Having spent the last few years practicing and experimenting with different diets, I've managed to learn a lot about nutrition and how/what to eat to compliment your level of activity. The body is a complex machine, so an error in dieting can really have long-term effects so it's important to do your homework and consult a nutritionist. There are some simple habits that you can start right away to clean up your diet. These are some quick adjustments that have consistently shown me great results. I still encourage everyone to do a little research and take a deeper interest in your health, but feel free to implement these changes right away.
1. No White Carbs
Regardless of the technical terms, cutting out "white foods" will change what kind of carbs you're putting into your system. This is as simple as literally substituting white foods with their whole grain counter parts. Examples include white bread, white sugar and pasta. Those were my most common source of carbs and all have multi or whole grain alternatives. It takes about a week to adjust to the difference in taste.
2. Don't Drink Carbs
Don't drink your carbs, proteins or nutrients, whenever possible. Stick to water when drinking, even avoiding sports drinks. Despite their design to re-hydrate you, they contain sugars. Not a terrible amount, but for the sake of losing weight it's better to drink just water. Protein shakes are also very popular, but you won't extract as much of the protein as you suspect and they can be fatty. Again, for the purpose of losing weight it's best to avoid these. I now carry a water bottle at all times and no longer but milk, cream or sugar in my coffee or tea.
3. Weight Training
Weight training, no matter how light or intense, will cause your metabolism to go into overdrive. Even light weight training on a regular basis will keep your heart rate slightly elevated and will actually make you lose weight in between sessions. Your body fat percentage will actually be improving when you're not even working out! Train regularly and you'll be burning calories in your sleep.
4. Cardio
Make sure to frequently exercise your cardio. Whether it's a run, elliptical, bike ride or even a long walk, do this on a regular basis and you'll see very fast results. Ideally, aim for 30 minutes of uninterrupted movement. Set a pace you can maintain and around the 30 minute mark you'll be burning your highest amount of fat cells. The longer you go after the half hour mark, the more you burn. As your muscles tire and your heart-rate continues to rise, your calorie-burning ratio will rise exponentially. To start, shoot for 30 minutes and you're all set.
5. Eat Big to Small
Although this is pretty much the opposite of popular habits, start your day with a large breakfast and make each meal after that smaller and smaller. This will kick-start your metabolism and you'll be burning calories all day! Your largest meal has all day to digest and burn up and each meal will be easier for your body to absorb. The tricky part is dinner time. By this procedure, supper should be your smallest meal. The closer you are to your bed time, the less calories you should intake.
6. Cheat Day
Hardly the most important tip, but definitely my favorite is having a cheat day. This is designed to be your guilt-free day of eating everything you miss. I'm sure dietitians and nutritionists would tell you to keep it to one meal or something, but I like to take a full day of indulging. Since starting this, I've seen instant results. For one thing, you won't be craving anything as badly during the rest of your week, knowing that you can indulge later. Aside from the psychological comfort, this also causes a spike in your metabolism. Your body can eventually adapt to any diet and that's when you stop seeing progress or plateau. By having a day of random eating in the midst of your structured diet, your body gets confused and goes into overdrive. So when you start your diet again the following day, you'll actually be burning a little more than usual to compensate. Avoid letting your cheat day spill out into another day. This is why many professionals but limits on this concept, because people can take it as a free pass to making exceptions. You work hard at being healthy, so keep it to one day.
So these are the most successful habits I've picked up over the years. Although, there's more to dieting and eating healthy than this, these are the no-excuse quick habits you can start right away. If you have a genuine interest in your health, dive right in! Remember, eating well and losing weight are two different things. For example, anything you consume after a workout of at least 30 minutes won't have any effects on you as far as gaining weight, but also won't help you lose any either. Pay attention to these "golden rules" of dieting and make sure they fit your needs. Good luck and please send me pics and info on what you've got lined up for cheat day!
Jordan Bill
Fight or Die
www.ScrapyardFighting.com
www.CombatSystema.com
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