I often get asked the best foods to buy and how much of each should be eaten, and honestly the answer varies from person to person, depending on their weight, how active they already are, and the goals they want to achieve.
And when you start telling someone to eat more often if they want to lose some unwanted weight, they automatically look at you like you have no idea what you are talking about........"you're telling me to eat more often then I already do..... yeah righto buddy" but it's when you get into the nuts and bolts of what and when you should be eating is when you start to see how it all works!
The most simple way to put it about shedding some weight is - energy in vs energy out!! If you eat more calories then you burn per day with or without exercise, then you will gain weight. If you are calorie deficient then you will begin to lose weight, simple as that.
So even people who do not live a very active lifestyle are still very much capable of losing weight by restricting calories and consuming them on a structured timeline and by counting the calories they eat. There are numerous calorie calculators on the internet which give somewhat detailed calorie intakes depending on how accurately you fill in all the details. So this is a good starting block for you to gauge how much you should be taking in each day.
Now you have to know what foods to eat, and for me this is hard to try to explain. As for me over the years I now can look at food at the shops and fresh produce and know it's nutritional value is, the portion size, etc.... and when it comes to take away and fast food, well I don't remember the last time I had a greasy burger from McDonalds so when people always seem to have the same downfalls, all I can say is it comes with time that you will be able to fight the urge to indulge, and depending on how strict you are on yourself this will either come quickly to others, or some might find themselves struggling time after time.
If I tell you whats in my pantry and fridge it may sound bland to some people, but for me I enjoy it and know I need to do this to achieve my goals, and I know not everyone is so into it so I won't go into great depth but rather give a broad outline on foods to head towards and others to avoid!
Let's talk protein! This is the key macro-nutrient for weight loss and muscle gain! Head to the meat section and go nuts. Beef, Chicken, Kangaroo (best source of protein out there) Turkey, Salmon are all good to go! Yeah Pork and Lamb are not the best so avoid those if you can. Next we have eggs and egg whites. If you asked a serious fitness freak or body builder one food they couldn't live without, they would tell you, or maybe even yell at you EGG WHITEESSSSSS!! I have nothing bad to say about eggs or egg whites! Go nuts with egg whites, and not so crazy with egg yolks. And last my favorite for a night time snack is 0% fat Greek Yogurt, I can't fault it (the brand I use is Chobani) per 180ml serving is 18g protein 0g fat and 5g of Natural sugars, and the yogurt is the only dairy I eat.
Next is fats, and this plays again a huge role in muscle growth and fat loss believe it or not! To keep it simple get your fats from Salmon, Almonds, Peanut butter, almond meal, coconut oil and Chia seeds. Check your labels, you don't want anything with saturated fats or trans fats. Only Unsaturated fats!
Lastly is Carbohydrates, stay away from refined and processed Carbs, so no white bread, white rice, potatoes or heavy starch grains or veg! Basic list of Carbs to eat - Sweet potato, Brown rice, Wholemeal pasta/bread/wraps, Pinto beans, Adzuki beans, Broad-beans and a favorite of mine Buckwheat flour. All these are tasty and can be cooked and prepared in just as many ways as all the other starchy products out there.
So this may sound all good and easy and I could write all day about it, but just remember you can read articles online all day hoping to come across one special sentence that will give you the results you want without doing anything......and we all know that's just not the case. It all comes down to YOU! so do some reading, understand how many calories you need per day, update your fridge with healthier foods and become aggressive and excited about training and eating right, because once you start seeing results it becomes addictive and you only go from strength to strength! So take those first steps and stay on track and surround yourself with support of friends and family and before you know it BAM! you'll start seeing the results you had wanted so badly!!
And remember It's all about the pump!!
