Lions & Lionesses!

When I first became a trainer a few decades ago, I remember meeting with client after client and asking “what diets have you tried in the past?”  I was an athlete my entire life so I was never on a diet.  I always fueled my body for peak performance.  I never starved myself by cutting out carbs or fats or protein or anything for that matter.

Needless to say, I had no clue what my clients were talking about so I had my work cut out for me.

I immediately headed out to the local “Borders” bookstore and bought every diet book I could.  After a few months, I read 68 different diet books.   You would think that I would know my stuff after all of that effort yet I was freakin more confused than ever.

Every diet book contradicted the other. I totally understood what my clients were going through. Nutrition is simple; however, it is complicated because so many marketers and “expert diet gurus” need to get your attention so they exaggerate the truth and often just downright lie.

In this post, I am going to share the 5 principles that work for every human with a heartbeat.  By “work” I mean that if you consistently live by these principles and combine them with consistent strength training and cardiovascular conditioning then you will improve your strength and endurance and look and feel even better.

So let’s get right to it.

In regards to “Rule #3: Eat a Fire or Fuel meal every 3 hours to release fat for fuel”, this isn’t totally true.  Eating consistently “automates” it in your mind so you don’t miss meals and you don’t double up on your meals.  This helps with behavior change and compliance.  If you find that you prefer to eat every 4 or 5 or 6 hours then that’s fine.  However, if you are so hungry when you eat that you are making poor choices and eat until your stuffed like a turkey on Thanksgiving then you might want to tighten that up and eat before you are starvin’ like Marvin.

The key is to be consistent.  Eat at about the same times each day.  Have a plan and stick to it.  Most of my clients eat 4 times a day but some eat more and some have fewer meals.

Sample Day of FUELING (client name withheld for privacy reasons)

7am Wake up. Drink 0.5 L water 

7:30am Train according to schedule

9am: Protein shake and blueberries or apple. 

12-1pm: Chicken breast or Salmon or Shrimp with large green salad with extra virgin olive oil and lemon.

3-4pm: Repeat Protein shake or lunch. 

7-8pm: Wild caught salmon, mashed sweet potato, asparagus, seasoning. 

As you can see, this isn’t fancy. It is simple.  It requires planning ahead.  If you start your day without a plan then you are planning to fail.  You don’t need to be perfect but you need to be consistent.  Eat at about the same time each day and you will find that you not only save time but you have much more consistent energy throughout the day.  It’s a little thing that makes a big difference.

You can do this.

BB3

Do you want to see a complete week of eating according to these principles with recipes included? Click Here