Since the holiday weekend is winding down I wanted to give you something that I thought would help you get back into your daily eating routine.
A friend of mine recently asked what kind of nutrition plan he should be on. The answer is simple yet not. Without giving me much information, I have to ask someone these essential questions:
1) What are your goals?
Do you want to build muscle? Lose weight? Tone? Lean out?
2) Why are your goals your goals?
Are you in a competition? A race? Have a wedding coming up? Want to
demonstrate healthy eating habits for your children? You have officially decided to
improve your eating habits for life?
3) Are you a vegetarian?
4) Do you have any conditions that may alter your eating habits?
ex. Diabetes?
I will bring up the reasons for these questions in reverse order.
First and foremost, if you do have a condition, such as diabetes, it is important to consult your doctor about your eating habits. Your doctor can better assess your individual nutrition needs.
If you are a vegetarian I encourage you to find alternate sources of protein. Increasing your intake of specific foods like beans, cottage cheese, natural peanut butter and (if you eat them) eggs will boost your daily protein intake. I have personally found all of these to be great sources of protein in my own diet.
Determining why your goals are your goals is important because it gives me and you a timeline and a deadline for you to adhere to. It also tells me how strict you should be on yourself in regards to your eating.
What you specifically want to accomplish is extremely important. Eating and training for a bodybuilding competition for example, requires a higher intake of daily protein than someone who wants to run the Chicago Marathon. Conversely, somebody that wants to lose weight may want to consider the time of day they eat their carbohydrates.
All in all, diet is and is not a complex part of our lives. I could go on for days about the dietary needs for each specific goal. Here are a few websites I hope will help guide those who have specific goals:
Gain Muscle Mass: Muscle and Fitness build mass muscle plan http://www.muscleandfitness.com/images/maf/209705/4112.pdf
Runners/Those getting ready for the marathon:
http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-301--6686-0,00.html
Losing Weight or those who want to change their eating habits for the better: Check out body by bond for general eating tips and how I ate to have my best body. For those of you who have specific questions please let me know!
Filed under: Uncategorized
Tags: caffeine, eating, goals, muscle, nutrition, running, water, weightloss
Here's my goals:
1) look better when I take my shirt off
2) when I see pictures of myself, not feel fat
3) forgive myself when I fail at 1 & 2
Hi Joey. I am going to give you some advice on number one and two. But first I think its important to take care of number 3. Check out my most recent post on not giving up. I think it will help you begin your fitness journey. Let me know what you think.