Foolproof Nutrition For Function and Fat Loss-Simple Easy Tips To Get And Stay In Shape

I wanted to share this easy to understand and brilliant article written by the person that I admire the most when it comes to nutrition and fitness, Christopher Warden. Christopher is a New York fitness expert who has helped me to understand nutrition and get my body into shape. He also writes one of the best blogs out there called Fitness Philosopher (visit it if you get the chance). The below article gave me some great and simple to use everyday guidelines to keep myself on the road to a better body inside and out so I wanted to share them with you.

Foolproof Nutrition For Function and Fat Loss

by Christopher Warden

Dr. John Berardi has his Seven Habits of Highly Effective Nutritional Programs. My friends Eugene and Mike have their Nutritional Guidelines for Fat Loss. And now you have my take on the subject, as shared personally with my clients. . . more often than they care to hear it.

How do they differ? They really don't - with the exception of our unique delivery styles. Of course, this is the least you should expect. . . especially when you're looking for consistency in nutrition and coaching advice.

Foolproof Nutrition for Function and Fat Loss

1. Listen to your body. Don't obsess over it, but learn about it, understand it. . . just become aware of it. With increased awareness, you'll know what to eat. . . or at least realize which foods your body works best with.

2. Eat what you enjoy, but be realistic. Two points here:

  • If "what you enjoy" is preventing you from getting healthy/burning fat, there's no way around it -- you've got to "eat what you enjoy," but minimally, if at all.
  • On the flip side, eating healthier is not synonymous with eating foods that you hate. There are thousands of healthy, great foods (and great preparation styles) to choose from -- select foods that you love to eat, not those that are "ideal," but that you'd avoid even if it were the last bit o' food on Earth.

2a. Don't confuse "healthy" with "optimal for function and fat loss." Two more points:

  • Overeating any food can make you fat. . . or make it difficult for to burn the excess you're storing.
  • Many foods touted as "healthy" are labeled this way based on the "low-fat/high carb/heart-healthy" paradigm that's been preached for years. High carb (read: starch and sugar) is definitely not the key to inducing fat loss. . . and it's not a good prescription for long-term cardiovascular health either.

3. Eat 4-6 meals per day. Keep your body's metabolism working efficiently by eating at 2-3 hour intervals.

3a. Make sure one of those meals is always BREAKFAST. Yes, it really is the most important meal of the day. . .

4. Eat protein at EVERY meal. As Paul Chek would say, "Eat something with eyes, or something that comes from something with eyes. . ."

5. Eat a vegetable (or fruit) at EVERY meal. Whole food, high fiber, low starch/sugar, nutrient rich carbohydrates are ideal. . .

6. Don't compartmentalize! In other words, avoid eating "just protein" or "just carbs" at a meal. Combine macronutrients as you need to (per #4 and #5) and as your body "asks" for. Doing this not only provides the body with what it needs, it enables it to metabolize the food as efficiently as possible.

7. Drink water! At least half your bodyweight in ounces each day . . .

8. Minimize consumption of processed /starchy/sugary food and beverages. Especially if you've got health issues or have significant body fat to lose. If you're going to eat them (you really shouldn't be if you've got health/body fat issues), when's the best time? Post-training.

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The foundation for health, fitness, function, fat loss -- whatever it is that you're trying to improve -- is always going to start with nutrition.

Quality nutrition:

  • gives you the high quality building blocks you need to build every cell/hormone/ transport molecule in your body.
  • provides the energy for every cell - for every life process - to function.
  • is about more than just "energy in vs. energy out." It creates an internal environment of optimal structure and peak physiological function.

So, hang these guidelines (or the others shared above) from your fridge. Place them on your bedside table. On your bathroom mirror. On your desk at work. Study and absorb them -- because commitment to these universal principles will provide the foundation for function and fat loss most of the time.

Great, simple advice to be your best by someone who knows. If you enjoyed this article please visit Christopher at Fitness Philosopher -you will be glad that you did.

20 comments:

  1. I just ate breakfast which is good...but it was lucky charms which is bad!

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  2. My problem is with the 4-6 meals a day. I know I should eat every 2 to 3 hours but I get so busy...then the next thing I know half the day is gone and I haven't eaten. I'm working on this though.

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  3. Great article... Thanks for sharing this valuable information!

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  4. fantastic tips here. Yeah the 4 to 6 meals a day gets pretty challenging as i get too caught up in work.

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  5. GREAT post, it is incredible what happens when you start paying attention to what your body tell you about the food you are eating. Listening made all the difference for me.

    Now I just have to try and keep up, water is hard and like Time 4 to 6 meals a day is very difficult.

    Thanks for the tips!!

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  6. Great tips...and I agree small meals through out the day is the best way but when I grew up it was three meals a day and no snacking in between meals...maybe a small snack before bed...so it is difficult now to retrain this old mind to want to eat so often...I don't even think of food between meals...

    Cheers

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  7. Hi Heidi,Good article and some fun comments.I love it all except if I drank that much water I'd have to take up permanent residence in the bathroom.LOL

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  8. Very good tips everyone should follow. Totally agree with the eat 6 meals per day but make sure it is in small portions.

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  9. Yeeeeaaaah!!!! Nice!

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  10. hii! u got a great blog!! i would like you to get a look at my new blog. (i have already one, but i made this with a friend, is quite new) and tell me what u think about it... i would keep coming to read urs!
    bye!!

    stay strong!

    xoxoxo!!

    PS. We would like if you can copy this chat room, we want it to be into much blogs as possible, ty

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  11. Water, water, everywhere and I don't drink enough. I don't know what happened, but I'm getting back on the train starting right now. Thanks for the inspiration.

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  12. I am so guilty of not eating breakfast and I know that I should. But man in the mornings I am so busy and all I have time for is a cup of joe..My real weakness is chocolate I love it and I know it is preventing me from losing the last 5 pounds, it is so difficutlt to stop eating it! :)

    ps. I wrote that last post because I was a little upset with my hubby, he gets on entrecard and we don't see him for hours! I was venting hehe :) I think your site ROCKS! don't change a thing :)

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  13. Those are some great tips...I lose weight myself doing almost all of those things :)

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  14. these are excellent rules which we follow day 2 day. though last week was a anniversary week and i had millefogelie (italian creame puffs) on wednesday and friday for dessert. i felt them when doing abs work saturday/sunday! ;-)

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  15. You have offered a nice tips to get a fatless hips. Veggies in every meal will help a lot not only remove excess fat but also eliminates constipation.

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  16. I had a Whole Wheat Cranberry Muffin + Tim Horton's Coffee for Breakfast in your Honour!!

    For Lunch I cheated + had a Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Cone!!

    ;)) Peace*

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  17. thanks for your comment heidi *blushes* you are so sweet!

    cheers!

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  18. Great post! I like the idea of being aware of your body - Sounds like one of my posts. Lol. Too often I eat a lot and regret it later because I am simply eating with out awareness. Thanks again

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  19. Thanks to you, Heidi for passing on another great resource. I visit Christopher's site frequently and always leave feeling motivated and energized (it's the keeping up with it part that I need to work on...). Thanks to you, Christopher for providing an easy to follow post that encourages as well as educates. you two are a great "health" combination...

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  20. There is so much hype around weight loss. However things can be too simple.

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