Food

The RESULTS Diet

R…real food
E…exercise
S…spiritual stuff first and the other stuff second
U…ultimately, you and you alone are responsible for your results!
L… long term success requires long term commitment
T… thanks for everything. Be grateful
S…seek out the best in yourself and others

The following guidelines will help you with the most difficult and confusing part of a fitness program: the diet stuff. I am using the word, diet, to mean life style eating program. Also, I am focusing on producing world class results where you experience vibrant health and explosive energy on a regular basis all day long. Why would you settle for less?

Meal Frequency
For optimum results you need to eat real food and lots of it on a consistent basis. Your body is naturally designed to use food as fuel and needs to be refueled. Most people need to add fuel to the body every three or four hours. If you go without eating longer than this the brain gives the body a series of signals: insufficient fuel coming in so prepare for fat storage as protection against starvation. The longer the body goes without fuel the more intense these signals will be. The signals include hunger, cravings, irritability, etc.

If you sleep 8 hours per night, then you are awake for 16 hours. Using my outline formula from above then you would need to eat 4-5 times per day. If you sleep only 6 hours nightly then you will be awake for 18 hours and need 5-6 meals per day. The longer you are awake the more you need to eat.

Meal Composition
These meals should be balanced in terms of macro nutrients: protein, fats and carbohydrates. The exact amount and ratio will be determined by how active and fit you are and/or want to become.

There are so many different diet approaches that it is overwhelming to go to a bookstore and browse the diet book section. All the authors claim to be experts and that their diet will work wonders for you. The most common theme is that these books contradict each other!

This article is my solution to this dietary confusion. We need protein. Good sources include fish, chicken, turkey, lean red meats, egg whites, tofu, etc. Minimize the fat in your protein intake. We need carbohydrates. Good sources include fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, etc. Minimize the cakes, cookies, candies and other processed carbs. Although processed carbs like pasta, rice and bread are better than junk carbs they are still inferior to fruits/veg’s. We need fat. No, this is not a typo. We need certain types of fat in our diet for maximum health as they help stabilize our blood sugar levels which are related to appetite and cravings. Good sources of these types of fats [unsaturated] include seeds/nuts and their oils, avocados, olive oil, flaxseed oil, etc.

The Top Ten Review
1. Eat 4-6 smaller meals daily depending on how long you are awake. A balanced meal would include ratios from the above list: protein, fats, and carbs. The exact ratios will be determined by your current fitness level and the results you seek. For example a competition athlete will eat differently from a desk/coach potato.

2. Protein sources should be lean. [egg whites, fish, turkey, chicken, lean red meat, etc]

3. Minimize and/or avoid the junk like saturated fatty foods in general: butter, lard, margarine, french fries, chips, cookies, etc.

4. Increase your intake of unsaturated fats instead. Eat the good fats: olive oil, seeds/nuts, avocados, flaxseed oils, etc.

5. Minimize processed carbohydrates like bread, pasta, rice, etc.

6. Eat more fruits, vegetables, legumes, in place of # 5.

7. Drink water more than other beverages.

8. Stop the booze. Alcohol is sugar, it raises your insulin levels which interferes with effective fat metabolism. Not to mention other dangers associated with it.

9. Remember: diets are counter productive in a large variety of ways and perhaps even dangerous. At the very least, diets make you fat so avoid them.

10. Balanced meals consisting of real food spaced out through out your day will stop hunger cravings, improve your energy levels, accelerate fat loss and produce better health all around.