06 Aug Slim down by making these 10 quick changes to your diet!

As personal trainers we get to hear a lot of stuff about nutrition and clients often request a specific nutrition plan that they don’t follow anyway.  So here is what works for most people for the long term. And yes, you will have to commit, you will have to do some work. If you thought you could lose weight by being a lazy pill, not doing anything and just ask for a quick fix, then you are not for us. We are looking for people who are dedicated to change their lifes with a reasonable effort that gives more back than they put in.

Here goes the list:

1. Eat fresh vegetables, and I am talking about plenty of them (2-3 servings/meal) You can buy the steamfresh stuff, pop it in the microwave, through some seasoning on it, done! Another way is to make smoothies out of them with some fruit, see below. It is great tasting and healthy. Make sure to have plenty of green, leafy vegetables.
2. Eat fresh fruits, but beware if you want to lose weight I would keep it to 2 fruits a day. I would definitely add more fruit at a later point. Oh by the way, dried fruit does not count!
3. Eat grassfed beef, pork, wild fish and pasture raised poultry. Why? It is is high Omega-3s, has no additives or hormones in it and provides great sources of protein.
4. Leave out the grain. Pigs farmers fatten their pigs with grain and skim milk, enough said. But if you want to learn a little bit more about it, call me up there are quite some resources out there.
5. Avoid dairy, at least for a while. It can irritate the gut and it won’t hurt to try without it for a while.
6. If it does not look like food, don’t eat it. A sausage, chips, etc are all highly processed. Try to cut out most of the processing.
7. Cook for several days at the same time, to save time. I cook for 4-5 days at a time so that when it comes down to eat the most I have to do is warm it up. Is it as good as fresh right there? No, obviously not but with my schedule that is what works best. If you cook several things at the same time you should be done after an hour or two on the weekends.
8. Buy some tomatoes, and mixed pre-washed salads. You can whip up a salad with some eggs within 5-10 min if you have to. You can replace the eggs with chicken, fish, etc.
9. Make sure to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner.
10. Nuts (unsalted and unroasted) are great for a snack in between. Remember, I said snack not meal! So keep the portion appropriate.

I hope this helps,

Michael

Head Personal Trainer Shape Up Fitness & Wellness Consulting