Nutrition
Most people know what products and what foods is good or bad for you. To understand and know how to put together useful and well-balanced meals is quite another matter.
Breakfast
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day ( so they say ) If it really is, its hard to say, but it is a big difference between eating and not eating your breakfast.
In order to meet the body's need for nutrients after a night's sleep, a breakfast should include a good combination of carbohydrates, protein and fat.
The proteins and carbohydrates starts the metabolism while both provide energy to the muscles and brain.
Remember that the brain accepts only glucose as fuel.
After a night without food, the glycogen depots (where the body produces glucose) are quite low.
Vary between different types of breads and healthier toppings as mini cottage cheese and vegetables.
Eat like 1-2 eggs in order to get you more protein. Round off with a little fruit. Replace the bread with oatmeal a few times a week.
Lunch
Lunch is one of the larger meals of the day.
For larger meals you should ensure that your digestion is as effective as possible.
You can do so by drinking 1 glass of water approximately 15-20 minutes before the meal.
A complete lunch should have a good balance between carbohydrates, protein and fat.
A regular plate of food together with a mixed salad works great as lunch option.
Salad before food intake also helps the body to accommodate the protein in the food.
Avoid any type of fast food and processed foods. They usually contain higher amount of saturated fat and less nutrients. (Empty calories)
Dinner
Just as the lunch is recommended that you drink a glass of water 15-20 minutes before a meal. Similar content as lunch but try to cut down on the carbohydrates, and try to avoid processed foods.
If you do not exercise regularly, you can minimize glucose storage by reducing carbohydrates (preferably the fast ones ) I recommend a lot of vegetables along with fish, chicken, tuna and red meat.
Try a vegetarian dish for a change.
Take your time when you cook and eat, this helps your body absorb nutrients and minerals.
Snacks
A snack is very important if you want to loose weight. Snacks helps you keep up your metabolism and keeps your blood sugar at good level.
But it will not do with the snack any time. Soft drinks, cakes and pastries contain too much fat and sugar. (Rapid carbohydrates)
These give you a quick sugar kick for a while but they also increase insulin levels in the blood, and then your blood sugar takes a crash dive and you become tired and your crave for sugar will increase even more.
Protein gives us much greater feeling of saturation than carbohydrates.
This means that when you eat protein-rich food, you will both saturated faster and eat less, and that about 25% of calories in the protein disappears as heat rather than stored as fat.
Every time you eat you also increases your body temperature, this will increase your metabolism.
Here are some tips for good and nutritious afternoon and morning snack
1. Small jar mini cottage cheese (250 grams) combine well with a bit of fruit (apple-citrus)
2. Bread with 2 boiled eggs, sliced
3. File - yoghurt with muesli without sugar
4. A warm cup of soup
5. One cup whole-wheat porridge
6. Branflakes / muesli with low-fat milk
7. Dried (without sugar) fruit or nuts
8. Fruit salad with yoghurt
My diet has a great impact on me when I have to peak my form.
Before a competition I go on a diet for approximately 10 weeks.
I never eat less than 2000 kcal, if I go down too low I will loose my high metabolism.
Of course this will also cause my performance to drop as well. In addition, I increase protein intake to improve combustion.
I usually eat 6 meals a day, but the diet so I increase to 7-8 meals
A typical dietday
5 am : Protein Drink + Coffee
7am : Omelet on egg whites, oatmeal porridge
10am: Chicken & Rice
1pm: Chicken & Rice
4pm : Protein drink + rice cakes
6pm : Chicken & Rice
9pm : Low fat yogurt (preferably vanilla with some frozen berries )
