Which is the right nutrition approach for me?

Your nutrition approach, just like most anything else in your life, Must fit your goals, your circumstances, and your time-frame.

It must be specific, it must be actionable, and it must be flexible.

You should be able to adapt your nutrition approach to changing circumstances and goals.

The Essentials
First and foremost, take stock of what each day tends to look like – do you typically wake up at the same time each day? Do you normally stay up for the same number of hours from day to day?

What do you do at work? Are you on your feet often? Do you have a typical office job? Do you work in a factory? Are you sitting down? Do you drive a truck for a living?

All of these are factors that you must take into account when you are formulating your Nutrition Action Plan and Approach.

Here are some guidelines that can help you:
1) There are 24 hours in day (i know, earth shattering news, right?) – Subtract the hours that you spend sleeping from the 24 hours = if you are like most people that leaves between 16-18 hours. We will take 17 for arguments sake. Divide 17 by 3 which is the number of meals we want to consume during the day – this leaves us with about 5 – the number 5 is what we will use for the amount of hours that should be allowed to pass in between meals. Simple – you will eat three (3) meals during the course of the day – one meal every five (5) hours. That accounts for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.

2) Make sure you eat your three meals consistently throughout the course of each day – example – if you wake up at 530am, eat at around 545am every single day. Do, or at least try to do the same thing for lunch and dinner.

3) Make sure that each meal you take in has a mix of color and category of food in eat. As an example, if you have scrambled eggs in the morning, have a slice of wheat toast with half an apple.
Example Breakfast:
Protein Scrambled Eggs
Complex carbs: Slice of wheat bread
Simple carbs: Apple

Example Lunch:
Protein Grilled Chicken salad
Complex carbs: Oatmeal
Simple carbs: Red grapes

Your nutrition approach should be founded on a core of three main meals.

Your most active days and/or your workout days should incorporate at least one more feeding – usually a post workout meal.

Some folks who seek optimal recovery gains choose to intake a small and immediate post-workout snack – this would usually be in the form of a protein drink, or a small version of a meal. As an example, a cup of cottage cheese, with a cup of grapes. This would be followed up about an hour later with an actual meal.

Keep in mind, your intake should always be based on what your activity level for the day is. The more active you are, and the more intense the activity, the more quality and consistent the intake should be, especially for recovery, as recovery equals increased progress.

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Should you have any questions or concerns, feel free to email me.

Warmest Regards,

- JT

Tags: exercise, health, lifestyle change, nutrition, weight loss