Posted on

Tuesday, 16th July

If you’re struggling with your eating, then you’re only reaching half your potential.

If you’re in a serious training programme, looking to put on some muscle and perform to your capacity, then you had better start getting serious right now about food!

Breakfast will always be your most important meal of the day. Porridge, eggs, Weetabix, shredded wheat always work well.

Mid morning always needs a healthy snack to keep your blood sugar levels steady, keep you energized and stop you being too hungry lunch time! Some people have a protein shake and this can fill you up nicely.

Lunch time is a great time to fill up again, put some energy in as well as some good protein sources such as chicken, turkey, lean beef, tuna, salmon, mackerel, cottage cheese etc. If you get a chance to sit down, have the protein source with a jacket potato with some vegetables.

If you’re on the move a lot or in work, try wholemeal pitta bread or wholemeal bread. Don’t put too much spread on if possible.

Mid afternoon is a vital time to fill up on energy, fruit or a bowl of porridge can work well at this time with everything focused on your evening workout.

Evening meal will be ultra-important after the evening workout as your body needs to repair itself. So you need to make sure your protein source is good, have some good carbs such as brown rice, new potatoes, jacket potatoes, wholegrain pasta etc, these are the very best choices.

Make sure you have some veg with most meals as they are the nutrients that really look after you internally, and help your body function at its top potential. You also have to look at your general health and make sure you get a healthy supply of veg in every day goes a long way to making sure that happens.

Try and make sure you drink at least 1.5 to 2 litres of water a day, sip throughout the day and don’t just leave it to the evening when you train.

Eating every 3-4 hours is critical to you achieving what you want, and performing with the kind of energy that you are going to need for our ever-increasing workouts!

This needs to happen most days, as one good day here and there won’t make hardly any difference. Consistency is the name of the game and getting smaller, more regular meals is the biggest thing you need to get used to so you can start making fresh progress straight away!

Twitt
Posted on

Thursday, 11th July

Eating enough is a problem for some people and for different reasons.

If you need to put on muscle for example, then it can be quite a feat to get used to eating more food, more often in bigger quantities each time. It is not comfortable at the beginning and I remember going through the same thing myself many times.

Eating more food usually goes with your training schedule being upgraded. If you are training a lot harder and for longer, then its absolutely critical to be eating more calories, and more importantly more QUALITY calories!

The secret of success in going through this process is simply sticking with it!

Many people haven’t the patience to go through this, and are forever looking for the “wonder supplement” that will somehow slap a ton of muscle on their frame.

So it’s a simple equation, you need to up your portion size a little bit, and eat every 3-4 hours max to stimulate lean muscle growth in your body.

Then when growth happens (and it will given time), then you will notice your poundages in certain exercises in the gym tend to start going up.

Another vital ingredient would be your sleep. You can be training your guts out, you could be eating a ton of food, but if you’re not getting to bed early every night, you’re not going to experience the growth in your body you should be getting.

If all of this sounds pretty rigorous, and requires a lot of discipline, then you would have guessed right! Putting muscle on is not as easy as those advertisements make it sound or promise you. It can be done though IF you show the consistency required more or less every day of the week. You can have one day off from the relentless nature of the eating, training and eating, but you had better get back on it the very next day.

This is the type of attitude you need and as I said sticking to it no matter what is the true secret to muscle gain!!

Twitt
Posted on

Monday, 8th July

As I write this, it is 26 degrees and I have already experienced getting through some tough sessions this morning.

The usual protocol must be followed in this very warm weather.

Regular water intake is the most important by far, and I am talking about drinking THROUGHOUT the day and not just your workout. This will enable your body’s core temperature to stay in a healthy range, it will help you workout for longer and help you recover from your session a lot quicker.

In this weather, like when you are abroad, it will be a great idea to train either first thing in the morning or later in the evening, when it goes a bit cooler and it’s a bit more pleasant to train in.

A massive test of exercising in the heat was Andy Murray’s wonderful performance yesterday. It was said to be up to 50 degrees on centre court yesterday would you believe! No wonder murray looked as if he had already played 5 sets than the 3 he already played! He looked out on his feet when he had the winning point and with good reason.

Playing in 50 degrees is extreme and most people could never get through such a match, and this shows the extremely good condition that both players were in, and both can now be regarded as the great champions they are!

They are constantly hydrating themselves, constantly eating throughout the day, before and after the match, and sometimes taking on calories through gel’s and various products. Djokovic consumes a protein and carbs shake straight away after his match as he leaves the court for example.

Good water intake, good nutrition all round is vital for these players who often play in extreme heat, and if you adopt some of their habits, then you too will be able to train harder and longer even when it’s a lot warmer than usual!!

Twitt
Posted on

Friday, 5th july

I am often asked about which are the best foods, what variations of that food, why so extreme, why so bland, why can’t I do this and that?!!! The questions are endless so here goes at answering them!

Brown rice is better than white rice? Yes it is, it releases a lot less sugar into your body, gives you energy for longer and will keep you leaner for longer.

Wholegrain pasta or white flour pasta? Of course, wholegrain pasta is better for the same reasons as the rice.

Jacket potatoes or sweet potatoes? In terms of sugar, sweet potatoes are far slower in these terms again.

White bread or wholemeal? This is the biggest clear cut winner, white bread is trash, full of sugar and bleaching agents, a nasty product that you must avoid, and the more freshly baked breads are cleaner in terms of additives. If a loaf of bread stays fresh a week after opening it, then you had better start worrying!!

Here’s a redeeming word of advice though.

With the exception of white bread, the rest of those products are okay in the simpler versions, as long as its in moderation.

The problem becomes with over-consumption, AND the consumption of other rubbish sugary foods too!!!

So if you had just boiled white rice, veg and fish for example, then of course its going to be no problem!!

It’s about moderation ultimately, and not pigging out on the sugary foods along with the ones full of saturated fat! Keeping your diet simple is key, and you don’t need to go to extremes of any kind. Keep your sauces low or make them yourself, keep the portions sensible, eat regular and keep the ingredients as natural as possible.

Do these things and will stay healthy, and have enough energy for regular good quality workouts!

Twitt
Posted on

Thursday, 27th June

An instant solution to sort your eating problems out is writing down everything you eat and drink.

If for instance, you had a cooked breakfast, then you had a roll for mid-morning bought in a garage, then you grabbed something out for lunch in a shop, then mid-afternoon you had a bar of chocolate and packet of crisps, then to finish off you picked up a takeaway on the way home, just because you had a busy day and you couldn’t be bothered to make your own food when you got home.

If you did this most days, then it wouldn’t take a genius to work out that you will not get in any kind of decent
shape!

Most people though do not realize what they eat, and never have any kind of plan for their day ahead. Its this type of approach that will lead to longer term weight gain, longer term health problems, and a feeling of hopelessness when it comes to how you feel about your health.

To change all of this, I strongly encourage individuals to keep a 7 day eating diary, writing down exactly what they eat for a week and how much too. They will also write down what they drink, again how much is important too.

What this does is immediately recognizes how well you are actually eating, it shows if you are overeating in each meal or not, how much of your calories are coming from drink (studies have shown that obese individuals can consume 40% of their total calories through fizzy drinks, alcohol etc).

Once your awareness goes up, and it definitely will doing this, then you are likely to get a plan developed, have a good healthy shopping list for the first time in a while, and you will be likely to start cooking many meals yourself, as the takeaway, grab something at lunch time option, grab something in the garage option, soon becomes a thing of the past, as long as you prepare more before you leave the house in the morning.

This simple 7 day eating diary will make all the difference!

Twitt