"Am I eating enough to get big?"
"I need to lose weight, should I skip meals?"
"What time should I stop eating during the day?"
"Is this burger going straight to my hips?"

These are examples of the questions that people constantly ask themselves on a daily basis. Working out and sleeping well are all parts of a healthy lifestyle, but nutrition accounts for nearly 70% of your lifestyle considerations. This article is designed to touch upon some myths and frequently asked questions that should clear the air for you.

Please keep in mind that this article will not discuss total calorie counts. It is too arduous and unnecessary of a task for anyone to consistently count calories on a daily basis, unless you are a professional body-builder. The idea of a healthy lifestyle is for it to be enjoyable. You don’t want to be messing around with a calculator everyday do you? I didn’t think so.

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How Often Should I Eat?

The quick answer is to eat between 6-8 small meals a day every 3-4 hours. We’ll discuss how large your portions should be in the next segment, but the reason that you should eat so often is for a simple reason: maintaining a consistent metabolism is the key to positive energy levels.

Your metabolism is like a fire that needs constant feeding. Eating small, regular meals every 3-4 hours keeps your metabolism firing all day, which in turn keeps you energized all day. If you eat larger meals 2-3 times a day, your body focuses on digesting all that food instead of keeping your motor running. That’s why people sometimes feel lethargic and sleepy after larger meals.

Your body adapts to small changes better than big ones, so increasing your meal volume on a weekly basis is key. If you eat three meals a day, add a fourth one in week one. During week two, add a fifth one. Keep doing so until you reach that optimal 6-8 meal level. Your body can only digest so much food optimally within a three-hour period, which is why I recommend eating at 3-4 hour intervals.

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How Much Is Too Much?

This is a great question to ask yourself. The simplest rule of thumb is to follow the “Rule of Handfuls”. Consider the following recommendations:

Protein – A palm-sized filet is more than enough.
Carbohydrates – About ½ cup to 2 cups is ample. That equates to about one handful.
Fruits and Vegetables – The best part? There is no rule here! Eat as many quality-produced vegetables as possible!

In terms of preparing your meals, you should follow the rule of the “Upside Down Pyramid” which essentially states that your biggest meals should be at the beginning of the day while your smaller meal should be at the end of the day. If you think about it, it makes sense. If you eat a large breakfast, you have all day to burn the fuel from that food. If you eat a large meal at dinner, and go to sleep shortly thereafter, you won’t have enough time to keep burn all those calories. If you don’t, then they turn to fat or waste in your body and as well, a large dinner could also hinder a sound night’s sleep. For these reasons, your first few meals of the day should be relatively the largest, reducing the size of your meals throughout the day as you prepare to sleep.

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Don’t Be Scared Of Fat

Fat is essential to the health of your internal organs. Just like anything, however, too much of one thing can be bad. Fat should assume anywhere from 10-30% of your total intake depending on your goals. The idea, however, is to steer clear of unhealthy fats and stick with good fats.

Healthy sources of fats include mono-saturated fats that are simple to burn. These can be found in olive oil, non-hydrogenated organic butter and in nuts like almonds. Eating healthy fats contributes to a balanced diet, but that doesn’t mean you should go crazy.

Unhealthy sources of fat include saturated fats and trans-fats. These are often found in fast foods, canola oils, vegetable oils and hydrogenated butter/oil. It’s best to avoid these fats as much as possible because your body simply can not process them; clogging up your system to a great degree.

Trim the fat off your foods as much as possible, but don’t be stressed just because there’s a little bit of marble in that steak – the occasional saturated fats won’t kill you, so just keep your consumption of them in moderation, and ensure that the majority of fats that you’re eating are the healthy kind.

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Eating Pre and Post Workout

Fueling your body so that you have a proper fuel source during your workout is important. After your workout, there is a thirty minute window when your body is primed to receive a solid source of protein to begin the rebuilding and recovery phase.

I recommend finding a healthy source of protein powder if you are in the gym on a constant basis. The protein powder acts as a supplement, with a scoop of protein containing the same value of protein as a 4-6 oz. chicken breast. Always remember that you should be consuming the majority of your carbohydrates, protein and fats from natural whole food sources on a daily basis, but supplementing some meals with the convenience of protein is a smart way to stay on the healthy track.

Sample Nutrition Schedule

MEAL	TIME	SIZE	DESCRIPTION
Meal 1	7am	Breakfast	2-3 eggs, oatmeal, fresh fruits
Meal 2	10 am	Snack	8 oz glass of milk, apple
Meal 3	1 pm	Lunch	Turkey sandwich with salad/rice
Meal 4	5 pm	Pre-Workout	Protein shake (30-40g of protein)
Meal 5	7 pm	Post- Workout	Protein shake (30-40g of protein)
Meal 6	8 pm	Dinner	4-6 oz chicken breast, vegetables, 1 cup pasta
Meal 7	10pm	Bedtime Snack	8 oz glass of milk

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Protein Shakes

Most of the literature out there suggests that you have a 30-60 minute window after you have completed your workout when your body is thirsty for nutrients. Your body will absorb nutrients much faster during this window, and it will also accelerate the repairing process your muscles need to enjoy the fruits of your labor in the gym.

When it comes to making your favorite smoothie, feel free to experiment. There are literally tons of recipes out there so you have to find which one you like. Aim for around 30 grams of protein isolate pre or post workout, since the average person can digest between 25-40 grams of protein every 3-4 hours. It's one of the faster digesting protein sources out there, which is important so the protein gets to your muscles quickly and efficiently. However, if you already spent money on ten pounds of whey, don't feel like you're selling yourself short by simply using whey protein.

The pre/workout and post/workout meals should count as "one" meal split in to two for your daily diet. Have a quick shake with either milk/water and 1 scoop of Weider protein supplement approximately one hour before you exercise. The reason for this is so that you're not working on an empty stomach. You don't want an entire sandwich sitting in your belly while you're trying to run on a treadmill, or lift weights, so a protein shake is nice and easy.

Click below for two easy recipes for your regular blender or a hand blender:

Post Workout Choconana
Post Workout Tropic Thunder

Make sure to blend your shakes using a manual "pulse" mode so you don't over whip the milk. Using pulse also allows you to get the consistency you like. Add the other half of the banana if you feel like it's too smooth, or a touch more milk/water if it's too thick. Don't feel the need to chug these drinks! It took time to make them, right? So take time to enjoy them! You’ve worked hard in the gym, so you deserve a moment to give your body and mind a moment of good food, and relaxation.

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Variety Is the Spice of Life

This saying relates especially to your diet. Don’t restrict yourself to just eating broccoli, rice and chicken breasts. While those are three great foods to keep in your diet, feel free to explore healthy, fat-reduced portions of steak, fish and pork. As far as vegetables go, eat a large variety of veggies that you enjoy. Each fruit or veggie provides its own nutritional benefits – for example, some vegetables are better sources of certain minerals and vitamins than others - so cover your tracks by enjoying a variety of fruits and vegetables that you enjoy eating.

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Tips at the Grocery Store

When people ask me what they should buy at the grocery store, the easiest thing I can say is, “Do most of your shopping on the outskirts of the grocery store.” Why? Because that’s where all the fruits, vegetables, dairy and meats are found. Stray in to the aisles to pick up rice, pasta and seasonings, but try to stick to the outskirts.

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Always Consider the Source

The title of this article, “You are what you eat”, refers to this particular section. Always consider the source of your meats and vegetables when lining up at the grocery store, butcher or even farmers market. There is tons of literature on organic foods, but some of the brands aren’t “certified organic”. Essentially, organic foods (meats and vegetables) have better nutritional value. Livestock and poultry from organic farms are fed higher quality foods and grain, while organic vegetables are planted and grown in chemical-free bio-diverse soil, which helps them retain more of their nutritional value and makes them healthier for you to eat.

Processed foods are notoriously bad for you, and they’re almost always produced from poor quality grade sources to begin with. Stay healthy by steering clear of pre-packaged & ‘instant’ meals, frozen dinners and things of that nature.

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The Truth about Drinking/Smoking

The basic rule of thumb for drinking is that one per day can actually be good for you, as it stimulates certain metabolic affects in your body that are beneficial. As well, if your drink of choice is red wine, it is full of healthful antioxidants. However, this affect is quickly curtailed after the first drink and after that, drinking becomes detrimental to your body. This doesn’t mean that you have to abstain from drinking, but if it’s something that you truly enjoy, keep it to a minimum, and if you are going to drink, then do not allow it to disrupt your regular workout regimen.

It goes without saying that smoking is extremely harmful to your health, but it is also detrimental to your workout program. Smoking will destroy your cardiovascular capacity, so you won’t enjoy the same gains that you would if you were not smoking.

Again, just like anything, these are personal choices. Simply understand that you are sacrificing gains and a more direct path to a better and healthier life if you choose to partake in these activities on a daily basis.

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Supplements, Pills and Powders

The best idea for a beginner’s diet is to make changes to the regular intake of food that you enjoy every day. Supplements, pills, capsules and such are for advanced levels of fitness and nutrition. If you introduce too many new substances into your body at once, your body will not be as accepting as if you integrate them slowly. As well, supplements tend to work differently for everyone, and if you introduce too many at once, you won’t know which were actually effective and which were not.

If you’re going to start with a supplement, begin with protein powder, Vitamin C and Vitamin E pills. The rest can wait until you’re ready. The bottom line is that you can spend all the money in the world on supplements and powders, but if the basis of your diet is not healthy, natural foods, then all that money will go to waste.

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Remember To Enjoy What You Eat

A lot of people complain profusely that diets are “boring” or restrictive. The idea of a diet is a general misnomer. You aren’t going to go on a diet for 4-6 weeks only to go back to what you were eating. The key to a long, healthy life is a consistently healthy and satisfying diet. Don’t be fooled into thinking that you can take a crash course on dieting to meet and keep your goals. Instead, making slight changes to what you eat on a regular basis is the best path to success.

If you aren’t enjoying what you’re eating, then you’re not going to stick with it. You may commit to it for a short period of time, but over the long haul, you’ll fall to temptation. Instead, find healthy alternatives to the foods that you enjoy. It’s not impossible to make healthy cheeseburgers, you just have to use a high-quality, lean ground-beef (or try a leaner alternative such as ground chicken, turkey or game such as venison) and a healthy unprocessed source of cheese.

As always, educating yourself is the best thing to do. Get tips from those around you who already know how and enjoy cooking, or from reading a variety of healthy cookbooks. Find recipes that are simple and easy for you to prepare so that you aren’t agonizing and laboring for hours every week in the kitchen.

Follow this simple rule of thumb when considering your diet: if you eat poorly, you’ll live poorly. If you eat well, you’ll live well. As with many things, it’s just that simple. Bon appétit!

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