- Eat 5- 6 meals per day or every 2 to 3 hours
This is a principle that I will continue to hammer into you. The goal is to keep the body burning and your metabolism high. By eating throughout the day, your body has the fuel it need metabolize effectively and you have energy.
There are going to be times when you can’t have scheduled meals, but if you keep the concept of eating healthy every 3 hours, you will never have to worry if you have fed your body enough that day.
2. Eat protein source with each meal
This is non-negotiable! Each and every meal must contain some source of protein. Every time you sit down to eat, ask yourself “Where is my protein?” If you can‘t answer it, then get a source of protein in front of you using the Fit to Eat Food List. A minimum of 15g is required per meal. Protein is also an absolute must-have if you’re aiming for maximum fat loss. Protein causes the body to expend a high amount of calories simply breaking it down. Bodies need protein to survive.
3. Post Workout Nutrition – MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY
I will keep this short and to the point. Immediately after your workout, in order to keep the metabolism going and ensuring your body burns fat and not the muscle you just built, then you need to consume a drink with at least 2-1 Carbs to protein (NOT JUST A PROTEIN SHAKE, that will not cut it). A drink with high carbs to protein, then it will give you enough time to recover and prepare a real meal with whole foods containing Carbs, protein and fat. This is the most important meal of your workout day for fat loss
4. Pick 3 Meals you will always eat
We want to make eating healthy simple so if you do not mind eating the same thing over and over for a while, then it makes things simple. For instance I have the same breakfast everyday (Oatmeal-Protein Mix and Fruit). I have the same afternoon snack everyday and I have a nighttime snack, pretty much every day NOW you have 3 out of the 6 meals solved and only have to think of three (or two if you follow the below tip) – THAT’S AMAZING!! Eat a few meals that are the same every day and it will help you to stay on track and NOT get caught unprepared.
5. Cook in bulk or cook for the week
Creating a ritual of cooking up a batch of food on one day during the week (preferably a day off like Sunday) is going to dramatically increase the chances that you stick with your diet. Take an hour to making a big batch of chicken breasts or whatever recipes you want to prepare for the coming week, package them in individual Tupperware containers in the fridge/freezer and use eat them up when you are ready. There is nothing like being prepared especially when trying to follow new nutritional plans and guidelines
6. Plan and prepare
“Failing to plan is planning to fail!”. It’s that simple. One of the most common reasons why people fall off their healthy eating plan is simply because they don’t have the time of day to do the food preparation. By getting into a good cooking ritual though, this will never be an issue. Plan for the week, take note of special events or circumstances that may change your regular eating schedule and make a plan of attack!
7. Purge your cupboards
The best way to stay clear of foods and junk that you should not eat is to get these foods out of the house. Make sure you PURGE your cupboards. Get rid them and overstock with healthy choices. If it’s not in the house, you won’t eat it.
8. Have 3 Cheat Meals per Month but do not make it a specific day
Plan 3 Cheat Meals per month. I think planned cheat meals are important for sanity, metabolic stimulation and having control over your diet and nutrition…DO NOT HAVE Cheat DAYS!!!!
So I suggest 3 planned cheat meals per month if you want to be lean and ripped.
- Planned Night/Day/Breakfast with Wife/Hubby/Family/Friends
- Unforeseen Circumstance – I also keep a cheat meal open for if I go out to function or something
- Healthy Cheat Meal to curve any craving I may have – once per month usually on a Sunday after a really clean week, to help re-boost the metabolism…preferably on a non workout day! – METABOLIC STIMULATION
This will lessen the chances of : a) feeling guilty cheating twice b) forcing yourself to eat crappy when you don’t want to. This is not imperative, but of you do want to have a free day then once per week. (NO ALCOHOL)
9. Drink 2L of water per day
I ask this question to everybody, “Do you drink a lot of water?” Everyone says the same thing “I drink tonnes of water, that all I drink” then when I tell them that they should be drinking at least 2-3L per day, they step back and say, “That Much?” My answer is “Yes that is what is called a lot of water.” If you are not drinking at least 2-3L of water per day then you are not getting enough water, especially with the High Intensity Workouts that the Spartacus program has. Drinking a lot of water helps to accelerate fat loss. So Start Drinking Water!
10. Eat Tonnes of Veggies
Raw vegetables are amazing for fat loss. Most veggies are extremely low in calories (sometimes close to 0) and expend calories for the body to break down. These vegetables either contain so few calories in them that the body expends more calories just to break them down as it digests the food, or the vegetables have certain properties about them that will stimulate your metabolism so that you burn more calories at rest as your body burns off more heat after eating them.
If you aren’t getting at least 4-6 cups a day and aren’t losing weight or looking in better shape, this may be your problem. That’s why, eating vegetables with most meals is extremely important. It’s also a good idea to supplement your diet with a good multivitamin and greens drinks too.
IF you follow these tips you will have no problem with your nutrition. Of course this cannot be done over night and will take a bit of time to change or add to your regime, but it is the difference between a successfully healthy lifestyle or a set up for failure.
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