1) Eat Frequently
- Small meals every 3-4 hours. (5-6 meals per day)
2) Go Light at Night
- Eat your smaller meals late, and LIMIT CARBS.
3) Limit Your Portions
- Aim for no more than 400-500 calories per meal.
4) Eat Lean
- Buy and prepare lean meats like chicken, tuna, tilapia, or other fish.
- Goal is to limit red meats.
5) DON’T avoid carbohydrates!
- Carbs are fuel, and your body needs them. Simply eat most of your carbs early in the day (breakfast/lunch) and minimize your carb intake at night. You don’t need the extra energy when you’re sleeping.
6) Avoid Dairy
- Supplement calcium with a multivitamin, and if you must have milk try another form… like Almond Milk (btw – it has 50% MORE calcium than regular milk). My wife and I started using it and we actually prefer it to regular milk now. Tastes awesome.
7) Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate
- Drink lots of water! The whole “drink 8 cups a day” is hogwash. We’re all different and the amount that each of us needs to drink will be different. For example, a construction worker out in the weather all day will obviously need more water than me, a school teacher. A good rule of thumb is to simply drink enough water to where you are peeing clear EVERY time that you go to the bathroom. When you’re peeing clear…you’re hydrated.
9) Limit Alcohol
- This is a no brainer. If you want to lose weight, you need to cut out the empty calories that you intake.
9) Don’t Fear Fats
- Eating healthy fats, such as avocados, natural peanut butter, and almonds/nuts is GOOD for us. You need to limit them to only about 20-25% of your diet, but these fats are good for you and your body needs them to function.
10) Only Supplement What’s Needed
- Don’t go out and go supplement crazy just because you see other people doing it. You only need to supplement what you’re not getting from WHOLE foods. So, there’s no need to run out and buy tons of multivitams and protein if you dont need it. Honestly, the only supplements I use regularly are whey protein and Shakeology. I use whey protein because I don’t get enough from regular foods, and I drink Shakeology because it’s extremely healthy (more on that later). That’s it… no vitamins, or anything else.
11) NO SODA!!!
- If you absolutely must have a soda, then one diet soda VERY rarely won’t kill your diet. Just don’t make it habit!
- If you need caffeine is what you’re after, then try drinking coffee (black) or take a pre-workout supplement that contains caffeine.
Sample Meal Plan – What to eat and WHEN!
1) 7-8 am (400 cals) *high protein and carbs
- Ex’s – Shakeology w/ two pieces of wheat bread
- Oatmeal – NO SUGAR
- Egg White Omlet
2) (SNACK) 10-10:30 (400 cals) * protein + starch or vegetables
- Ex’s – Beef Jerky
- canned chicken
- protein bar
- Canned tuna
- Apples/fruit
- Vegetables (RAW!)
3) 12:30-1:30 (300-400 cals)
- Ex’s – Sandwich with LEAN lunch meat
- Restaurants (subway – black forest ham, Chick Fila – Grilled Chicken)
- Substitute French Fries with FRUIT or SALAD
4) (SNACK) 3:30-4:30 (300 cals)
- Salad w/ chicken on top
- Fruit
- Beef Jerky or protein bar
- Granola bars (HEALTHY ONES – NOT LOADED WITH SUGAR)
5) 6:30-7:30 (300-400 cals)
- LEAN MEATS w/ veggies.
- LITTLE OR NO CARBS!!!
6) (SNACK- if needed) 9-10
- LOW, LOW CARBS!
- Ex’s – Protein shake w/ almond milk and frozen fruits
- Other regular fruits
