Getting on Track With Your Eating.
Since my last two posts have been training related, I figue today I will talk a little about nutrition.
I get lots of people that come to me for help with what they eat. They always have the same types of questions "how many calories should I be eating?", "how many carbs should I be eating?", "should I be eating low fat?", etc...
My answer is always the same, "I don't know?"
Weird right?
I say I don't know, because I have to first see what they are eating in order to give them some sort of direction to go in. This requires them to write out 5 days of eating for me. Ofcourse their first reaction is "Oh no way! You are going to see all the junk I eat!"....yea, that is the point!! I can't tell you what you SHOULD be eating if I don't know what you ARE eating. So, they write it down. Five days later they come back to me and the first thing that say is...."I had no idea it was this bad!"
So where do we go from there?
The problem with most people is that they go from "I had no idea it was this bad!" to "I have to make it perfect." They do this in a days time. Tomorrow they are on a super strict diet. What do you think happens two days later? They typically are no longer on that diet. These are things you need to be sensitive to if you are a trainer out there working with general populations or athletes or, if you are an athlete or a general population person thinking about making a lifestyle change. Too much change too quickly is a sure way to fall off the wagon.
The first thing we do is talk about making small changes to what they are currently doing. Before I talk about calories or macronutrient breakdowns, I just want to talk about eating healthy. I just want them to learn how to make healthier choices. Once they get that down, things start to fall in place. For example, if the person doesn't drink very much water but they drink maybe 5-6 diet soda's a day. The first thing I want to do is have them cut back to 2-3 diet sodas and start drinking more water. If the person only eats 2-3 meals a day, first we are going to work on eating 3-4 meals a day. If the person eats no greens or fruits, then we are going to try and add some in. You get the point...
Reaching the goal of living a healthy lifestyle is the same as attempting to reach any other goal you set. You need to have a plan and then you follow that plan one step at a time. If you try and step to far out, you lose your balance and fall.
Look at your diet tomorrow and this weekend. Write it down. On monday, start to implement small changes that will lead you on the path to a healthier life.
Patrick
I get lots of people that come to me for help with what they eat. They always have the same types of questions "how many calories should I be eating?", "how many carbs should I be eating?", "should I be eating low fat?", etc...
My answer is always the same, "I don't know?"
Weird right?
I say I don't know, because I have to first see what they are eating in order to give them some sort of direction to go in. This requires them to write out 5 days of eating for me. Ofcourse their first reaction is "Oh no way! You are going to see all the junk I eat!"....yea, that is the point!! I can't tell you what you SHOULD be eating if I don't know what you ARE eating. So, they write it down. Five days later they come back to me and the first thing that say is...."I had no idea it was this bad!"
So where do we go from there?
The problem with most people is that they go from "I had no idea it was this bad!" to "I have to make it perfect." They do this in a days time. Tomorrow they are on a super strict diet. What do you think happens two days later? They typically are no longer on that diet. These are things you need to be sensitive to if you are a trainer out there working with general populations or athletes or, if you are an athlete or a general population person thinking about making a lifestyle change. Too much change too quickly is a sure way to fall off the wagon.
The first thing we do is talk about making small changes to what they are currently doing. Before I talk about calories or macronutrient breakdowns, I just want to talk about eating healthy. I just want them to learn how to make healthier choices. Once they get that down, things start to fall in place. For example, if the person doesn't drink very much water but they drink maybe 5-6 diet soda's a day. The first thing I want to do is have them cut back to 2-3 diet sodas and start drinking more water. If the person only eats 2-3 meals a day, first we are going to work on eating 3-4 meals a day. If the person eats no greens or fruits, then we are going to try and add some in. You get the point...
Reaching the goal of living a healthy lifestyle is the same as attempting to reach any other goal you set. You need to have a plan and then you follow that plan one step at a time. If you try and step to far out, you lose your balance and fall.
Look at your diet tomorrow and this weekend. Write it down. On monday, start to implement small changes that will lead you on the path to a healthier life.
Patrick
Yeah dude, you are soooo right! Most people do exactly like you say, the changes they do are waaay to drastic! Baby steps is the keyword!
Posted by
wrecked_porsche |
February 9, 2007 at 9:44 AM