Eating / Recipes

As most everyone knows, diet is instrumental to losing weight and getting more fit. You will notice in the RFC Facts to the right that unless you consume the required amount of calories per day, your body cannot perform the task of shedding weight.

Erin and I have changed our style of eating (and to some degree what we consume) over the past year-and-a-half and have had a good amount of success.

We tweaked a plan called Body For Life. In a nutshell, it promotes eating combinations of lean protein and healthy carbohydrates every few hours throughout the day to speed up fat loss and maintain stable energy levels. The plan says for best results, to each six times per day.

You can check out sample meal plans from past champions on the Body for Life site. The changes we made seem to work better in our daily lives - instead of eating whey protein at 10:30am, we have an apple; instead of a shake at 2:30, we have a Kashi granola bar; etc.

One thing to consider before looking at a sample of a menu for one day, is when you workout. That will change at least one meal. It is now being promoted to eat a small meal (can be a Power Bar / Clif Bar / even a glass of chocolate milk*) within 30 mins. of completing a workout. This is important so your body can put proteins back in your system to continue building LEAN muscle.

J.C. Sample Menu
7:30a - Breakfast (Cereal or Two egg whites and wheat toast)
10:00a - Morning Snack (Apple - add PB if you want)
12:00p - Lunch (Chicken sandwich w/ Arugla, Smart Puffs, Lite Yogurt)
2:30p - Snack (Baby Carrots - add Hummus if you want)
4:30p - Snack (Kashi Granola Bar)
7:00p - Dinner (Porkloin, Sweet Potato, Salad w/ Oil & Balsamic)

If you crave a dessert, have a Skinny Cow bar. They taste fantastic and are made from soy (you wouldn't be able to tell the difference).

Sample Snacks
* Almonds
* Clif Bars / Power Bars
* Fruits (Bananas and Apples are fantastic to supplement workouts)
* 1/2 PB sandwich
* Fage Zero Yogurt - its a plain Greek Yogurt (Erin adds honey, fruit, or nuts)
* Lite Yogurt
* Kashi Granola Bars

Protein is a key to supplement your fitness and replenish what you burn off during workouts. It is suggested to eat as much as 1/2 your body weight in protein each day. As stated above, protein helps you to build LEAN muscle - which is what we are all after. **

If you adopt this style of eating (six small meals) and stick to it, you will find after a few weeks (most likely sooner) your body starting to crave eating at your scheduled time. This means you have jumpstarted your metabolism. This of course burns calories and means that your body is burning the food you consume as fuel - and not storing it. Anything that goes in should be looked at like putting gas in a car.

This doesn't mean that things can't taste good, or that we can't treat ourselves one in a while. The nice thing about this plan is that it's not a diet - it becomes the way you eat, a way of life. You can be as creative and adventurous as you want - you can move a lot of different recipes and foods in and out. As long as your mind is set to eating healthier, the sky's the limit (in terms of the quality of what you eat, not the quantity).

One of the most important facets of your eating plan is hydration. You should be consuming as much water as possible / desired throughout the day. If your pee is a clear to a light or very light yellow, you are well hydrated. If not, get drinking the H2O!! One of the best ways to keep hydrated is to buy a reusable water bottle - you can keep it with you all day (work, home, workout, bedside) and fill as needed. You will be surprised how much more water you consume if you keep a bottle close by. And if you have any questions on hydration, ask Grace - she has 8 glasses a day.

As we have said before, these are just suggestions - something that has worked for us. Take a look at how you eat, what your lifestyle is like, and make changes that work for you.

* More on the Chocolate Milk after the workout:
http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/healthy-eating/superfoods/chocolate-milk-after-workout/

** Of course, everyone has different medical backgrounds and needs, so please make sure to consult your physician before making drastic changes to your diet.