I often encounter people with poor eating habits, so I decided to devote an issue to just that—nutrition. While it is obviously important to exercise regularly, it is equally important to eat regularly. Contrary to what most people think, you should eat four to six times a day (including snacks), even if your goal is to lose weight. The size of the meal will deviate according to the individual as well as the goal. The meals should be spread out throughout the day, with no more than four hours between any two. While I am not a nutritionist or dietician, and so do not give nutrition plans drawing from my own knowledge, I do give general guidelines for my clients to follow, using common sense, simply because it is difficult to make health and fitness gains without proper nutrition.
A lot of people are under the impression that if they want to lose weight, they should stop eating. Well, that mindset couldn’t be further from the truth. While it is true that you need to burn off more calories than you consume (causing a calorie deficit) in order to lose weight, you should do this gradually, consuming well-balanced meals. Cutting your dietary intake drastically can slow your metabolism to a less-than-healthy point, actually causing your body to hold onto fat, and worse yet, causing serious health problems.
I like to use the horse and bear analogy with my clients. The bear, an animal with a high percentage of fat, eats a very large meal at one sitting and then is able to store his body fat to nourish him throughout his hibernation. But the horse, a much leaner animal, grazes all day consuming small portions, and so burns calories at a much greater rate than the bear. So if you want to be like the horse, you need to eat small, more frequent meals throughout the day in order to keep your metabolism high.
While you should consume foods low in saturated fat, I’ve noticed that many people have a difficult time doing so. Not because the person doesn’t know how to eat healthy, but because he/ she hasn’t planned ahead and then gets caught unprepared, resulting in an unhealthy choice due to hunger or a lack of time. I can’t say enough just how important it is to plan ahead so that you don’t catch yourself in this position. I, too, have been guilty of this. So plan ahead so this doesn’t happen to you.
Having said that, hopefully anyone out there who is thinking about “crash dieting” will reconsider. If you suffer from a dietary disorder or are in need of dietary assistance, please seek out a registered dietician or nutritionist. For any athletes out there who needs to cut calories due to competition within their given sport, please do so with professional guidance. Hopefully this has shed a little light on an often-misunderstood subject. To summarize:
- Eat 4-6 small meals per day
- Space out your meals to keep your metabolism high
- Be a horse, not a bear
- Eat foods low in saturated fats
- Plan your meals ahead of time_ Eat well-balanced meals; no “crash dieting’
- Seek professional help if you have dietary concerns
Have a great week and I’ll talk to you all soon!
Copyright © 2010 Optimum Condition, LLC. All rights reserved. Melissa Allen, CPT, BS, CES is a certified personal trainer, corrective exercise specialist and Medifast health coach, is the owner of the Optimum Condition Corrective Exercise & Performance Center, located in El Cajon, in the East County of San Diego. We specialize in customized fitness training & corrective exercise for both recreational athletes and post-rehab clients, as well as guaranteed weight loss programs or your money back. You can schedule a free consultation to help you get started. Please visit her website at OptimumCondition.com
