What Should You Eat?

(See bottom for food lists, macronutrient equations etc.)

It's Monday morning, BBQ season has begun, and i'm sure there are quite a few of us on the "this week I'm getting ahold of my nutrition!" boat. But where the heck do you start???

I wish the answer was as easy as "eat this ______ and this ________ and you'll look and perform like a champion".... but that's just not the case. What I can tell you however is there is a way to eat that will be self tailorable to your personal goals, body type, and help you both look and feel good.

It's important I provide you with a little insight first. When it comes to eating you must think of it in two lights. Firstly, treat it as a choice not as a chore. Too many complicate things by going on strict diets, cutting out things they love, or having whatever they want because "it's what my body wants"... At the end of the day, nutrition/dieting/eating whatever you want to call it, has to be a conscious choice. The foods you choose must be things you enjoy eating, but within reason. I love sweet potatoes and I love cinnamon buns. But at the end of the day sweet potatoes will provide me with much cleaner, fast burning carbohydrates than a cinnamon bun, which in reality has next to no nutritional. value whatsoever. Never avoid things you love to eat, but be mindful of their impact on your health. Not all things we "love" are worth it. Second train of thought should be, eating = fuelling. This one gets muddy for some as it is far too often interpreted as "fuel = eat boring foods". Which is not the case at all. Fuelling your body for performance should be an essential train of thought. Why would you want to put anything in your body but what will make you feel and look the best. Fuelling for performance drives metabolism, increases muscle mass (tone and leanness), and is the easiest way to provide clean and easily accessible energy! When you fuel appropriately (nutrient timing, proper macros, clean burning fuel) you increase performance, when you perform at a higher volume you in turn provide a greater stimulus to the body, greater stimulus = greater physiological change ,... yadda yadda six pack. If you want to look good, you must perform well, and eat for said purpose.

If you adopt this way of thinking, you'll immediately develop a better relationship with food. You'll notice you get to eat more, enjoy the way you look and feel, and ultimately have no reservations regarding food selection. What will remain key however is the need for consistency. Just because you eat lots and train hard does not rule out the first train of thought. It would seem that if you eat lots and workout super hard you just need to fill yourself up with calories. once again, it's not just how much you put in your stomach but of what value it provides to you. 500 cals of sweet potato is going to burn much cleaner then 500 cals of a cinnamon bun. Let's face the facts of fullness here, 500 cals of sweet potato would fill you up like turkey dinner whereas a 500 cal cinnamon bun is enough to have you wanting more.

So what should you eat? In general, if you focus less on what and how much and more on when and it's principle "cleanliness", then you'll be quick to see changes. To answer for its cleanliness, just think of what I refer to as short chain foods or whole foods as it is commonly referred to. Short chain foods are simply products that either have short shelf lives due to their organic nature, or have a minimal ingredients list. A packet of chicken has nothing more than a price tag, weight, and date to be consumed by. Why? Because it's just chicken. The chicken went from farm to facility to packaged in a store. From bird to chicken biscuit. Back to our cinnamon bun, it started as wheat and sugar cane, got broken down and processed into separate ingredients, mixed with other artificial baking ingredients, baked, glazed, and packaged to be sent to your local shop. The chain/processing occurred over several stages and included many inputs (artificial ingredients). The cinnamon bun is a long chain / non-whole food source. If we keep 80% of our food selections to whole foods and 20% to non-whole food sources we can create a healthy balance. The 20% accounts for our staple delicacies of cinnamon buns and ice cream, while the 80% accounts for the bulk of the food we consume.

The hardest part and the question you are likely asking now is "sure this is all good info Josh, but what the hell do I buy????"

Here it is folks:

Protein Sources:

Chicken breast

Turkey Breast

Fish: Salmon, tuna, cod, tilapia

Any meat with 90% or greater leanness

Nonfat/low fat dairy products: Low fat/silk milk/greek

yogurt

Eggs whole or Egg whites

Whey Isolate

Greek yogurt

Lentils, chickpeas, Beans,Black beans, Green peas.

Soy, Tofu, Cottage Cheese, Edamame

Hemp seeds, Chia Seeds, Quinoa, Peanut Butter,

Almonds, cashews, walnuts.

Healthy Fats

Cashews, Almonds, Pistachio,Chia seeds, Pumpkin

Seeds

Olive oil, Canola Oil, Avocado Oil, Coconut oil,

Extra virgin Olive Oil

Avocado, Olives,

Coconut & Coconut products

Fish: Salmon, Tilapia, Tuna. Pork, Duck.

Natural nut butter: Almond, Cashew, Peanut,

Walnut

Low fat, low sodium Peanut Butter

Yogurt: Full fat or reduced, Cheese.Egg yolks

Carbohydrates:

Veggies:

Broccoli, leafy greens, squash, zucchini...

Onions, Tomatos, pickles..

Peppers, Asparagus, Cabbage...

Cauliflower, Celery, carrots...

Cucumbers, Brussel sprouts...

Green beans, Mushrooms, peas...

Healthy Carbs:

Whole grain bread

Sweet potatoes

Whole wheat pasta

Brown rice

Oatmeal (quick or steel cut) *plain

Any fruit + veggies

High glycemic index carbs (fast burners)

Cereal

Nutrigrain bar

White bread w/ PB + J

Fat free yogurt

White potatoes

White rice

Low-fat baked goods

Workout carbs:

Gatorade / sports drink

Lemonade

Fruit punch

Kool aid

Any fruit juice

Small candies (Skittles / pez / nerds)

Sugar stick

There's a world of other food options, but provided above you have the base of your new found healthy nutritional profile. Each category you can logically see where it can branch off to.

Now that you have a general consensus for the types of foods you should be eating, we can discuss when you should be eating. Everyone has a different schedule and i'd bet my bottom dollar most of them are super busy. Unless your job is to quite literally be in shape, then it's tough to have a perfect schedule. So here's the basics of nutrient timing.

This example will be based on someone with 1hr available for a workout, works all day, and prefers to get their workout in mid day or before work.

Morning (7am)

- Glass of water 80z

- High glycemic carb source + Healthy carb + Fat + Protein

eg:

Banana + Whole wheat toast w/ Peanut Butter

2 Eggs

Coffee

8AM-12PM. Work

10:00 AM Snack

- Fruit + protein

eg: Apple with turkey slice

Lunch: 12PM

Healthy carb + protein

Eg:

1/2 Chicken breast + sautéed veg

1 cup brown rice

12-4:30PM work

2:30pm Snack

Banana + PB + Almonds

5:00pm Gym

High glycemic workout carb + protein

Eg: 25g protein powder + orange juice (350ml)

7:30pm Supper

Healthy carb + Protein

1/2 pound shrimp cooked in olive oil + Sautéed veg

300g (medium) Sweet potato

9:00PM Snack

Low fat greek yogurt + Mixed frozen berries

Day recap:

- High meal frequency = High satiation (always full) / metabolically active, and energy primed.

- Timing: Meals spaced out with intention. Enough protein and fat to maintain satiation throughout day, while dispersing carbs to maintain energy levels and prime body for 5:00pm workout. Last meal before workout is 1.5-3hrs with an intra workout shake to maintain energy and avoid being lethargic due to digestion.

- Well balanced, no hiding from snacks, no heavy restrictions.

- Clean whole food sources

- *Workout can take place mid-day, remove snack with originally planned 5:00pm shake.

Last point to discuss, general macronutrient (Carb / Protein / Fat) ratios. Basically how much of each should you eat.

The general recommendation is 50% of calories come from carbs, 20% from fats, and 30% from proteins.

If you are consuming a 2000 calorie diet this would look like the following:

Carbs:

2000 x 0.5 = 1000 cals

1000cals / 4 cal/g = 250g of Carbs

Fats:

2000 x 0.2 = 400cals

400 cals / 7cal/g = 57g of Fat

Protein:

2000 x 0.3 = 600 cals

600cals / 4cal/g = 150g of Protein

If you decide to track your foods simply plug in your daily caloric need into the 2000 spot in the above equations and you can determine your personal macro ratios.

DAILY CALORIC NEED EQUATION:

Daily Caloric Need is your BMR X 1.4

BMR = BMR = (10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) - (5 × age in years) + 5

Daily need = BMR x 1.4 = ________

This my friends is all you need to know about what to eat, when to eat it, and how much of it you should be eating. Following these instructions and you'll flourish, that I promise. If you wish to develop a better understanding feel free to book a consult with me, inquiries are to be sent to joshbray_9@outlook.com, or feel free to hop on board and purchase a subscription giving you access to all my coaching services.

Let's tackle your goals together!

Happy eating :)

"Progression is built through consistency and tested by passion"

JB