Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Diet Dilemma - Preparing For The BIG Holiday Meal


Photo showing some of the aspects of a traditi...Image via Wikipedia
Uh oh.  You've been working hard, keeping your diet on track, seeing excellent progress then all of a sudden here comes that big Holiday meal - what do you do?  Not to worry my friends, the best thing you can do is enjoy yourselves and the scrumptious meal before you.  Some of us however, and I'm definitely speaking for myself here, can have a tendency to, how should I put this - over do it a bit



Let's take a look at a couple of quick tips to help insure you don't tumble off the wagon after one of these festive feedings! 

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Monday, November 23, 2009

Hello Ladies! Let's Get This Started!

Let’s face it.  Girls wanna look good!  We casually check each other out and see how we measure up.  We’re vocal and let each other know when the other is looking cute…and when they’re not.  I’ve slacked off and gotten the:  “You look tired, is everything ok?" comments.  Ugh!  That is definitely not a compliment.   You know something needs to be done...

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Sunday, November 22, 2009

Welcome Amanda! Our Newest Contributor

I'd like to introduce Amanda to everyone as our newest contributor.  She will be covering many topics that all the ladies can relate to as well as help provide a female perspective on dieting and total body transformations.  We look forward to having her join us and share her experiences.

So who is this beautiful mystery woman?  Let's take a look (pic attached)...


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Ben's Total Body Transformation - The Beginning Stats

We can now take a look at exactly where Ben will be starting from in his total body transformation.  We have enough information to outline his approximate current BMR and goal weight BMR as well as prepare an outline for his macronutrient breakdown during the diet.  At this point, it's basically just a matter of doing some simple math for the approximations we need to put together a defined eating and exercise plan. 

He's still awaiting the arrival of his bloodwork so we'll look at that in more detail once it comes in.  We do know what his starting body fat percentage is however.  Let's take a look:


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Diet Monotony - The Good, The Bad and The Consistent

How many times have you gone out and picked up the latest fitness or other popular magazine with an explosive title about some awesome new diet on the cover only to find that they give you basically one day's worth of eating plans?  I've seen this for years and always thought 'Where's the rest?'  It always looked incredibly boring to me to see 5+ meals of very basic foods stretched out through the day.  A complete lack of variety!  Why would you ever want to eat like that?


Well, I've found a little secret out about those monotonous diet plans that you may find interesting...




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Thursday, November 19, 2009

Ben's Total Body Transformation Diet Before Pictures

Ben has been actively preparing to begin his total body transformation diet and exercise program.  The bloodwork results are expected soon, the body fat calipers have been applied and the before photos have been taken.  He's now just waiting for his final 'Must Have Items' to arrive and he'll be ready to begin!  I'm guessing that Day One will be shortly after Thanksgiving...What do you think?

So, where is he starting from?  Click through for his before photos: 

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Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Meet Ben – Diet For A Dollar’s First Total Body Transformation Subject!

Ben is a 32 year old male who stands 5’7” tall at a weight of 188 pounds and is in need of a total body transformation.  He’s become sick and tired of being sick and tired and wants to get his body into the best shape of his life.

I had an opportunity to sit down with Ben while he was waiting to be called in to be seen for his pre-transformation blood work.  It gave me a chance to ask him some questions about where he’s currently at, what his goals are and what’s on his mind:

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Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Video Guide: How To Prepare Proper Portions of Beef and Salmon


Ground beefImage via Wikipedia
Our first Diet For A Dollar Video Guide installment covers how to prepare properly sized portions of beef and salmon - both excellent, high quality sources of protein.  It only takes a few minutes to prepare several days worth of precisely measured meal portions.  



We'll have many more installments coming to you in the near future and I promise, the editing will continue to improve!


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Our First Total Body Transformation Participant Is...

...Waiting for their pre-transformation bloodwork to come back!  As mentioned previously, we're leaving no stone unturned in this process and want to insure that everybody who's following along gets as much information as possible as it relates to the benefits of a total body transformation diet.  I anticipate the results to be returned later this week and we'll recap them all right here for you. 

In the meantime, I had an opportunity to chat with our transformation subject to discuss goals, objectives, starting points and what kinds of changes will be necessary to become a Better Than Average You.  That entire interview will be posted here within the next 24 hours.  Stay tuned!



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SERVICE RESTORED - Site Outage Update

Thank you everybody for your patience as we experienced a brief outage over the past 24 hours.  All links should be back up and operating normally and all of the pre-existing content is in it's rightful place.

While it's inconvenient to have the site inoperable for a period of time, it has allowed for some nice updates and upgrades.  A couple are:

The Diet For A Dollar companion Youtube site is now available.  We'll frequently be posting helpful guides, updates and other pertinent information on the channel that you can view right here on the site. 

Many thanks to IDS for the 3 Column Template Layout you now see. 


PLEASE NOTE:  You may have to re-subscribe to the feed as much of that information was purged while the site was down. 

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Sunday, November 15, 2009

You Have TOTAL Control Over Your Diet - Rule With An Iron Fist!

How rare is that?  What else in your life can you honestly say you have TOTAL control over?  I don't know about you, but for me, not many.  Diet however, is something that nobody else determines for us.  Nobody is putting the food in our mouths, telling us we can only eat what they're giving us or forcing us to eat a certain amount.  All of these aspects are entirely up to us!  You've probably never looked at it this way before but it's 100% true and it's time to take advantage of it. 

 Here Are Some Tips To Insure YOU Control Your Diet:

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Friday, November 13, 2009

Exclusive Series: Follow Along With A Real Time Total Body Transformation!

Diet For A Dollar is currently working through the final details of an exclusive series covering an exciting total body transformation from start to finish!  Get ready to follow along and see exactly what it takes to transform your body into a Better Than Average You.  We will be leaving no stone unturned and you can expect to learn more about transformation specific diet and exercise than you ever have before! 

Check out the many areas we'll be covering and frequent reports our subject will be providing to us including:


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Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Site Updates and Upgrades at www.Dietforadollar.com

We are making some site updates and upgrades over the coming days here at http://www.dietforadollar.com/

In the next few days you'll begin to notice that the posts will appear in summary format.  Please click the title or 'Read more...' link to expand the full post.  Due to the sheer length and content of many of the posts, it will be a lot more visually appealing and allow you to choose if it's material you'd like to learn more about. 

If you subscribe to the Feed via email or RSS the posts should be reduced to summary length as well.  Some of the more lengthy posts that come through can seem daunting at first glance and having a summary version can allow you to choose if you'd like to click through and read more about that particular topic. 

If you experience any trouble viewing the entire posts or your feed items aren't appearing correctly, please send along a note so we can fix it for you ASAP.

Thank you all for your commitment and interest in transforming your bodies into a Better Than Average You!

Stayed tuned for some very exciting information in the coming days from http://www.dietforadollar.com/ ....
We will have an EXCLUSIVE, in-depth and long term project outlining every detail you need to know for transforming your body!  You can't miss with this one!


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Tuesday, November 10, 2009

What Happens To My Diet When I Get Sick Or Injured? Part 2 of 2

In Part 1 we covered some approaches on how to not get sick or injured.  Consistently sticking to those will go a long way to keeping you out of the sick ward!  But, accidents do happen and we can’t fight off every sickness out there.  Here’s what we can do to help speed things along if we do get stricken with injury or sickness.

Getting Over a Sickness As Quickly As Possible

We’ve tried hard to not get sick and followed all the tips and tricks we have at our disposal but something snuck through.  When you’re sick, it’s easy to come up with excuses as to why you shouldn’t stick to your diet or why it’s easier to eat something else or why you should just give up on the whole thing!  It’s more important than ever to be strong during this time and focus on getting better quickly.  There’s a lot of crossover from the ‘How To Avoid Getting Sick’ section but here are some tips and tricks to get you better fast:

Rest - When you’re sick, your body wants to recover ASAP and beyond supplying it with all the necessary nutrients, you need plenty of sleep.  Just like recovering from a tough workout, your body needs to wind down, and focus it’s energies on recovering from whatever is ailing you.  Once you load up on the high quality nutrients you need to fuel recovery, take time out to sleep - more is better. 

Vitamin C – Continue to take lots of it.  I personally like to ratchet up my dosage to 5+ grams per day.  I find that it helps me recover faster and I like knowing that I'm getting plenty of it just in case.  Be sure to assess your tolerance to Vitamin C before experimenting with higher than normal dosages. 

Eat High Quality Clean Foods - You've got to do your best to make sure you're only eating high quality foods.  It can be tough - especially if your sense of taste is diminished due to a cold or some sinus ailment.  Be strong and see it through and your body will thank you for it.  It's during these times of sickness when it needs good quality foods the most.  Make a conscious effort and know that every bite, portion and meal is contributing to getting you better, faster!

Be Diligent And Stick To Your Diet - As best as you can of course.  It won't be 100% consistent by any means but it is vitally important to stick to quality foods if you can keep them down.  Your body needs that quality nutrition to be in top form and begin healing itself.  For some reason, mentally we begin to break down when we're sick and think that eating junk will make us better.  It's strange because it's the exact opposite of what we need to do.  Try to focus on:  Keeping fluids up, keep taking vitamins if you can keep them down, small portions of quality foods and whey protein if you can stomach it.  It's not easy!  But, if you can do your best with it you'll be on the road to recovery faster than you thought could be possible. 


Recovering From An Injury As Effectively As Possible

Injuries happen and unfortunately, sometimes they can keep you out of the game for extended periods of time.  I’ve seen both ends of this spectrum and would like to provide some insight on how to approach a fast and effective recovery.  The two specific incidents I’ll reflect upon are a snowboarding accident that nearly severed my MCL (medial collateral ligament in the knee) many years ago and a recent fall down some cement stairs while carrying an item that weighed about as much as I do.  I’ll reference each of these injuries in the sections below.  These are some tips and tricks I know of that may be able to help you recover from injury more effectively:

Get Plenty Of Rest - Are you noticing a  pattern here?  When I hurt my knee I could barely even stand let alone walk - I had no choice but to rest it immediately.  The fall I took recently had my lower back aching and being very sore.  It was difficult to sit or stand for long periods of time.  Even laying down would cause it to stiffen up quite a bit.  In both situations, I stayed away from any sort of exercise until I started to feel like I was approaching 'normal' again.  For my knee, this took about 4 to 6 weeks.  For my back, it was about 7 to 10 days. 

Take Time To Recover - As mentioned above, you need to recover before you jump back into activity again that can quickly sideline you.  Beyond just resting, you need to insure you're taking care to not reaggrevate whatever injury you may have.  My knee gave me trouble when I tried to start walking again.  I began wearing a brace which helped but I stopped using it after a couple of days because I didn't want to become dependent on it.  My back was a little more difficult as it bothered me whether I was sitting, standing or laying down.  Even reaching for something in the refridgerator became a 'high risk' activity.  The point here is to try and avoid any activity - even while resting and recovering - that may reaggravate your injury. 

Keep Eating Clean Foods - You've got to keep this up.  This is where that consistency and discipline comes into play.  Don't lose sight of your goal because you get injured.  Eating properly will help you recover much quicker than you may be used to and allow you to get right back on track to making progress with your diet and exercise regimen.  As we've been stating over and over, high quality, clean foods are just what your body needs to help you recover from sickness and/or injury.  In both cases of my injuries, I found that increasing my protein intake helped out quite a bit.

Get Lots Of High Quality Protein - I increased my protein intake by about 50 to 100 grams per day after my injuries.  Not immediately after, but within a few days.  I have found that this really makes a difference in recovery times.  The body needs those amino acids to repair and rebuild and it needs a lot of them!  This is difficult to do consistently with whole foods but it's quite easy when using a high quality whey protein.  Plus, whey protein is very fast acting and in an easily digestable form which our bodies prefer. 

Additional Supplements And Nutrients For Cartilage/Ligament Injuries - When I had my MCL injury, it was agonizingly painful.  I wanted to do everything I could to get better quickly.  One interesting item I used quite a bit during this time was good old fashioned Knox Gelatine.  While it may not sound very appetizing, Knox Gelatine is made from the very same material our own connective tissue is made of.  In effect, it supplies us with the raw materials needed to recover from this type of injury.  I began mixing up one packet in the morning and one in the evening with the additional protein I was taking in.  It made the protein drinks quick thick and filling but they were definitely palatable.  If I ever have an injury to my connective tissue like that again (fingers crossed that I won't!), I will definitely follow the same type of regimen to heal as quickly as possible. 

Make A Slow And Steady Migration Back Into Exercise - Many times we want to jump right back in and feel like we're our old selves again.  Unfortunately, this usually happens too soon and has us running the risk of re-injuring ourselves.  Take time to ease back into exercise.  For me, in both cases of my injuries, I slowly began exercising again.  Just bodyweight at first and always going a few reps short of failure.  For my knee injury, the best thing I could've done for it was easing into bodyweight squats.  This allowed my knee to get reacclimated to a natural movement with very little stress.  Believe me, it hurt at first!  But, over time, and with consistent effort the pain went away and the joint became much stronger.  Within the year, my knee was able to effectively support hundreds of pounds and I feel that it's stronger today than it ever was.  If I didn't ease back into exercise slowly, I could have reaggrevated the injury and caused more permanent damage.  Don't push yourself, take time to do it right!

Know The Difference Between A Real Injury And Sore Muscles - You're going to get sore from exercising - no two ways about it.  Knowing the difference between sever soreness and an actual injury is key.  You should know the difference - if you don't think you will or can, your body will most likely tell you!  A full on injury will require down time to recover where severe soreness will require additional rest and nutrition to recover more quickly.  The major difference is that the injury will require you to ease back into things whereas once you recover from severe soreness, you should be able to effectively jump right back into your routine.  Don't let your mind play tricks on you just to sneak in some additional time off - you'll just be short-changing youself! 


So there you have it - a whole slew of tips and tricks to help recover as quickly and effeciently as possible from sickness and injury.  Your best approach is to obviously stay focused, keep on target with your diet and exercise and try to avoid getting sick or injured in  the first place.  If you do find yourself falling ill or injured work hard to do all you can to get back on track ASAP. 




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Monday, November 9, 2009

What Happens To My Diet When I Get Sick Or Injured? Part 1 of 2

 Sickness and injury are often unavoidable.  We can try hard to not get stricken with either of these but sometimes, no matter what we do, it just happens.  Today, we'll look at a couple of tips and tricks we can implement to avoid getting sick or hurt in the first place as well as how we can bounce back quickly and not miss a step with our diet and exercise program if it does happen!

How To NOT Get Sick

The best way to avoid down time from sickness is to not get sick in the first place!  The great thing is that our bodies naturally begin to build stronger defenses against sicknesses we may encounter as we eat better and exercise more.  And, in the off chance that you do come down with something, you’re body will be far more prepared to counter it and get you back to normal ASAP.  Here are some tips and tricks to keep you on the right path (some common, some not so common):

Eat High Quality Foods – As a staple component of your body transformation diet, you’re already giving yourself a leg up on fighting off potential sicknesses by eating high quality foods your body needs.  This helps to supply you with an array of natural, immune stimulating vitamins and minerals while keeping your digestive abilities in prime condition.  By avoiding copious amounts of over-processed foods your body doesn’t need, you won’t have to worry about excess energy being consumed for digesting low quality bulk.

Use High Quality Supplements – We can’t always conveniently get everything we need from whole foods throughout the day.  High quality dietary supplements do a fantastic job of filling this void.  As we’ve discussed previously, you must have a multivitamin in your daily arsenal.  This will help to fill in gaps that may be missed by a lack of variety in your daily diet.  High quality whey proteins are known to have immunity-boosting properties and are an excellent addition to your daily diet.  Other time-specific supplements help as well such as:

Vitamin C – The old standby.  Popularized by Dr. Linus Pauling’s studies and further impacted by decades of empirical data showing that it helps in the area of immunity.  I personally take a minimum of 2-3grams per day of Vitamin C.  I will bring this up to 5+ grams per day when I feel like I may be getting sick.  Assess your tolerance to higher than normal doses and see if your body benefits from it.  Being water soluble, it is very difficult to get too much Vitamin C.

Vitamin D – recent studies point to Vitamin D being helpful in the area of fighting of the flu.  It supposedly is effective with H1N1 or Swine Flu as well but I’m not certain there’s enough data to support this just yet.  And, as always with any dietary supplement, it is important to keep in mind the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) guidelines regarding what can and can not be said about dietary supplements.  Without being able to legally discuss possible benefits of supplements, many are left to their own motives and experimentation to determine what does and doesn’t work for them.  There are several positive links between Vitamin D and its ability to help prevent the flu available at The Vitamin D Council website

Echinacea – Another classic that has been said to have immunity-boosting properties.  I have personally used this with varying degrees of effectiveness.  Sometimes it seems to have worked great and other times not as much.  In recent years I have not used it much but I attribute that to being more consistent with a high quality diet, consistent exercise and a more complete approach to health, fitness and well being.  If you've never tried Echinacea before when you begin to feel a cold coming on, give it a shot and see how it works for you. 

Get Some Sleep – I’m terrible at this one!  Being overtired can quickly lead to sickness.  Getting some solid, uninterrupted sleep each night goes a long way to keeping your body ready to fight off any sicknesses.  When you’re exercising regularly, eating well and sleeping sufficiently, your body does a great job of staying that way.  As we’ve spoken about in other posts, our bodies like to get into a specific habit or routine and stay there – whether good or bad.  Being in a healthy state where your body fights off potential sicknesses is a good place to be!

Wash Your Hands Often – Especially after a workout.  This one should be a no brainer but it took me a while to figure this out.  The next two items are directly related to this as well.  As a kid, I remember being a mess all the time from playing outside with friends, riding bicycles, swimming, etc. Stopping to quickly eat a sandwich with grubby little hands never stopped us.  As we get older, it’s not as easy to get away with eating like that and the grubby little hands need some washing!  Be sure to wash your hands often and avoid…

Touching Your Eyes, Nose, Mouth and Ears – Don’t Do It! – Again, especially during or after a workout.  Years ago when I was going to a gym, I was getting sick every month or so.  It was from inadvertently scratching my eye, rubbing my nose, touching my mouth, etc while exercising.  Gyms tend to be festering pools of bacteria and you need to be careful to avoid getting sick.  Once I was consciously aware of what I was doing, I made (and still make) a point of keeping my hands away from my eyes, ears, nose and mouth until I’ve had a chance to wash them thoroughly.

Splash Cold Water On Your Face After Your Workout – Maybe this is just a superstition that I believe, but I feel this (along with washing my hands) has contributed a lot to not getting sick.  My theory is this: after working out, I thoroughly wash my hands with warm water then crank the water temp to as cold as it can go.  I’ll splash this icy cold water on my face and it tends to take my breath away.  I’ll do it a few times then dry off and be on my way.  It seems to me, and feels like the pores on my face are constricting due to the cold and therefore possibly not allowing bacteria to enter.  True or not, I’m not 100% sure, but I think it works for me and I recommend you give it a shot as well.


How To NOT Get Injured

Just like getting sick, the best way to avoid down time from injury is to not get injured in the first place.  Sometimes accidents happen and there’s not much we can do about it but beyond accidents, we can make changes to how we do things to try hard not to get injured.  Here are a few tips and tricks to help you out (again, some common and some not too common):

Always Try To Use Proper Exercise Form – A quick way to induce injury is exercising improperly.  Too much weight, moving to fast, being off balance, not paying attention to proper body mechanics – there are many ways to get injured while exercising.  Like anything else, it’s very important to learn the proper way to do things from the start then to create bad habits that could lead to injury in the future.  There are many good books out there that provide instruction on proper exercise form.  Check them out, study the proper way to do the various exercises and don’t fall victim to mimicking those folks in the gym who don’t know what they’re doing.

Don’t Use Too Much Weight – it’s not a contest and you really don’t need to try and impress anybody.  If you can’t lift much weight, then you can’t lift much weight.  It’s not a big deal.  You can create a fantastic looking body without lifting a ton of weight.  Getting stronger is part of it, but it doesn’t happen all at once.  Slowly building up the amount of weight you can lift or move is what it’s all about.  The body adapts slowly and will adapt if you allow it.  Overdoing it just puts too much stress on your body and it will break down if it can’t handle that stress.

Don’t Overtrain Or Exercise Too Often – It’s great to be motivated and try to consistently do a lot of exercise but there’s a fine line between being motivated and overdoing it.  Your body will tell you when your pushing too hard and it does so by breaking down.  Muscle soreness can become brutal if you’re pushing yourself too hard and not eating properly or getting enough rest.  I have fallen victim to this a few times and wound up spending 7 – 10 days just trying to recuperate.  Take it easy, be consistent but don’t overdo it with weight, intensity or duration.

Get Plenty Of Rest – Just like the ‘Rest’ portion from the Avoiding Sickness section above, it applies here as well.  Your body needs sufficient rest to take time off, repair and get ready for the next bout of activity you’re going to throw at it.  Extended periods of time without enough rest and sleep drags your body further and further into a fatigued state which many times ends in injury or sickness.  This also goes for plain old days off as well.  If you like adhering to a strict schedule of exercising on specific days you may find that sometimes it’s best to skip a day.  Not because ‘you don’t feel like exercising’ but because you’re sore from your last session and your body could benefit from some down time.

Eat High Quality Foods To Repair – Again, this will echo much of what was covered in the section above but it holds true to preventing injury as well.  Every time you complete an intense exercise session, your body becomes damaged by the exercises (on purpose) and needs to recover and repair so it can be prepared for the next session.  Eating high quality foods allows your body to repair and recover quickly.  The better you eat, the faster you repair so you’ll be ready for your next exercise session.


As you can surely see, there are many components that work synergistically to insure you stay in top shape to avoid sickness and injury.  It’s not going to be that one magic pill, special exercise, or trick that will forever keep you away from these things so please don’t fall victim that kind of marketing.  Consistent, small amounts of effort across a wide spectrum of areas work together to keep you healthy over time.

In Part 2 we’ll focus on how we can recover as quickly as possible if we do get sick or injured.



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Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Mastering Your Diet Through Discipline! Plus, An Overview Of The Glycemic Index And Thermic Effect Of Food

Do you have the necessary discipline to master your diet?  You may not think you do now, but you certainly can!  And, it's a lot easier than you may think...

What Does It Take To Master The Discipline Required To Diet Successfully?

We began to touch upon discipline and the mental component of it in this post and continued the discussion here.  Today, we'll recap some of those items and look further into what we can do to help ingrain the mental toughness needed to consistently eat well and make progress toward your goal of a 'Better Than Average You'. 

So much of the discipline required for sticking to a longterm diet plan lies in a handful of little tricks.  Let's take a look at some:

Work Toward A Weekend 'Splurge Meal'

One trick that helps you stay on the right track for the long term is to eat consistently clean throughout the week and take a meal or two (not too many...) on the weekend where you go all out and splurge on something you're craving.  If you're exercising and/or working out consistently and sticking strictly to a calorie range that's within or below your BMR guidlines then this isn't going to set you back too far.  For most of us, keeping those portion sizes small during the week will really begin to yield it's benefits during these 'splurge meals'.  As an example, I love sushi and will often partake in too much of it at one sitting on occassion.  Due to eating those smaller portions, I can't eat as much as I think I could and this is a good thing!  I'll fill up faster, probably feel sick and not really care if I have any more for a while.  The lingering effects are typically:  higher scale weight for 24hrs or so, a lack of hunger the morning after this meal, a very limited desire to eat (in this case, sushi) this meal again and very often a solid reduction in total caloric intake the day after one of these large meals. 
As you can see, mentally this is somewhat of a roller coaster but it's rather welcomed when you're sticking to a strict diet and eating plan.  Knowing that you're always a couple meals closer to having pretty much whatever you want is good to keep you focused.  It helps you work toward a goal - even if it's small and simple like a tasty meal. 

Put Off Your Next Meal For 15 Minutes

I often find in the mornings that I get hungry soon after breakfast and well before lunch time.  I know I'm going to eat something between these two meals but I want to split up that time period as much as possible - I want to be as far from breakfast as I can and as close to lunch as I can (so I can mentally push lunch that much further ahead).  Basically, I'm trying to lengthen the amount of time between breakfast and my next meal by convincing myself that I'll be satisfying my hunger closer to lunch time.  This can be a fight!  Your mind will start telling you over and over again 'Go ahead, eat now!  It's OK!' and you have to make a concerted effort to NOT give in.  If you work environment allows you to get distracted, then take advantage of that.  Delve into a project that will take 15 to 30 minutes or so to complete then revisit your hunger once you're done.  You don't want to be increasing the span of time to 3 or 4 hours by any means, but if you're like me and occassionally find yourself feeling hungry about an hour after breakfast, then you're going to have to implement a plan to widen that gap a bit. 

Split Up Your Meals

My schedule often finds me not able to complete a meal in one sitting.  It's frustrating but at the same time helpful to my daily eating plan.  I often like to have a Muscle Milk meal replacement drink for breakfast - it's quick, easy, full of everything I need and tastes delicious!  I'll mix it up with about 16oz of water and use half of it to swallow my vitamins in the morning.  Once I arrive at the office, I usually put my shaker cup aside for a while, get some work done and don't get to finish it until about an hour or so later.  I have then effectively stretched out my breakfast for a few hours without feeling or thinking I'm hungry.  Mentally, I'm not concerned about my next meal, snacking on something or falling off the wagon so to speak. 

Drink A No/Low Calorie Beverage Between Meals

For me, this is diet soda.  Caffeinated drinks of one flavor or another rule the day in my world.  If I'm concerned about getting too hungry too fast, a nice, bubbly, caffeinated diet soda is the perfect tool for me to use to pass the time between meals.  It may not be for everyone, but I enjoy it and recommend it to those who have a good grip on their caffeine tolerance

What Does All Of This Have To Do With Discipline?

Discipline simply comes down to consistently making the right decisions.  There are some things in life that you're probably very disciplined at.  Think about those areas for a moment.  What is it that keeps you disciplined and consistent?  What keeps you focused on making the right decisions? 
When dieting for the goal of a complete body transformation, there are quite a few variables involved that can have you straying off course.  It's helpful to have some tools at your disposal so that you can more often than not make the decisions you need to insure success.  You will have to continually battle with yourself mentally.  Some days it will be easier than others.  Some days you'll feel like you can live like this forever and others you'll wonder how you've ever kept it up this long.  It comes down to winning that mental battle as often as you can. 

I know this sounds funny, but the best way to win is to trick yourself.  Us the methods above to continually fight against any thoughts or feelings that will try to get you to stray off course.  Know that by waiting an additional 15 minutes until your next meal is nothing.  Tell yourself that you can eat whatever you want at this weekends 'splurge meal'.  Take 15 minutes to plan what you're going to eat during that meal!  Drink your favorite carbonated beverage and revisit the idea of having that next meal once you start feeling hungry again. 

Always keep asking yourself:  "Will this - meal, snack, bite, taste, drink, etc - get me closer to my goal?"

If it's not going to, don't make more work for yourself by taking a step or two backwards!


What's This Glycemic Index Thing?

The Glycemic Index is a ranking of carbohydrates based on how they affect blood sugar levels.  Essentially, those feelings of highs and lows after eating specific meals.  The energy felt immediately after having a candy bar and the subsequent crash afterwards.  These highs and lows are triggered by the sugar that enters your body through the food (carbohydrate) you eat and the release of insulin from the pancreas to metabolize this sugar (again, carbohydrate.  All carbs are metabolized down to sugars in the body). 

Too much sugar at once = sugar high
Which triggers a large dump of insulin into the body
Too much insulin at once = crash after sugar high

Modulating the body's release of insulin has many important health benefits but our focus at this time is on the effect it has on our diet.  The more consistent or modulated it's release is, the less highs and lows we'll experience and the more consistent energy and feeling of well being we'll have.  I can't say enough about how true this is.  It takes a little time to get into a mode where you're eating the correct carbs at the right times but once you do, it feels great! 
As we continue on with more in-depth looks at diet plans and foods to eat, we'll focus on the types of carbs in those meals, how they should affect us and why we're eating them when we are.  As we touched upon yesterday, what we're looking to take advantage of is:

- The consistent modulation of insulin release through complex carbs
- The benefits of the Thermic Effect (see below) created by fibrous carbs
- The manipulation of insulin to shuttle nutrients at the cellular level when our bodies need them most

To modulate insulin release throughout the day, consider having appropriate sized (both volume-wise and calorically) servings of the following complex carbs:

Oatmeal
Brown Rice
Sweet Potato

To fill in the gaps between meals and/or stave off those late night cravings consider eating as much as you want of the following fibrous carbs (without dressing!):

Lettuce
Cucumbers
Celery
Spinach
Broccoli
Cauliflower

To take advantage of insulin release to shuttle nutrients into our cells...Wait a minute -  we need to discuss this further to get a better understanding of why we want to do this...Here's the 60 second, quick and dirty version:

After working out or exercising (weights, cardio, running, etc) our bodies are in need of various macro and micro nutrients to replenish our natural stores of these nutrients, rebuild tissues that have been broken down and basically bring the body back to a state of homeostasis - a balance it likes to be at.  This means that we need to feed our bodies the nutrients it needs after a workout.  Not 'whenever we feel like it' after a workout, but right away!  Our bodies are primed to receive whatever we throw at it immediately following an intense workout.  This is the ideal time to quickly get high quality nutrients into our bodies and shuttled into the cells so they can repair, rebuild and replenish in time for our next workout.  Utilize a 'High Glycemic' carb coupled with some quality protein (whey) to insure your body gets everything it needs!

So again, to take advantage of insulin release to shuttle nutrients into our cells, consider these high impact carbohydrates immediately after a workout:

ON Recovery
Cytomax powder
Gatorade
Natural Grape Juice


The Thermic Effect of Food

When we eat, our bodies use energy to chew, digest and metabolize food.  When our bodies use energy, we (obviously) express it in terms of calories.  Therefore, the foods we eat provide us with energy - some of which can theoretically be used to provide the very energy to our bodies needed to process the food we're consuming.  Fibrous carbs are a great example of this effect because they provide very few calories but require a lot of energy to digest due to their cellulosic and/or fibrous makeup. 
Imagine for a moment that you consume 100 grams (about a cup worth) of sliced cucumber.  This will yield about 15 calories in energy for our bodies to use.  Let's assume that your body requires 25 calories of energy to chew, digest and metabolize that 100 grams of cucumber.  This would give us a net calorie deficit of 10 calories:

100grams of cucumber = 15 calories of energy provided

15 calories of energy provided - 25 calories of energy required to digest = -10 calories

That's the beauty of the Thermic Effect of Food!  You can have a positive effect on your caloric intake while eating a high volume of food to keep you sated - that's hard to beat!  Give yourself a boost in the right direction and continue to consume fibrous carbs. 

In future posts, we'll look more in depth at the importance of spices such as cayenne on the metabolism and how other spicy and/or heated foods can contribute to additional calorie expenditure by the body. 



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Tuesday, November 3, 2009

How To Deal With Intense Cravings While Dieting

Cravings - We all get them and it can certainly be tough to not succumb to whatever tasty morsel of goodness is tempting us from our diet plan!  Sorry folks, but the bad news is that those cravings aren't going to go away.  The good news however, is that there are several tips and tricks to use to get you through those dark and desperate times when the stomach conquers the mind!

What Are These Cravings?  Where Do They Come From?

It's strange just how powerful some cravings can be.  One I often get as I start reducing portion sizes, calories and/or carbs is for a large, warm cinnamon bun with melted icing.  Fortunately, these aren't typically readily available so I really have to go out of my way to get one!  But, the big question is, why a cinnamon bun? 

It's not likely that my body is in dire need of the over-processed, highly sugared ingredients in that sweet and sticky treat.  It's more likely that it's a desirable trigger for me to consume carbohydrates.  Again, we have to ask why?  My body has sufficient fat stores to use for energy even if I'm consuming very little carbs.  If it gets really bad and I drop carbs down to near zero, the body will naturally catabolize (burn for energy) muscle tissue to get you through (this leads to a state of Ketosis which is something you often strive for on a low carb diet for very short periods of time.  More on this in a later post...) 
The real reason why these cravings come on is because like just nearly everything else in life, our bodies want to take the path of least resistance to get what it needs.  Why go through all the effort to tap into fat and/or muscle stores for energy when a sticky cinnamon bun will do the trick?!
The problem is, when working hard on a total body transformation into a Better Than Average You, we can't fall victim to the cinnamon buns syren song. 

How Can I Beat These Cravings?!

So, you've been good.  You've done a fantastic job of keeping portions and calories down, your macronutrients are at or near the levels that work for you and you've kept your activity up.  Things are going great and then all of a sudden you sit down to watch your favorite television show and you get a killer craving for (insert your favorite high fat, carb dense food here)!  What do you do?  Give in and take a step backwards?  Fight through it and starve yourself?  There's no need to do any of those!  There are some easy solutions that will help you make it through!

Eat Protein

Having a low fat source of protein isn't going to hurt when you get a craving for something.  Let's say you get a massive jones for chocolate - dig into a scoop or two of a tasty chocolate flavored whey protein powder.  Drink it as fast as you can!  Once it slams into your stomach, there's a good chance that feeling of hunger goes away...
Cook up some egg whites or a whole egg plus a few whites (whole eggs average 70 calories, whites average about 16 calories).  It takes a little time to put together but you get to eat something with volume rather than just drinking liquid.  One whole egg and 10 whites is a LOT of food for only 230 calories!  Have a lot in front of you and going through the motions of chewing this much food really does wonders mentally when you're restricting portion sizes and calories. 
A 4oz cut of chicken breast (preferrably spiced with something - I like red pepper flakes and/or chile powder for the extra thermic benefits).
Or, a 4oz cut of lean beef or lean ground beef.  Mix up some 97% lean beef with the chile powder and red pepper flakes as mentioned above and top with a piece of provolone - delicious!

None of these high protein sources will throw you too far out of your daily calorie and macronutrient range.  If you're going to err on the side of too much in one macronutrient, protein is the one to do it with.  It is the hardest macronutrient for your body to convert into fat if it's not thoroughly used - unlike carbohydrates and fats.

Eat A LOT Of Fibrous Carbs

There have been many a night where I've sat down and eaten bowls of lettuce and cucumbers in front of the television.  No dressing or just a squirt or two of one of those no calorie spray dressings does the trick.  Eat as much as you want!  The green, fibrous carbs aren't going to hurt your calorie or macronutrient profiles for the day.  The interesting thing about these particular 'low glycemic' carbs is that they often require your body to burn more calories to digest them then they give off in energy.  This is referred to the Thermic Effect of food and is something we can use to our advantage in our Total Body Transformation.  These foods can literally help you lose weight. 
I enjoy eating cucumbers on salads but when it comes time to slice one up and snack on it in front of the TV, it gets old quick!  I may eat half a good size cucumber and after that I'm no longer hungry and don't feel like eating anything else.  In my case, they certainly do the trick! 
The lettuce and cucumber 'salad' has a similar effect.  At first it's great because you know that you can eat as much as you want and it just won't matter.  It doesn't take long before you realize that you don't even really feel like eating that much.  As mentioned above, just having the ability to eat as much as you want is a great mental relief even if you don't follow through and stuff yourself. 

Be Mentally Strong

This, my friends is where discipline comes into play.  It ultimately is a contest in your head alone and you need the mental strength to make the correct decisions that will keep you on the path to your goal.  Do you need those chips, chocolate, popcorn, icecream, pizza, etc?  Is your body going to fail to function without it?  Of course not!  Plus, it's going to be far better off if you substitute any of those with a high quality food source.  Believe me, I know how hard that mental fight can be.  I've fought it many, many times and have been on both the winning and losing side.  Take it from me, you will thank yourself EVERY TIME you stick to your plan and avoid the high fat, high carb foods.  I have fallen victim too many times to gallons of icecream only to feel absolutely terrible afterwards.  Those first few bites are fantastic and I love them every time.  The next few servings (yeah, that's right - servings.  As in 100's of calories per...) taste pretty good too.  Then, the sick feeling kicks in and I know I've made a BIG mistake.  I've succumbed to the craving and feel absolutely terrible because of it.  I know I'm one (or two!) steps further from my goal and have to mentally reset to get back on track.  Spare yourself having to go through this!  Those few bites are just not worth it.  I know most of you are going to read this and understand completely where I'm coming from but still do it anyway (I will too again, I can guarantee it!) but please try to be strong and not succumb.  You'll be happy that you did.


Feeling hungry yet?  Make sure all those sweet treats are at least a drive to the store away - don't have them close enough where you can easily grab a handful and start munching away.  Have a cucumber or two on hand, some lettuce, readily available lean protein sources and you'll be doing yourself big favors when those cravings do come!

Next Up:
- A closer look at the mental strength and discipline required for dieting
- A brief overview of the glycemic index that we touched upon today
- Further discussion of the Thermic Effect of food which we also spoke about today Sphere: Related Content

Monday, November 2, 2009

Diet and Nutrition For Total Body Transformation - The Macronutrients

Now that we have a handle on how many calories we need on a daily basis to maintain, gain or lose weight, it's time to focus on the ratio of protein, carbohydrates and fat (or macronutrients) that make up those calories.  Like everything else we've looked at so far and are doing with diet and exercise, each component builds off the next to help contribute to ultimately making the whole process of transforming your body easier

The Macronutrients
Here's a very brief refresher on the macronutrients and how they impact our body:

Protein:  4 calories per gram.  Comprised of amino acids.  Used by the body primarily for repair and rebuilding of muscle tissue.

Carbohydrates:  4 calories per gram.  Comprised of simple and complex sugars.  Used by the body primarily for energy production.

Fats:  9 calories per gram.  Comprised of various density lipids ranging from liquid to solid at room temperature.  Used by the body primarily for storage and energy production. 
All three of these are very important for the body to function properly but consideration should be taken to insure they're delivered in a ratio your body can benefit from. 
You've no doubt heard many of the dietary mantra's that have permeated the diet, fat loss and nutrition realm for some time:  High protein, low carb diets.  Low fat.  Zero carb diet. Etc.  They all have their place but the timing and length of implementation of these diet phases carry an equal amount of importance.  The goal isn't to stick to one radical style of eating over the long term (i.e.:  low carb all the time), but to bring them into the fold when necessary for short periods of time to prevent our bodies from adapting and kick start/ramp up results.  These dietary phases will come into focus more in the future, but now we're going to look at a foundation we can build from. 

The Baseline Macronutrient Ratios

I have found over the years that my body type (pretty normal, don't gain muscle very easily, seem to maintain a consistent bodyweight easily and can store fat easily with a poor diet) responds best to a higher protein, moderate carb and low-ish fat (good fats!) diet.  These proportions have worked out to generally be:

Protein:  45%
Carbs:  30%
Fats:  25%

It's somewhat of a loose translation of the 'Zone Diet' popularized by Dr. Barry Sears but without the complexity of buying specifically marketed nutrition bars, meals, books, supplements, etc. 

This ratio of macronutrients helps to reduce the amount of calories you get from fat while providing the benefits of the necessary Essential Fatty Acids (EFA's), provides sufficient energy from carbohydrates and fills you up, repairs your body and minimizes the daily total caloric impact by eating a solid amount of protein.  When actively and consistently following this structure in a dietary plan, I know from experience that positive results will follow. 

Doing the Math - How Many Calories From Each Macronutrient?

This is actually quite easy and intuitive.  First, let's recall our general daily baseline caloric needs.  Mine ranged from 1,800 on the low end to 2,200 on the high end.  I'll use the mid-range of 2,000 calories for this example.  Then, we simply determine how many calories these specific percentages equate to:

45% from Protein:  2,000 calories x .45 = 900 calories
30% from Carbs:  2,000 calories x .30 = 600 calories
25% from Fats:  2,000 calories x .25 = 500 calories

Next, we'll take it a step further by looking at the approximate number of grams for each macronutrient needed to make up these ratios:

Protein:  900 calories / 4 calories per gram = 225 grams
Carbs: 600 calories / 4 calories per gram = 150 grams
Fats: 500 calories / 9 calories per gram = 56 grams


Now we know exactly what we need to for our daily nutritional requirements to reach our body transformation goal!
 
What Does This Look Like In Terms of REAL Food?
 
Here's a snapshot of a single day where I was pretty much right on these numbers (this was a non-work day where I slept in and started the day off with some cardio):
 
Time                        Food                         Calories          Protein         Carbs        Fat
 
10:30am - Carb/protein drink after cardio   215                24                27                1
11:35am - Burger King Tendergrill salad   220                 30                  9                7
2:05pm - Meal replacement bar                  340                 30                35                9
3:40pm - 3serv pouch of Salmon                 180                30                  0                 6
6:25pm - Egg and cheese omellete               345                32                 13               18
6:25pm - 1/2 cup brown rice                       109                  2.5               23               1
8:15pm - Pre-workout drink                        108                16                   9                 0
9:50pm - Carb/protein drink after workout   215               24                 27                1
10:50pm - 1/2 serv Muscle Milk                 150                16                   8                 6
12:25am - 1 serv Whey Protein                   120                24                   3                 1
 
Totals                                                  2,002          228.5         154        50


As you can see, there was ample opportunity throughout the day to eat.  In this particular real world example there were nine (6:25pm was a single meal) seperate points throughout the day when something was consumed.  When eating like this, the body never really gets a chance to get hungry in the sense you're probably used to at this stage.  Sure, you feel hungry, but not ravenous.  You will also note that while there's a lot of liquid and or supplemental nutrition there's also three 'real food' meals with one of them being from a fast food restaurant.
I certainly recommend using dietary supplements and we'll continue to talk more about them as we move along.  Here are some of the reason why I like using them: 

1)  I like the taste of them - chocolate and peanut butter are my favorites and they often taste great!
2)  They are incredibly easy and convenient to use - no cooking, preparing, etc.
3)  They are pre-engineered to contain the proper quality and ratio of nutrients we're looking for.
4)  Price - when it comes down to a per serving basis, you can't beat it.  Where else can you get a full meals worth of high quality nutrition for $1 - $3 ???

Take a few minutes to calculate what your macronutrient needs are using the simple math above and begin looking more closely at the nutrition labels on the foods you like to eat.  I'm certain you'll be able to fit some of them into your new diet plan and still maintain the proper ratios consistently.  We'll continue to explore more daily diet plans and recipes in future posts to help mix things up a bit. 

A Brief Word On Carb Types

Not all carbs are created equal and the popular press has made sure you've heard about this over the past few years! 

Complex carbs are obviously better than sugars - why?  Because they have a minor impact on insulin secretion which is preferred over massive releases of insulin into your blood stream.  Why is that important?  Insulin acts as a 'shuttle' of sorts with respect to transporting macro and micro nutrients into your cells.  If you're eating a poor diet that consists of high fat and lots of sugar, what do you think your elevated insulin is transporting into your cells?  You guessed it, lots of fat to store.  By modulating your insulin levels with complex carbohydrates, you don't get this same effect and your body can manage the total nutrient load much more efficiently. 

We know that carb types are important, but did you also know that the timing of eating carbs is also important?  It sure is!  For the best results in transforming your physique, you want to have most of your carbs earlier in the day and/or immediately after exercise (we'll discuss the importance of this in a later post, but for now, think about how we can creatively manipulate the effect of insulin to benefit nutrient transport...).  This way, the carbs will be used early on for energy throughout the day and be far less apt to be stored as fat if consumed late in the day and not ultimately used for energy.  We'll continue to look into the details of how all this works going forward because it is a very important component of dieting for fat loss.  Keep these in mind as you're making adjustments to your daily diet at this time.  Every little bit contributes to BIG results when consistently implemented! 


Stay tuned for more important diet details to follow!  We're just getting started in transforming into a Better Than Average You! Sphere: Related Content

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Let's Talk Diet! Time To Get Into The Details Of Nutrition Required For A Total Body Transformation

There are so many important components regarding diet and nutrition we're going to look at.  I will work to parse this information down into small but detailed posts where the focus will be on just a handful (or less) of pertinent pieces that you can use and put into practice right away.  Today, we'll build on the basic groundwork information we've covered so far about our daily caloric needs, portion sizes and quality of nutrition we're ingesting. 

Daily Calorie Needs

If you haven't already, you'll need to revisit this post to get a baseline idea of what your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is.  The calculators provided there will attempt to account for your approximate level of daily activity/exercise as well as what your body needs to function.  There are a couple of important things to keep in mind with these calculations:

1)  Your BMR based on your current physical condition will basically give you the daily caloric requirements to maintain that physical condition.
2)  You will want to determine your current BMR and your projected BMR based on your specific goal for your transformed physical condition.

In doing this, you will essentially get a range of daily caloric needs to work within.  For example, I know that based on my current physical condition and my goal for my transformed physical condition I will need to work within a daily caloric range of ~1,800 to 2,200 calories. 
This range is helpful on two levels.  First, it's much easier to land within this range rather than targeting a very specific number and secondly, your daily activity level will have an impact on where you need to be within or outside of this range. 

We need to know our daily caloric needs because to lose fat weight we must to create a calorie deficit.  This can be accomplished by either increasing activity and/or reducing caloric intake.  Both of these methods seemingly have limited periods of effectiveness when used individually due to the body's ability to adapt.  We can however use both of these methods concurrently in a varying manner to sustain reliable weight loss over lengthy periods of time. 
On days where we're not scheduled to do any additional activity or exercise (workout, cardio, etc) we can opt to be at or near the low end of our daily caloric range to ensure that we're not getting a surplus of calories the body will want to store as fat.  The quality of the food we eat on these days will contribute to our recovery and repair so we can be sure that we're getting enough, but not too much. 
On those days when we're working out, doing a cardio session or some active recreational activity, we can plan to be at or near the upper end of this range (or higher if you're certain you need it and you're eating quality food).  It's critical to keep in mind that all of that activity won't be helping you reach your goal if you're not creating the needed caloric deficit during the day.  While you can potentially eat more on these days if you feel you need to, be sure to not over do it.  We'll look at some detailed examples (beyond what's outlined below) in future posts regarding specific diet plans on these days. 

Keep The Portion Sizes Down

As we spoke about here, one of the best ways to begin rationing caloric intake is to keep portion sizes small but plentiful throughout the day.  Eating five or more small meals per day will allow your body to feel more full with less food, have less cravings throughout the day and keep insulin secretion more controlled which will prevent the ups and downs many of us feel before, during and after eating big meals.  If you have already been putting the smaller portions sizes into practice, good for you!  Even if you've still been eating the same, possibly not great quality foods, these smaller portions will limit the impact they have on the body.  Once you start making the shift to high quality foods, the results pick up drastically. 

Keep Food Quality Up

You've been increasing your activity and decreasing your portion sizes but you still don't feel too great.  My friend, it all comes down to food quality.  A donut for breakfast, coffee for snack, cheeseburger value meal for lunch, small bag of chips in the afternoon, maccaroni and cheese for dinner and a glass of chocolate milk before bed isn't the type of quality that will have you feeling great during the day!  A migration away from this type of eating will have you feeling fantastic in no time.  The hardest part about this transition that I can attest to is getting used to eating foods that aren't processed and refined to the max.  Again, due to the body's incredible ability to adapt, we get used to eating highly processed foods and the tastes and flavors we experience with these processed foods becomes the norm.  We become desensitized to the natural flavors and ingredients inherent in fresh, unaltered foods.  Our bodies weren't designed to function at 100% on corn syrup solids, MSG and partially hydrogenated oils!  They function a million times better on long chain, complex carbohydrates, naturally occuring sodium and potassium and essential fatty acids.  All of which can be found in unrefined foods. 

With that said, I completely understand the difficulties that can arise in planning and preparing meals of this nature.  Like you, I certainly don't have the time to think all these things through ahead of time and plan every meal I'm going to eat.  But, we do need to make an effort here.  One thing I tend to do is rely heavily on meal replacement supplements (I have my own personal favorites and will make some recommendations in a future post).  Once or twice per day I will have some form of 'liquid nutrition' to supplement my solid food diet.  There have been some days where I barely eat any 'real food' at all!  It all comes down to my schedule, timing and what I'm doing that day.  Plus, many of the varieties of dietary supplements in the marketplace today taste fabulous! 

Some positive substitutions you can make with your meals could include:

Breakfast
1 cup of rolled oats (plain oatmeal - no sugar added.  Throw in 2 tablespoons of natural peanut butter to liven it up)

Snack
1oz Plain/unsalted almonds (if you can handle the salt, choose the Smokehouse flavor for more variety)

Lunch
Grilled Chicken Salad from a fast food restaurant - HOLD THE DRESSING!  Once you get used to eating these with no dressing (and they begin to taste good that way!) you will be able to master your entire eating plan!

Snack
1 meal replacement bar - you can't miss!  They taste almost like a candy bar.

Dinner
2 slices whole wheat bread toasted
2 whole eggs microwaved (spray a bowl with a shot of spray olive oil, crack the eggs in, put some kind of non-sealed cover on the bowl, heat until cooked through)
1 slice of provolone cheese (put this on the eggs in the bowl after their cooked and keep the cover on to steam melt the cheese.)

Before Bed
16oz glass of skim milk


Easy! 
This looks like a lot, but it only comes out to about 1,700 calories.  If you were to eat this and split it up throughout the day, you'd find yourself eating every 2.5 hours or so and rarely ever feeling starved.  Hungry at time, yes, but famished, not necessarily. 
The key points to take away from this example however, is the ease in which it can all be prepared, how little disruption there is to your daily scheduling and how simple the foods/meals are.  Eating along these lines gives you plenty of high quality protein, a moderate amount of complex carbohydrates, very little saturated fats and a fair amount of 'good fats'.  Plus, you'll feel great from eating simple but high quality foods with little bulk to them. 

We'll continue to explore various meals and recipes going forward to see how we can keep things simple but still liven it up a bit so we can enjoy what we eat. 

Next Time:

- We'll look at what proportion of macro nutrients will work best for us
- How to figure out the macro nutrient ratios
- A brief discussion on carbohydrate types Sphere: Related Content