, egg whites, tofu, etc. Minimize the fat in your protein intake. We need carbohydrates. Good sources include fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, etc. Minimize the cakes, cookies, candies and other processed carbs. Although processed carbs like pasta, rice and bread are better than junk carbs they are still inferior to fruits/veg's. We need fat. No, this is not a typo. We need certain types of fat in our diet for maximum health as they help stabilize our blood sugar levels which are related to appetite and cravings. Good sources of these types of fats [unsaturated] include seeds/nuts and their oils, avocados, olive oil, flaxseed oil, etc.
The Top Ten Review
1. Eat 4-6 smaller meals daily depending on how long you are awake. A balanced meal would include ratios from the above list: protein, fats, and carbs. The exact ratios will be determined by your current fitness level and the results you seek. For example a competition athlete will eat differently from a desk/coach potato.
2. Protein sources should be lean. [egg whites, fish, turkey, chicken, lean red meat, etc]
3. Minimize and/or avoid the junk like saturated fatty foods in general: butter, lard, margarine, french fries, chips, cookies, etc.
4. Increase your intake of unsaturated fats instead. Eat the good fats: olive oil, seeds/nuts, avocados, flaxseed oils, etc.
5. Minimize processed carbohydrates like bread, pasta, rice, etc.
6. Eat more fruits, vegetables, legumes, in place of # 5.
7. Drink water more than other beverages.
8. Stop the booze. Alcohol is sugar, it raises your insulin levels which interferes with effective fat metabolism. Not to mention other dangers associated with it.
9. Remember: diets are counter productive in a large variety of ways and perhaps even dangerous. At the very least, diets make you fat so avoid them.
10. Balanced meals consisting of real food spaced out through out your day will stop hunger cravings, improve your energy levels, accelerate fat loss and produce better health all around.
Notice this is not a diet in the deprive yourself sort of way that is popular with professional yo-yo dieters. Nor is it the stupid fad diet crap that is going around. This is how competition athletes eat preparing for a world record or gold medal. It produces world class results. On this outline you will not be hungry or crave junk foods. You will have increased energy and stamina levels within 10-12 meals. You will lose excess fat at a very s-l-o-w rate...1-2 pounds per week is max. Faster weight loss than this may be dangerous and represents a decrease in muscle mass, bone density and water loss complete with electrolyte depletion. Did you know that regular diets also atrophy heart muscles as well as wreak havoc on everything else?
At the level of decision making strategies your food choices need to be in terms of results. What do you want? What foods will make you feel better over time. NOT what would taste good for lunch: pizza or donuts or both. Food choices made on short term taste criteria will almost always be fats/sweets.
I'm assuming that you know what your purpose/mission in life is and that you are pursuing this with a zeal and passion that borders on fanatacism and produces for you magical states like joy, satisfaction, peace of mind, fulfillment on a regular basis...several times per hour throughout the day at a minimum.
If not. Why not? What are you doing? What are you thinking about? What do you want? What takes your breath away just thinking about it? That's what you should be doing on a full-time basis. If you knew you could not fail, what one great thing would you dare to dream? The answer to this question is your mission in life. Go for it. Do great things!
It doesn't make much sense to lose weight, get fit and have nothing to do but the same stuff you've been doing that you are fed up with now does it?
You want RESULTS? I'll give you RESULTS! Michael Dimas is a performance consultant, workshop leader, motivational speaker, personal coach, health & fitness mentor. He teaches a variety of programs designed to empower your body, mind & spirit. He is known for his high energy presentations, irreverant attitude and deeply caring for others seeking to make changes in their lives.
He is online at http://www.selfchangetechnologies.com
and can be emailed at michael@selfchangetechnologies.com
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