Tag: healthy eating

  • 6 steps to starting a new diet that works for you

    6 steps to starting a new diet that works for you

    Before you go all in on the diet that everyone seems to be talking about—work on figuring out what sort of diet you currently follow and how to tweak that. This will take longer, but it will be pay off in the long run because it’s your diet, not someone else’s. You can watch the rest as they burn out, fall off, or move onto the next one.

    Need a new workout plan to go along with a new diet? Try any of our 35+ free workout plans for different goals and abilities.

    Train smarter. Recover better.
    The Simone OS helps you adjust your workouts, check in with your nervous system, and stay consistent — even on the off days.

    Eat cleaner. Get leaner.
    The Fat Loss Meal Planner helps you build high-protein, macro-aligned meals that actually support your body — and your goals.

    The Fat Loss Meal Planner

    1. Establish what your goal is

    Do you want to lose weight, gain weight, or go somewhere in between? No one diet will accomplish all of that without tweaks and modifications. It comes down to what you eat and how much of it. If you simply want to start eating healthier, well, that’s easier: Stop eating processed foods and using loads of butters, oils, and sauces. Start eating lean protein and loads of vegetables. Once you’ve established your goals, you’re on your way to intuitive eating, which can be achieved after learning your body and how it reacts to food.

    2. Follow a consistent eating schedule

    It really doesn’t matter if you eat three meals per day or six this early in the game. You can’t just hop onto a new diet when you don’t know what your existing diet is. Logging your meals is good step to take, put some more structure around it. If possible, you want to try to get on a schedule for a few weeks in terms of when you eat, what you eat, and how much you eat. Now, log it.

    Editor’s note: I used to eat whenever I was hungry and ate whatever was around. There was no structure or consistency. To track everything, I started to eat every three hours or so.

    3. Understand what it is, and how much, you’ve been eating

    Once you’ve set your schedule and logged it for a few weeks, you should have a very good sense of what you eat everyday. If you don’t, then that’s problem number one. You eat way too much different stuff. If possible, cut down what you eat to the basics. You want a protein, you want carbohydrates, fiber, and fats. And you want the best possible versions of them. Check out our list of the 25 best muscle-building foods. It’s really all you need for a well-rounded diet. The less you buy at the store the easier it is.

    4. Cut out all of the non-essential stuff (cold turkey, or slowly, it’s your choice)

    If you’ve been drinking juices or sodas, or processed or packaged foods, it’s time to get rid of that stuff. Whether you want to do it cold turkey or slowly, that’s entirely up to you. The faster you get rid of that stuff the faster you’ll stop craving it and the faster you’ll start seeing results. But, it’s completely understandable if going cold turkey isn’t realistic for you.

    You may also like: How do I stop food cravings?

    Editor’s note: In my teens I liked Gatorade, loaded cheeseburgers, and even some packaged pastries. Once I wanted to get leaner, the packaged pastries were immediately eliminated, then went the cheeseburgers, then the Gatorade.

    5. Start making small tweaks based on what you’ve been observing

    If you’re trying to lose weight, but have noticed you’re gaining weight, then you’re eating too much. Start by pulling back a little bit on the carbohydrates and fats. Since you’ve been logging what you eat, you should be able to simply chip away from each meal.

    If you’ve trying to build muscle or gain weight, but you’re losing weight or staying the same, then you’re not eating enough. Start by adding a little bit more of everything in each meal. You’re probably safer starting with protein, then a little more carbs and fats.

    If you’re losing weight, but you’re still holding only body fat, then your calories are OK, but macronutrients like protein, carbs, and fat need readjusting. Try pulling back on the carbs and fats a little for a few weeks.

    If you’re trying to build muscle, but you’re adding too much body fat, your calories could be OK too, but the macronutrients also need readjusting.

    As a reference, freedieting.com has a good calorie and macronutrient calculator to estimate what you might need to lose, gain, or maintain.

    6. Keep these in mind from our article on intuitive eating

    • Your calories and macros will never be perfect. This is long process.
    • If you’re just starting out, throw out all the junk food in your house. If you’re serious about figuring this out, you don’t have time for junk yet.
    • On that note, don’t plan on any “cheat” meals for at least the first month. You don’t even know your body yet, don’t concern yourself with where you can “treat yourself”, you have plenty of time for that.
    • Most people don’t realize how much or how little they are actually eating. Educate yourself on serving sizes and be aware of what’s in what.
    • Food quality is more important than quantity.
    • The winning combination: protein is the base, carbs and fat for support. It might be different for you.
  • FAQ: How do I stop food cravings?

    FAQ: How do I stop food cravings?

    It’s very possible a food craving is your body asking for something it needs. For example, if you’re craving salt, you may be dehydrated and actually need water (and salt). If you’re craving fatty foods, you could be low in omega 3s or 6s, which are essential fatty acids. Just hungry in general? You probably are, especially if you had a very active day. Commit to eating filling (high-fiber, high-protein) meals and snacks consistently and you’ll never reach a point where you’re ravenous and more likely to order the burger and fries.

    However, what’s more likely the case, especially if you’ve been struggling with losing a few extra pounds and have a tendency to snack late at night, could be either stress or an addiction to sugar. (See here—research proves sugar is actually addicting.)

    The best way to break that is by eliminating unnecessary junk foods. Sure, treating yourself or “cheating” every now and then is completely understandable, but if you’re in a habit of tapping into the sweet stuff, even if it’s a little, you could be working against yourself.

    From my experience, once I stopped eating certain foods, the longer I went without eating them, the more I forgot about them. I began “craving” the foods that helped me work out harder and have more energy throughout the day. If you give me a chocolate chip cookie right now, I’ll be hungry again in like 20 minutes and want two chocolate chip cookies tomorrow. But because I don’t eat that stuff, I don’t want that stuff. I love my homemade breakfast sandwiches, my wild salmon with sweet potatoes and asparagus, my low-carb tacos, and my protein popsicles. This is the stuff I crave now. And every once in a while, if I work out really hard and crave pizza, I listen to my body and have a slice. But more often than not, I’m looking forward to my next homemade meal right afterwards.

    It’s not going to happen overnight, getting rid of your cravings. It takes commitment and willpower to overcome them in the short-term so they disappear in the longterm. But I can tell you from personal experience that it’s 100% possible.

    If you’re looking for more eating advice, be sure to read our piece on intuitive eating here.

    RELATED FAQ: How often can I have a cheat meal? 

  • FAQ: I like to think I eat healthy, but why can’t I lose weight?

    FAQ: I like to think I eat healthy, but why can’t I lose weight?

    Weight loss comes with being in a calorie deficit, or eating less than your body needs to operate. Fat loss comes with how those calories are broken into specific macronutrients (protein, carbs, fats). You can 100% be eating healthy, but still gain weight, in fact, you can even get fat “eating healthy”.  

    First thing to do is log all of the food you’re eating, and be very specific with how much of it you’re eating. Then, calculate your total calories and the macronutrient breakdown. That’s your starting point. Then, use a tool like freedieting.com to calculate how many calories your body needs based off your age, height, weight, and activity level. (This is an ESTIMATE, everyone is slightly different) From there, you can explore different types of macronutrient ratios to see which works for you. If you’re going for weight loss and for fat loss, as mentioned above, you’ll want to be in a caloric deficit and have the right macronutrient breakdown. A good starting point would be 50/30/20 of protein: carbs: fat. There are other options, but that one in particular seems to work well (and is most balanced) for building muscle and losing fat.  However, there are some exceptions because, as previously mentioned, everyone is different.

    Very important note: There are a lot of experts and resources that will bash the idea of counting calories or counting macros, but the truth is, in my personal experience, if you have no idea what you’re doing and you’re struggling to see results, then you need to find your starting point. Once you find that starting point and get a better understanding of what you’re eating, how much you’re eating, and how your body responds, then you don’t have to worry about counting anything, but until then, you cannot have the expectation that you can “listen to your body”, eat whatever you want, and see great results without understanding how things work first.

    Read this post on intuitive eating for lean muscle + the six steps to starting your own diet.

    Related FAQs
    Is cardio the best way to lose weight? 
    How often can I have a cheat meal?
    How long does it take to see results from a workout plan?

    For personalized help with your nutrition and training, check out DigitalFitnessAdvisor.com