Happy Easter everyone! Here’s a video discussing my thoughts on nutrition and what works for me. Everyone needs to tailor their nutrition plan to their fitness goals, but these are some general rules that I think work.
Here is the text I’m discussing in the video. Eat well everyone.
A lot of people ask me for my thoughts on nutrition and whether I have any helpful tips. Here are what I believe are the foundations of a healthy diet. These are just my thoughts based on my experiences and my experiments with several different nutrition plans (not “diets”), beginning with the P90X Nutrition Guide.
1. Whole Foods – Avoid processed junk. Look past the nutrition facts and read the ingredients. The more ingredients, the lower the likelihood it is going in my mouth. A strawberry has ONE ingredient. So does an egg, or a chicken breast, or broccoli. Take a look at the ingredients in the foods you are eating. If you have trouble pronouncing them…keep moving. If you can get your foods from a local supplier that is preferable. Foods that are organic do make a huge difference. They are lower in toxic pesticides and generally higher in micronutrients. See if you have a local “CSA” (Community Supported Agriculture) program in your area. We pay $25 a week for a huge bag of organic seasonal veggies and fresh eggs that are raised in a real “cage free” environment and not fed corn and antibiotics. These types of eggs are much higher in Omega-3 fatty acids and generally much more nutritious. Check out www.localharvest.org.
2. Supplements – I take a multi-vitamin (super important), Shakeology (www.shakeology.com/azfitclub) whey protein, Omega-3 fatty acids and on occasion the recovery formula (sugar is an issue, but it has its place). The goal here is to give my body what it needs to process the basics. At the minimum you need a good multi-vitamin. You have to focus first on making sure your body’s basic functions are addressed. It isn’t going to do you any good to take an expensive supplement if you can’t digest it and process the ingredients. Address your base nutrition first and foremost.
3. Make carbohydrate intake correspond to activity level – Everyone has different fitness goals, and getting the right amount of carbs is key. Limiting carbs, in particular SUGAR, to the amount you need to support your goals is essential. As a triathlete training for a 1/2 Ironman, my carb intake is going to be a lot higher than someone that is doing P90X. The sugar has got to go. Watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNYlI…layer_embedded. Understanding the insulin response and limiting the presence of excess insulin in your body is essential to health and fitness.
4. Limit foods that make your blood acidic. Huh? Watch this: http://www.thefitclubnetwork.com/200…makes-you-fat/. Soda…get rid of it. It is poisoning your blood. Water…drink way more of it. It helps refresh your blood.
5. Limit dairy. Tony Horton said this weekend, “cheese is a spice”. Use it that way. A little Parmesan on your food is ok, but otherwise ditch the cheese. It is high in fats that don’t help your body. Many people feel that our bodies are not conditioned to process milk from other animals. We are the only species that drinks milk that doesn’t come exclusively from our own mothers. Try to cut milk out of your diet and see how it works. I feel a lot better since doing that. Some people don’t have any adverse reaction, but if you aren’t sure, cut it out for a month and see how you feel. That’s what I did and I only have it in my coffee now. Almond milk makes a great substitute for cow’s milk.
6. Healthy fats. You’ve got to get fat in your diet. Huh? Yes, fat is good for you. There is an ongoing debate about saturated fats and whether or not they are beneficial. The generally accepted principal is that they are not. After reading Mark Sisson’s The Primal Blueprint, in which he presents the theory that saturated fats are not to blame for our society’s weight problems, and increasing my own fat intake I believe he is correct (a large number of people in this community have had similar results). My fat intake is between 30 to 45% depending on where I’m at with my carb intake. When I’m endurance training I need more carbs, and take in less fats. When I’m not, I limit carbs to my activity level and that means increasing my fat intake. I’ve found it to be a remarkably good source of energy and fatty foods really fill you up, which means you don’t need to eat so much to feel satisfied. Regardless of that debate, you cannot go wrong with increasing your intake of fatty foods like avocados, nuts, and olive oil. Take the time to understand how fats work in your diet, because they are important.
7. Quality over quantity. What you eat is far more important than how much you eat. Spend more time focusing on what type of foods you eat and less worrying about how many calories you are taking in on a daily basis. Knowing your caloric range is important, but don’t get too caught up in that analysis. If you are hungry and have something healthy to eat, then eat it. If you are not hungry, don’t feel like you have to force food down to get to some predetermined caloric count. Just go with that feels right and eat healthy.
8. The 80/20 Rule. Try to make 80% of the foods you eat be healthy whole foods that meet all of the criteria above. If you can do that, then the other 20% won’t hurt you too much. If your diet isn’t particularly good at this time 80/20 will be a huge improvement. The 80/20 rule came straight from the Tony Horton Fitness Camp seminars. Tony follows a 90/10 rule, so apply this according to your personal goals.
Hope this helps. If you are reading this, and have questions, don’t hesitate to contact me by clicking HERE I’m happy to help.
Dave
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