Nutritional Knowledge is Power
- 5 steps for successful nutrition
- * No diets, juicing or supplements needed!!
Making changes is exceptionally tough and it’s what RYPT is all about.
Small steps for large success.
So when thinking about a topic of interest for today’s blog, nutrition and changes featured prominently.
Therefore, I came up with the idea of 5 nutritional habits to successfully change your lifestyle.
Becoming healthier doesn’t need to be difficult and there are simple steps to get there without “dieting.”
Dieting is a fad (and a massive consumer con, if you ask me) that really only succeeds if you are able to cope with vast amounts of changes in your life. That includes food shopping, routine, preparation, undoubtedly some exercise too and that’s all on top of your current habits.
It’s like learning how to drive an 18 wheel truck by training using a scooter: without understanding how it really works, there is a small chance of success.
For 90% of people this is why diets end in failure! It’s too much change and it’s more comfortable to be where we already are. Hence the lapse into old habits and “yo-yo dieting.”
So what five steps can you take to succeed?
1) Vegetables
The thorny subject of eating more greens!
However, this does not need to be made more difficult than it already is. Simply by starting with small amounts of greens (even a handful) will encourage good habits over time.
The last thing you want is to spend endless amounts of money on stocking the fridge with vegetables, only for them to go out of date (see also Post- Christmas Brussel Sprouts).
Be smart about it, start with small portions of vegetables, ones that you are fairly familiar with or even your favourites, and go from there.
Advertising this time of year is filled with vegetable-laden smoothies – encouraging guilt for not filling the shopping basket with them.
With all good intentions, smaller amounts of vegetables will give you a greater chance of succeeding over the longer term rather than having the psychological failure of quitting.
2) Protein
This is a very simple way to dissuade yourself from eating or indeed craving sugary foods.
Protein will suppress your appetite and leave you feeling more full (satiated) particularly when used in conjunction with vegetables.
Protein sources are definitely more appealing than vegetables. You have the likes of meat, fish, poultry, nuts and seeds which can all be used to boost intake!
Bearing in mind, that for the average person you should be looking at between 1.2 and 1.5 g of protein multiplied by bodyweight (in kilos) per day. This generally surprises a lot of people but it will reduce cravings and help your all round health choices.
Remember, if you’re a long way off, build it up slowly again!
3) Meal Spacing
(Again, this is one that boils down to personal routines. For more accurate information on this, please apply for the free health check service on the RYPT homepage for a comprehensive questionnaire.)
Depending on your work routine, physical activity levels, gender and age, your caloric intake will vary significantly.
Therefore, when it comes to meal planning, you need to factor this in too.
If possible, 5 to 6 small meals per day is generally better than three set meals. This is primarily because it reduces bingeing and craving sugary foods as the blood glucose level in the body drops. Your blood glucose level (also known as blood sugar level) will fluctuate significantly throughout the day if your body is malnourished. Ever get that sensation of being unable to concentrate? Well that could be down to blood sugar levels or lack of hydration.
Make sure you are properly fuelling your body. A common theme this time of year is full of people to drastically reduce their calorific intake in order to lose weight.
This is completely the wrong way to go about it and will lead to the body craving not only calories but sugar in particular.
Starving yourself (a common theme with people undergo new diets) will result in the body moving into what is known as “starvation mode”.
This ironically means that the body will store more fat and eat away at any muscle that is presently stored.
If you want your body to be a lean, mean, fat grilling machine, then balance calories throughout the day and fuelling your body correctly is the way to do this.
4) Food Shopping
Once you have this down to a fine art, then you have nailed your nutrition.
Knowing what you need to buy (rather than what you want) will not only result in faster shopping, but also healthier shopping.
If you know the foods that you need to prepare for the week, you can also shop more effectively and buy ahead so foods can be frozen and are consequently cheaper.
You will begin to suss out which isles are important to your shopping and which ones (generally unhealthy) can be skipped.
This means that you will be less likely to deviate from your nutritional plan and it may also open your eyes to other, healthier options within the supermarket.
Furthermore, buying food from your local butcher may also be cheaper than you think. The Internet is a wonderful source for evaluating the cost of your weekly shop.
5) Simple
Finally, do not overcomplicate what you are trying to achieve.
If your aim is to lose weight, then using the free app: MyFitnessPal is an essential and this is something I recommend for all new clients.
It will monitor your levels of activity in conjunction with your intake and provide you with an accurate assessment of any adjustments that need to be made. It could not be simpler to find foods and there really is no excuse with it even including a barcode scanner.
No more wild guessing or estimates and you can begin to really understand how to personalise your nutrition.
At the end of the day, if you are looking to change your lifestyle, healthier options along the way will all amount to success.
As humans, we know what we should eat and what we should avoid but our emotions can play havoc with healthy eating.
With the best will in the world, plans do go out the window due to our own lives. That is why balance is important and understanding that we will never be 100% perfect and “diets” are wholly unrealistic.
What happens when you forget your lunch? Perhaps you run out of food whilst at work? Or even you failed to buy a vital ingredient for your meal?
These things happen and if following a diet plan, it instils a sense of failure.
This is not an approach that I recommend. Getting your mental approach spot on is vital and allowing some leeway will help. So don’t be too hard on yourself.
In reality, there are no such things as “good” or “bad” foods as all foods contain some form of nutrition. Some choices are better than others, yes, and the more of the better choices that we make, the more successful our nutrition will be and ultimately closer to our goals that we will get.
In January, the RYPT Facebook page will have daily hints and tips at 11.00 and 21.00 to assist with beginner’s fitness issues.
If you haven’t already liked the page, I highly recommend you do to assist you with free help January!
Ross
