Here at Jtab Training I try my best to keep things as simple as possible. We all know, that especially when it comes to eating right, the more simple the program, the more likely you are to follow through. Below is my list of solid basic nutrition tips.
For Fat Loss(accompanied with some strength training):
- Reduce starchy carbs: pasta, rice, bread are not “necessity” for survival or optimal health. Only have 1 serving, at most, each day. Bread does not offer any nutritional value except added calories from carbs. And yes, there are breads that offer added vitamins so it must be "ok" right? No, it’s not and shouldn't have a normal place in your fat loss nutritional plan.
- Reduce sugar (both added sugar and natural sugar): Sugar is sugar is sugar when it comes to fat loss. Yes, blueberries are better than table sugar that you put in your coffee (please stop doing that by the way!) but it still has sugar. Try to eliminate added sugar most days, and try to limit berries (best bang for your nutritional/sugar buck in my opinion) once a day. Sugar comes in many things (even salad dressings, etc..) so please read labels and be aware of what you are taking in. The one exception to the sugar rule is right after a hard workout. You can “allow” yourself a few fast digesting carbs to help with muscle building and to replenish glycogen to muscles.
- Increase/maintain protein numbers: If you are “dropping” carbs, you need to replace some of those calories with protein. You must be at .7-1.0 grams of protein per pounds bodyweight when trying to lose fat yet still maintain muscle. This can come from lean meats, eggs, protein powders (vegan or dairy based), fish, beans, or LOW SUGAR Greek yogurts (plain and add some berries on top if need to!). No matter where you get your protein from, make sure AT LEAST the protein content is the highest macronutrient of the 3 (fat, carbs, protein). That is a decent quick check to see if it is mainly a protein source or a fat source with some protein (such as peanut butter, almond butter, etc.)
- Keep the good fats in, get rid of the bad fat, and limit all fats since they are the highest calorie macro. Fats have 9 calories/gram while carbs and protein have only 4. That doesn’t mean you can have tons of carbs (see #1,#2), it just means be picky about what fats you will include. And for the love of all that is sane, please stop eating/drinking man made fats and “vegetable fats”! These include canola oil and trans fats. The one vegetable fat that is acceptable is avocado oil(or avocadoes in general). Good fats and oils you CAN include in your diet are olive oil, coconut oil (medium chain triglycerides), nuts, or seeds. Remember, these must be eaten/drank in moderation due to their high calorie count!
- Veggies! Yes to most and as much as you want! They will help fill you up (higher fiber ones) which helps curb calories since most veggies are very, very low calorie. Just don’t think about adding lots of oils or cheese on them if you are trying to cut calories.
- Speaking of calories, you have to find your base calorie daily needs (find a good calculator online, Precision Nutrition has a great one) and start with reducing 100-500 calories a day from that number. Reduce too many too quickly, and your body and hormones will actually go into starvation mode and will not produce the results you're looking for. Need help finding a PN calculator to find a sweet spot of calories each day (message me or email jtabtraining@gmail.com!)
There are 6 good tips to get you going. Please reach out to me if you have any questions from these tips or anything else for fat loss!