Chapter 3 - Eat What You Want
Secret#3 - Create A Diet You Love.
The complicated issue of what to eat? How many calories? if your just starting out it can be overwhelming but its quite easy you just have to keep it simple. Everybody has their own nutrition needs and preferences when it comes to food, so nobody can give you a exact detailed plan on exactly what to eat. However if you want a specific diet plan talk to a dietitian/nutritionist to help figure out a specific plan or write your own list of healthy food that you enjoy.
To help narrow the list, you can do few things to start planning your own diet list. It's common sense, only eat what you actually enjoy eating but the rule is no junk, so firstly eliminate all form off sugar and junk including cakes, pastry, donuts, ice cream, fries including all fizzy pop. Its brutal, but if you are serious, it can be done and got to be done, so eliminate all junk from your diet for the next 90 days.
List Of Clean Foods...
Fruits & Vegetable - Apple, Mango, Banana, Blackberries, Kale, Lettuce etc.
Fish & Meat - Chicken, Lamb, Sardines etc.
Oils - Olive oil, Sun Flower oil, Virgin Oil etc. (for cooking)
Herbs - Garlic, Ginger, Horseradish, Paprika, Onion etc.
Nuts & Seeds - Peanuts, Almonds, Walnuts, Flax Seeds etc.
Dairy – Chicken Eggs, Duck Eggs, Goat cheese etc.
Carbs - Basmati Rice, Brown Rice, Brown Bread, Noodles, Lentils etc.
Drinks - Water only (for the next 90 days)
Some of you may have allergies so choose what you can have, It all comes down to the individual. Research and add your favourite food on each category above and enjoy. It's really up to you what you want to eat, remember to have smaller portions and have fun making your meals.
Tip: Think If it didn't exist few hundred years ago your body doesn’t really need it. Its your time to shine for the next 90 days you now are only going to feed your body the fuel it needs, not what your taste buds wants.
Secondly make sure your plates consists of the correct macronutrients...what are macronutrients? They are nutrients that the body uses in large amount i.e. carbohydrates, protein and healthy fats. There's also micronutrient that the body need but in a smaller amount such as minerals and vitamins.
Tip: splits in 3 areas consisting of healthy carbs protein and fats. Remember healthy carbs such as brown rice help you stay fuller for longer rather that fast digesting carbs like fries.
Proteins are good to recover muscle fibre it is found in dairy, chicken, eggs, fish, beans and nuts. Also add healthy fats to your diet such as fats from oils such olive oil ,virgin oil and fishes like salmon or sardines but not saturated fats that's mainly found in junk.
Tip: If you are not sure what foods to add to your diet - think whole foods such as nuts, egg, rice etc.. Remember natural food like fruits and vegetable are superior for health, so make sure you add plenty of those in your new diet.
Tip: You don't have to calorie count if your eating healthy but it can help you stay focused on your goals. Always have in mind you are not eating for your taste buds, you are now eating only to fuel and change you body, so eat healthy.
Calories... calories... calories, you hear that word everywhere these days especially on those new diets that are coming out. You can also see it on the packages of food at your local supermarkets. Everybody knows the recommendation, that's out there 2000 kcal for women and 2500 kcal for men but do you know what a actual calorie is?
In simple terms a calorie is a unit of energy, so basically if you eat more calories than your body needs you get fatter. Fortunately you can calorie calculators online to find your calorie needs depending on how much you want lose per month.
The calculator can help you lose, gain or maintain you weight. However calorie count are a estimate but the calculator is pretty close to how much calories you need a day in order to lose the extra pounds.
Example - Alexis searches online for calorie calculator and enters in she is 25 years old, 5'4 and 170lbs she eats roughly 2900kcals a day and does little to no exercise to burn the excess fat off...if she carry's on eating 2900 kcal for the next 7 days she'll gain roughly 5.8lbs.
Remember approx. 3.500kcal = a pound
Here's the math = 2900 x 7 = 20300 kcal divided by 3.500kcal = 5.8 lbs.
Here Her Calorie Calculator Results:
You need 2001 Calories/day to maintain your weight
You need 1,501 Calories/day to lose 1 lbs. (approx. 7days)
You need 1,001 Calories/day to lose 2 lbs. (approx. 14 days)
You need 2,501 Calories/day to gain 1 lbs (approx. 7 days)
You need 3,001 Calories/day to gain 2 lbs. (approx. 14 days)
However if she burned some calories through exercise and stayed below her maintenance caloric intake, causing a caloric deficit, she would have lost the pounds instead of gaining. Going on a diet is not about starving yourself, so you just have to have the right amount of calories depending on your caloric intake results. Always feed your body the fuel it needs, even if you go over your limit you can burn the extra off by exercising, to simplify...its all about calories in vs. calories out.
Try Fasting - fasting has some benefits it can help your metabolism, detoxify the body and help you loose the fat. How is fasting done? To fast a person usually gives up food/drink for certain amount of time, some do it till sunrise to sunset for religious reasons. However for weight loss, you may choose the hours according to your plans for the day. to achieve the best results, you can fast for over 14 - 18 hours. You may drink water for thirst but no solid food till you break the fast.
i.e. Alexis fasted from 8pm - 2pm (18hours). At 2pm she broke the fast having some fruit and a healthy meal. She eats all her other meals before she stops eating at 8pm again, to gets ready for her next fast.
Tip - Try fasting few days a month preferably on the days you don't go for long walks or gym.do not over do it and remember fasting is not for everybody.
(Caution: stop fasting if you feel dizzy at any time)
Power Of Momentum.
The first 14 days is for you to adjust, so start little by little do not rush...baby steps start cutting out junk day by day and increasing your exercise/walk time daily. Doing that, it'll help you to adjust and build momentum as you go along. Also remember to stay focused and all the little daily victory’s is going to add up in the end.