Just Working Out is Not Going to Get You to Your Health Goals

Nutrition and lifestyle changes are necessary along with your time in the gym if you are going to reach your fitness goals.  It is easy to put your time in the gym but removing foods or making lifestyle changes are usually a deal breaker.   Here are my top nutrition and lifestyle changes to get you started:

1.  Nutrient Dense Food.  Including nutrient dense foods in every meal is a must if you are going to get away from mindless eating and snacking.  Meals should include foods like dark colored vegetables, wild fish, grass fed meats, organ meats and healthy fats like avocados and coconut oil.  These foods not only have the macronutrients (carbohydrate, fat and protein) that you need; they also have micronutrients (vitamin and minerals) that your body requires to run properly.  Your body will act hungry even though it has enough calories if it doesn’t get the micronutrients that it needs.  Take home message: Eat real food!  Check labels and make sure that you recognize everything on the ingredient list and better yet – choose foods with no ingredient list because they are whole, real foods. 

2.  Pre and Post Workout Snacks.  One of the worst traps I see gym-goers fall into is pre and post workout snacks.  The truth is that 9 times out of 10 you don’t need them and these snacks make it very difficult to get into the calorie deficit needed to loose weight.  This type of fueling is specific to athletes who do multiple hard workouts each day with less then 8 hours between workouts.  For most people, eating regular meals that include protein and healthy carbohydrate will replenish your glycogen stores in plenty of time before your next workout.  Do you have specific foods that you like to include on days that you have tough workouts, long runs or rides?

3.  Carbohydrates in the Evenings.  Do you snack on carbohydrate rich food in the evenings?  These extra carbohydrates slow our fat metabolism and make it difficult to shed the extra fat layer that you are trying to lose.  Unless you workout in the evening; dinner should be comprised of protein, vegetables and fat.  Save the starchy vegetables for your post workout meal and find some vegetables or fat for a snack.  I like shredded coconut and vegetable sticks.  If you find yourself hungry an hour after dinner, take a look at what you are eating earlier in the day.  Are you skipping meals?  Are your meals lacking in nutrient density?  Beef up (pun intended) your meals to eliminate evening cravings.  Consider that snacking does become a habit and you might not even be hungry and just have a bad habit to break. 

4.  Poor Gut Flora.  Cravings can also be related to a poor gut flora.  To improve it, stop eating damaging foods like sugar and grains.  Eat a variety of probiotic rich foods like homemade sauerkraut, kombucha or Kefir.  Vegetables and seafood are also excellent at repairing your gut flora. 

5.  Eating too Little.  Eating too little can derail your gym goals whether they are weight loss or muscle gain.  Weight loss is not a simple math equation.  Eat less and exercise more does not work.  I talk with people everyday who are eating portion sizes that are too small for their calorie needs.  If you are eating real food that is nutrient dense, then portion sizes do not matter and you should be eating to satiety and not based on what a chart tells you.  When you underfeed your body it goes into starvation mode and saves fat and instead of burning it.  It turns off unnecessary functions and does more with less.  Your body was built to make it through famine; this fact makes it very difficult to loose weight by starving it.   Take home point: Feed your body to meet your goals! 

6.  Sleep and Stress.  Lack of sleep and too much stress can crush any health goal.  They work hand in hand and can trigger each other.  You need deep sleep to burn fat and for your body to complete its daily detoxification process.  We need a minimum of 8 – 9 hours each night despite what you might be use to.  Practice good sleep hygiene by turning down the lights in the evening, wear amber tinted glasses and get into bed at a decent hour.  Our body does its natural detox before midnight so those are some of the most important hours of sleep.  A magnesium supplement can help with sleep and it is a micronutrient that most people are deficient in.  Try an Epsom salt bath or topical magnesium.

Stress can be the most toxic.  This stress can come from work, family and relationships and even working out too much.  Give your body a break and take time to relax.  Meditation, walks and yoga are great ways to deal with stress and should be a part of your daily health care.

What nutrition and/or lifestyle changes do you need to make to make your gym goals a reality?