This diet plan was born after my cousin Sandy asked for some advice at my mum's 50th birthday in December. The first thing that flew out of my mouth was get your nutrition sorted, all the rest means bugger all without a good diet. Funny how its so easy to pass on advice but not take it yourself hey.... I've amended it for my own nutrition needs based on my profile and activity levels.
NB: Sandy has lost just under a stone and Claire his girlfriend who's just had a baby has lost half a stone without exercise - SMASHING IT!! :-)
I'm no nutritionist but I do know the basics. I did a nutrition class a few years back which I can say I only took out of it an understanding of low/high GI foods but a good principle foundation none the less. Then it was Scottish Slimmers a few years later where I watched the weight literally fall off my friend and the scales barely move for me. From that experience I learned that unless I am honest with myself about what I put in my mouth and record EVERYTHING I eat then I won't lose weight. Just because no one was around when I ate something didn't mean it didn't count.... As my interest in fitness grew so did my interest in nutrition and supplementation. Hours of reading on the internet, asking questions to friends and a few tried and tested methods and here I am - this is my plan.
This has been ran past my friend and training partner Olly who is a personal trainer specialising in sports nutrition, so I have had the all clear from someone in the know. If anyone is looking for a plan tailored to their own needs drop him and email - prices are awesome so get one now before the celebs get a hold of him and they sky rocket!!
Firstly The Rules
* No sugar - sugar serves no purpose and doesn't metabolise so turns to fat. See fruit exception below.
* No alcohol - alcohol is sugar. Clearly we're all going to trip up here but be aware of the consequences of consuming alcohol. My friend Lindsey's trainer put it best - each glass of wine is a white bread sandwich, do you really want to have it??? The answer sometimes will be no, or in my case "Yes! And I'll take the sandwich too!"
* No simple carbs - white bread, potatoes, white pasta
* Complex carbs are good -oats, brown rice, quinoa, bulgar wheat, brown pasta, sweet potato
* Avoiding fruit except pre or post workout to fuel or replenish glycogen stores and then only blueberries, raspberries, apple, pear or banana
* Good fats are essential in small doses to burn fat - salmon, avocado, flax seed, almonds, peanut butter.
* Personally I avoid dairy as it don't agree with me and use Lactose Free milk or Soya milk.
* Red meat and salmon once a week - full of lovely goodness like iron and omega 3 but need to restrict due to high levels of fat.
We're aiming to eat "clean" here. This is the diet banded about the in fitness world at the moment and from what I've been reading many people claiming to have come up with the method. Don't buy into the hype, its easy - eat everything in its most natural state as often as you can. Cook your own food so you know whats going into it. READ food labels - look at the sugar, saturated fat and sodium content. You want these as low as possible.
The Method
5 small meals a day between 250-300 calories each. This roughly brings me out at 1500 calories per day. This may have drawn gasps from some dieters as I have seen the plans that are in the magazines. The biggest hurdle I had to overcome was you NEED TO EAT. But you need to eat the right food. Use a calorie calculator based on your own height, weight and activity levels but for my profile I cannot go below 1250 a day and I shouldn't go above 1600 for fat loss. On days where I train large muscle groups such as legs I will go up to the top end at 1600 and on rest days stay around the 1300 mark.
Eat meals at regular intervals - between every 2 1/2 to 3 hours. This not only keeps your metabolism active but also stops you feeling hungry or bringing out your inner Mildred!! And ensure that all meals contain both protein (approx 25g) and complex carbs (approx 30g) except for meal 5 where I cut it to vegetable carbs only.
My Typical Day
Meal 1 - 30g of instant oats made with water with a tablespoon of ground flaxseed. 6 egg whites and 1 yolk scramble made with a dash of soya/lactose free milk.
Meal 2 - Home made or shop bought protein bar
Meal 3 - 1/2 packet of Food Doctor Organic Quinoa, chicken breast cooked in cider vinegar with few dashes of Nandos sauce, tomato and cucumber
Meal 4 - This is post workout for me so I have a protein shake immediately and an apple
Meal 5 - Birds Eye Baked to Perfection Pollock Fillet with green beans & broccoli
I snack on 2-3 teaspoons of almond butter (available from Holland & Barrett). Usually at night waiting for meal 5 to cook. I was recently put onto almond butter as a better alternative to peanut butter. Its not bad but need to keep it in the fridge.
I take a multi vitamin & fish oil in the morning and at night and post workout have started taking glutamine to aid recovery.
Not for the faint hearted but EVERYONE can do this plan! You just have to be willing to give up sugar and comfort food which you will see from my previous posts I'm mentally struggling with.
Some Tips
* Use chili and garlic to flavour your food.
* Lemon for fish, fajita seasoning for chicken/beef, low sugar ketchup (Heinz do one) for eggs, Nandos sauce on meat etc…. Lemon pepper (Sharwood's do it in the spices section) is lovely on chicken.* Cinnamon in your porridge for flavour and added benefit of its antioxidant effects.
* If you don’t have something in eg. chicken use mince or tuna or fish or eggs, keep the cupboards stocked up.
* Don’t use oil to cook!!! Cider vinegar is good to cook chicken in (make sure to keep the heat low), mince will be ok in its own juices if you make sure to stir it.
* Drink heaps of water! Carry around a water bottle with you at all times. Use sugar free diluting juice for flavour.
* Take a multi vitamin to ensure your getting enough on a limited diet.
I may edit this post but for now here's my nutrition plan that I am trying in vain to stick too.... darn those jam donuts!
I may edit this post but for now here's my nutrition plan that I am trying in vain to stick too.... darn those jam donuts!
It's always important to have a nutrition plan. It can help you keep track of your diet. Thanks for sharing.
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