Here's where the "eat like a nutritionist" aspect of life comes into play. I am going to let you all in on the guidelines I go by for my personal diet. This post will be a tad bit longer this time, but hey give me a break, I am a nutritionist and have a lot to say. I can thank my personal trainer, Rik, for letting me in on the "secrets" of this....
The best thing you can do for yourself is to go on the "Paleo Diet". I am also on the Paleo diet and I can't say that I absolutely love it but it's almost like a love-hate relationship between us. It really is not that bad it just takes a lot of effort and thought put into it and it is just a completely new lifestyle you have to adjust yourself to. It's totally worth it and makes fat-loss so much easier.
Paleo is short for Paleolithic and is also called "Neanderthin" (yes, as in your ancestor's era and neanderthals). You see over the decades and possibly even centuries we as a society have adapted to heavily processed foods and pounds upon pounds of sugar. However, our needs for sustenance have only changed very slightly from our ancestors. Genetically, our ancestors were primed for hunting and gathering (survival) and their diets consisted of vegetation and animal meats. Sugar was unknown for the most part, as was bread and pasta. Meaning processed foods and hydrogenated oils and prepackaged meals or snacks were not at all known either. The Paleo Diet helps one go back to this ancestral diet and live a much healthier lifestyle. This diet is proven to be one of the healthiest diet out there. It is low-carb and high-protein.
The goal is to have the main portion of the diet as animal meat. It is the best source of protein and all essential amino acids. There is no set number for amount of protein with this diet but my recommendation would be to consume meat/eggs/fish at every meal. Especially for breakfast. To get the potential weight loss benefit, experts advise aiming for around 120 grams of protein a day. Also, adding protein bars and/or powder/drinks after workouts help immensely to help recover the muscles. A personal favorite are the Powerbar Protein Plus bars, however I am still figuring out what I like best, but those ones in particular have about 20g of protein in them.
As far as carbs go, absolutely no carbs for breakfast. It slows down weight loss tenfold, sometimes even preventing weight loss depending on how much there is to lose. Every morning I eat eggs and some sort of breakfast meat (such as bacon or sausage). And if you are going to eat carbs at any point in the day, your best choice, in terms of when, is to consume them right before or right after a workout. This way you can burn them off during your workout or the carbs go straight to recovering your muscles after the workout.
A real advantage to this diet (for me at least) is that you only need one piece of fruit a day. You need fruit; it is healthy for you in a lot of ways. But a lot of fruit is packed full with carbs. Fruit is a lot of sugar, hence the carbs part of the food. Bananas are the worst culprit with apples and oranges not far behind. So it is recommended that one only consumes one piece of fruit a day. If you end up not getting that piece of fruit in for the day, it is not the end of the world. If you are faced with choosing between eating veggies and fruits - veggies all the way. They are a perfect companion for the amount of protein being consumed.
Some common misconceptions of the Paleo Diet:
- Being on a low-carb diet does not mean that you are on a no-carb diet. Everything that is not meat has some sort of carbohydrate. But getting your carbs from fruits, veggies, and nuts is much much healthier than getting them from cake, cookies, bread and pasta.
- Exercise helps with fat loss but on the paleo diet is not needed because you are not eating the processed foods and high carb food you once were eating.
- You can "cheat" every once in a while. I understand that it is hard, believe me I know, but being on this low-carb diet does not mean you can't treat yourself every once in a while. Just be conscious of your choices and when you are eating carbs to balance out the treats. For example, you know you are going to eat pasta at a family dinner that night so eat strictly meat and veggies for the beginning potion of the day and the day after/before. The one thing you want to avoid though is going so hard throughout the week with your dedication that you completely binge on the weekends. treat yourself every once in a while during the week so that you are not as tempted to binge.
http://www.webmd.com/diet/guide/high-protein-diet-weight-loss
http://www.nerdheaven.dk/~jevk/paleo_intro.php
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/whattoeat/a/highproteinfood.htm
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