It's Simple Math

I love working out. But even I know that a true healthy body is 70%+ about what you eat, not your time in the gym. It's simple math: You spend less than 5-10% of your waking at the gym, and only burn (likely) less than 25% of your daily calories there: burning say 300-500 calories, vs. the 1500-2000 you consume each day.

So, if you can control your weight more with what you eat, what do you eat?! And how do you keep your body satisfied while doing so? It really is quite simple (well.. simple knowledge, sometimes a lot harder to follow).

Here are my basic 5 rules of eating right while trying to maintain or lose weight:

• Rule #1: Drink Water. Lots and lots (and lots!) of water. Water not only flushes sodium from the system (so you are not holding on to fluids), but also can satisfy a hungry tummy. My general target is between 60-100 ounces per day.


• Rule #2: Center your diet around "foods that grow" - from or on the ground that is, and which are as close as possible to their natural state. This includes vegetables (the ONLY food you can eat UNLIMITED amounts of), fruits, lean free range meats (poultry & fish are best) and eggs, whole grains, nuts and seeds, dairy (in moderation, because nearly all dairy we get in the US at least has been altered from nature - e.g. pasteurized and homogenized).


• Rule #3: Keep a food journal. Most people (including me!) underestimate what they eat. To tell if you do too, write down everything you eat for a week, and add up the calories, fat, carbs and protein from www.calorieking.com. From here, you can instantly know how to lose weight. HOW? Simply by reducing your caloric intake. If you're averaging 1,800 calories or more per day, try cutting back by 20-25%, if you're eating less than 1,800 calories, target between 1,200-1,400 per day (never go below 1,200 calories per day!).


• Rule #4: Watch out for overcompensation: Often when trying to lose weight, we increase or change up our work outs. This makes the body hungry and tired, and often we 'overcompensate' with more calories. Be it a reward for getting through that tough gym routine, or simply answering our bodies cries for more food to replace the calories it just burned off - just remember, you are asking your body to do something it is not used to doing (either working out more or eating less), and it is not going to like you for it! But don't worry - you will survive and your body will adjust; in a good way.


• Rule #5: Just eat the brownie (sometimes). Sometimes, you just need to have a treat. And guess what? A brownie or piece of cake every now and then is not going to kill your diet. One every day WILL, so keep it in check - remember that's why they call it a treat.

And that's it! See, simple rules for a healthier, leaner you!

Good luck!