Nutrition is the most important aspect of getting and staying lean and muscular.  You can work out perfectly on weights and cardio, but if you do not focus on what you are putting in your mouth, you will only get half way to your true potential.

Eating to gain muscle and lose fat really is easy.  Actually it is common sense, once you understand a few basic rules.

There are three basic aspects that are important in eating for fitness.

1. You need to eat higher quality natural unprocessed foods versus low quality processed foods.

Most would agree that this one is common sense.  Obviously 2,000 calories of chicken, salad, and broccoli is the way to go versus 2,000 calories of Twinkies and spam.  If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was manufactured in a plant, stay away from it!   IF IT ROTS, IT IS GOOD FOR YOU!

To find high quality, unprocessed foods that will work great for you remember the term;

“Lean, Green, and Marine”

Lean; proteins (chicken, lean red meat, whey protein, eggs, cottage cheese, turkey, pork) have the best thermic affect of all the food groups.  For every 100 calories you consume, the body burns 30 calories just to digest, utilize and eliminate it.  Plus lean proteins satiate your appetite best.

Green; (Salads, veggies, apples, green-beans, fruit) are full of fiber/vitamins/minerals (the more color the better) and water.  300 calories of Green is a mountain of food, versus 300 calories of starchy crabs (pasta, potatoes, and breads) will not even wet your palate.  It is impossible to over eat on Green.

Marine;  Healthy fats from fish (salmon, tilapia, red snapper, whit fish, nuts (almonds, brazil nuts, walnuts), avocado’s, flax and olive oil are very important to help keep our hormone levels balanced properly.  This area of nutrition is very often overlooked.  Trust me, if you take your fat intake too low, your body will shut down and your ability to reach your true potential will be limited.

2. You need to eat small meals often with protein and carbs combined together to maximize your Fat loss Nutrition

If you eat one meal per day of high quality food, that’s better than eating one meal of junk.  But to really rev your metabolism up & to really reach your true fitness potential you need to eat smaller and more often with high quality protein and carbs combined together.

A recent study at Harvard showed that those that ate a healthy breakfast had over 8% less body fat on average then those who skipped it.

You also want to taper your calories through the day.  Trust me when I tell you that there is lot of truth to the old adage “Eat Breakfast Like A King, Lunch Like a Prince, and Supper Like a Pauper”.

I know that if you are in the habit of not eating breakfast, that you do not have a hunger level in the morning.  But the key is to slowly work into it.

Start by eating a tiny breakfast in the a.m.  Maybe it is just one egg and a couple  spoon fulls of oatmeal.  If you want to speed up the process, get up 15 minutes early and get your heart rate up by power walking or any activity that raises your heart rate.  Plus the added benefit is that you feel much more awake and alert versus sleeping in.

You must work up to eating 6 small meals per day.  Now do not get overwhelmed.  We are not talking meals like most of you are thinking;  a huge plate that has side rails on it just to hold everything on it.

We are talking about small meals like;

1.  An average size chicken breast and an apple

2.  A 1/2 cup of oatmeal and 3-5 Egg white, 2 yolk omelet

3.  A can of tuna on an organic salad

4.  30 grams of whey protein and an apple

5.  4 – 5 ounces of turkey on a wheat tortilla

6.  Tuna, olive oil, lemon juice on a tortilla wrap

The options are endless if you just use your imagination and are just a little adventurous.

Most people who come to me for nutrition advice do not eat breakfast, eat a huge lunch at noon, and a massive dinner around 6:30 p.m.   If you are doing the same,  do not worry because it only takes about 2-3 weeks of eating smaller meals to work up to 6 meals per day;  thus,  speeding up your metabolism and fat burning potential.

3.  Cycle Your Calories By Eating More Starchy Carbs on Work-out Days; and only Non Starchy carbs on non workout and cardio days.

Good sources of starchy carbs are brown / wild rice, oatmeal,whole wheat pasta, sweet potatoes, yams, and whole wheat pasta.  Non Starchy carbs are veggies, green beans, salads, and apples.

Make sure that you eat a non starchy carb with your protein for every meal;  on work out, cardio, and non work-out days.

The only thing to remember is to add a starchy carb to 2-4 meals per day on work-out days.  This is what body builders refer to as carb cycling.  Your body breaks starchy carbs down into glucose.  Glucose is the gasoline for your engine.  Your muscles can’t fire without it.

The problem is, most people eat too many starchy carbs and therefore have to much glycogen which is then stored as fat.

So if you cycle your calories with the rules above, you will be giving your body the extra glucose on days that it needs it (for work-outs).  And on days that you are not as active, your body will not store fat cause your calories and starchy carbs will be lower.

You see it keeps the body guessing and it will never shut down your metabolism because of calorie deprivation which is what happens to most people when they go on a diet and severely limit their calories.

Eating this way is fun and very effective at gaining muscle and losing fat.    It keeps all of your bodies anabolic hormones at optimal levels.  I dare you to try it; I know that you will fell the difference in no time.  This simple Fat loss Nutrition system works great and I have used it on myself and my clients for 20 years.

If you would like some more great nutrition tips for post work out meals;  Post Work Out Meal Nutrition Strategy

Focusing on the “Three Pillars of Health”

1. The Foods That You Eat
2. The Exercise That You Get
3. The Thoughts That You Think

is about much more than fitting into a smaller pair of blue jeans.  It’s about being fully engaged.  It’s about having real energy.  It’s about being creative and less stressed.   It’s about sleeping better at night.  And it’s about “Reaching Your True Potential in all the major areas of your life.

Your Fitness Coach,

Darin

I believe  one of the biggest oxymoron’s is that “THE MOST VALUABLE THING IN THE WORLD;  OUR HEALTH, FITNESS,  ENERGY & LONGEVITY” doesn’t cost a penny.

Shopping for Fat Loss?

To be proactive, to stand up and take control of your own healthy fat loss lifestyle is much easier and cost effective than most people think.  I want to give you some ideas that can help you start thinking outside the box.  Some ideas that will allow you to realize that you do not need a lot of money to work out, to gain muscle, strength and energy

This topic is very important because it seems that because of the most recent economic atmosphere most everyone is pinching their pennies.  It seems that many people are cutting out things from their budget unless they are absolutely necessities.

And what I see is that many people think that it takes an expensive gym membership, personal trainer, or tons of expensive organic food to get in great shape.  This is simply not true.  And the things that do cost money our more easily purchased now for pennies on the dollar.

You see, everyone is feeling the economic pinch.  And one thing that I learned from some of my successful clients that run their own businesses is that art of negotiation.  Everyone is willing to barter or wheel and deal.

So all you need to do is come up with something that you are good at, something that you are confident with and go get what you need for maybe no money out of your pocket at all.  For me, it is the ability to train people and get them in great shape.  I am a professional healthy lifestyle coach.  I have gotten tons of advertising for my business, signs, build out for my facility, radio ads, etc for nothing more than just some training sessions.

So all you need to do is figure out what product or service you have that other people could use and start to become creative.

Below are a few ideas of how you can get what you need to get in great shape. First off I want you to know that getting in great shape is easier and more time efficient than you think. There are many on-line fitness trainers that you can follow who will give you a precise, time efficient plan of attack. My on-line FatLoss LifeStyle 12 Week Body Transformation program has over 500 success stories with over 80 before and after pictures at www.FatLossMastermind.com.

Other on-line trainers that I respect are Tom Venuto and Craig Ballantyne.

Fitness Equipment or Facility

Garage Sales –  You do not need a fancy gym membership with tons of expensive equipment to get in great shape. 75% of the exercises that we use are a few dumbbells, a barbell, and a couple benches.  Most of the equipment you need can be purchased at pennies on the dollar at garage sales or at second hand equipment stores like Play it Again.  Sports.  Remember, everyone out there is in a bartering mindset. Even if you do end up paying for what you need,  offer 30% of asking price and be firm.

You can get a gym membership at places like Cardinal Fitness for as little as 19.95 per month.

Nutrition

If you want to lose fat and get healthy, you must eat more unprocessed natural foods.  If it rots it’s good for you.  It is just as expensive to eat junk foods in a box than it is to eat high quality, nutritious foods. Local Farmers Markets –  One of the best places to get the freshest locally grown organic foods is at your local farmers markets.  Just google search for them or look in your local papers.  Local farmers markets are your best chance of finding the freshest, healthiest, organic foods.  Big business’s like Walmart have really watered down the quality of organic foods.  If a company is creating organic foods for the masses and shipping them across the country,  they are not as fresh and nutritious as locally raised organic food.

Make sure you realize that local farmers will barter with you.  You can purchase your organic foods from them for 20-30 cents on the dollar.  Go to their booth on the last day at the end of the day and they will be willing to give you a great deal on what they have left because they do not want to take it back home. With the cost of whey protein or meal replacements on average around $1.50, one could save $40 -$50 per week by packing meals and taking them with to work versus eating out.

Work Out Partners

A good work out partner is hard to find.  But once you do find one, they can be invaluable to your work out program.  They add accountability, variety, intensity, as well as making work outs fun. Make sure that  you find a good one that is timely and does not slow down the work out too much.  The cool thing is that if you find a good one, a partner can be as valuable as a personal trainer and they do not cost anything.  The best way to find a work out partner is to go work out yourself at a club and see who is consistaet and serious about their work out.  Then just ask them if they want to give it a try.

Another way to find a work out partner is to go on Craigs List. Craigs list is a place where people put ads looking for services. It is free, and  a place for you to locate a work out partner if you are going to work out at home or outside of a gym or club.

These are only a few ideas to get you thinking outside the box on ways to live a healthier lifestyle on a budget.  Take it from me, you do not need a lot of money to do it.  It is more of a mindset than how thick your wallet is.