Fruits, Veggies and Protein...Oh My!!

Do you ever wonder what to eat, when to eat it and how much to eat? Or, are you so frustrated because you are "eating less and moving more" yet you seem to struggle with clothes fitting? I feel your pain! These issues have always been struggles for me and I have run the gamut. We have been taught our whole lives that we should eat less to lose weight so it would only make sense that you would eat even less and work out harder to lose more weight . .right? WRONG!! 

I have tried the eating whatever I want method, eating next to nothing, eating healthy but not enough, just cutting out sugar and alcohol, etc. The thing I find so interesting, with learning that I have Gluten sensitivities, it was not until I cut gluten out of my diet that I lot the weight that was hanging on. Now, eat person is different and I am happy to talk through ideas and suggestions for you. 

Brad and I have done p90x/p90x2 a few times and when we have had the best results, we have also followed the nutrition plan. I am a firm believer that nutrition is the largest percentage of success in weight loss. You can workout until you are throwing up on the side of the road and if your nutrition is not dialed in, you will not have the success you want in the weight department. Now, there are those exceptions to this rule and we will just say lucky them. For the rest of us, let's be real about what it takes.

Part of the issue is really having to switch our thinking. It is really hard to eat more food when you want to lose weight. It is completely counter intuitive. But, I promise, if you are eating the right things it will work (baring a health issue that needs addressing). I work well with numbers so the p90x2 nutrition guide puts things in a great visual for me. It breaks down my day into numbers 4 veggies, 7 proteins, etc. HOWEVER . . .veggies are huge and we have to understand what 1 veggie equals. 6 cups of raw spinach is 1 veggie vs 1 cup of raw carrots for example. So if you come to me and tell me you ate 3 salads today, you will not really have come close to your daily veggie total unless you added a lot of extra broccoli, carrots, etc. If your salad was iceberg lettuce it does not count as a veggie at all so be sure to at least use Romaine or another lettuce with nutritional value. I also get the Power to the Greens bags from Trader Joes and add that to my protein shakes everyday. I can't taste it but that is a way to get more veggies in my day. 

Another key is to eat every 2-3 hours. So I focus on 5 meals a day. One of them is my protein shake (yumm!!). When you do this, eat healthy and focus on 90% compliance, you will feel great and control your weight. 10% cheating gives you 4 meals a week that you get to totally cheat on. Skipping a meal is a cheat so do not skip! It is a waste of a cheat! I would so much rather eat a burger and fries with all the fixings than nothing, wouldn't you? 

A book that I love and highly recommend is The Female Body Breakthrough: The Revolutionary Strength-Training Plan for Losing Fat and Getting the Body You Want by Rachel Cosgrove

She too has been through the gamut and has some great thoughts and ideas. 

If you are in this situation, please do not hesitate to reach out. I would be more than happy to talk through this with you and come up with a plan that will work for you! Let's Journey to Wellness together!