With the New Year comes new hope, new motivation, new goals, and often times new diets. The real goal here is to use this motivation to turn your diet into a healthy lifestyle to help fuel your workouts and recovery. With all the misinformation about diet and nutrition this can be an insurmountable task. However there are a few tricks I use with both athletes and non-athletes looking for help with weight management.
- Add variety and balance to your diet
Yes, appropriate pre and post workout meals are crucial but that does not mean you cannot get out and try new foods. If you are a runner living in Pittsburgh, it is fairly certain that you have run past many stores offering a wide variety of foods. With some help and guidance, these foods can be incorporated into a healthy training diet plan. Take the Strip District for example. Stores like Lotus Food Company offer a wide variety of unique produce such as the durian fruits. At Wholey’s Market you can find almost any meat and seafood including frog, turtle, or alligator. Pennsylvania Macaroni Company offers many pasta options to help fill your energy needs. At Stamoulis, you can find specialty cooking oils, olives, cheeses and other Greek foods. And don’t forget the outdoor markets in the Strip too. These are just a few options available in Pittsburgh but it is clear that variety and balancing all of the food groups is very attainable.
Durian Fruit
Tough to open but worth it
- Eat often, but practice moderation
We have all heard that eating many small meals through the day is better than eating a few large meals. But the biggest reason for this is not necessarily to “boost” metabolism. When working with clients, I find that it is most useful in helping to control portions and keep energy levels optimal for training. The hungrier someone is, the more likely they are to overeat. In addition, by knowing that you are going to eat at regular intervals you can better plan healthier meals and snacks.
- If you fall off the wagon get back on at the next meal, don’t try to “make up for it.”
This is one of the most common mistakes I see when dealing with both athlete and weight management clients. It might make sense that if you eat too much on one day you can balance it out by eating less the next day. This action can actually be more of a disservice to your diet. By trying to “make up for it,” you will only become extremely hungry causing you to again eat too much and repeat the cycle. The best action is to get back on track by picking up where you left off. If your next meal was planned to be 500 calories, leave it at 500 calories. Don’t punish yourself for a slip up.
- Be accountable and talk to a professional
Weight management groups and studies show time and time again that accountability is key for maintaining a diet plan. Much like having a running coach and running partners, consulting with a registered dietitian not only ensures that your plan is appropriate and adds appropriate feedback and suggestions, but it also adds accountability through group meetings, scheduled appointments, and an increased awareness of what your diet should be.
5. Learn to cook
Learning to cook will help you to achieve all the tricks above. By knowing how to cook you can increase variety and take control of balanced portions, not to mention lower grocery bills. Learning to cook also affords you access to healthy foods because you are the one making them. If you fall off the wagon, you know exactly how to make a meal to help you get back on the wagon. It will make you more accountable because you know what is going in the meal. You bought, chopped, cooked and stored the food. This really affords you no chance to “forget” what all you ate. Cooking lessons or cooking parties are my favorite way to teach athletes, families, individuals and kids how to lower their grocery bill and improve health.
Tanner (on the left) is my main assistant at the Ligonier Valley YMCA
Cooking class at the Ligonier Valley YMCA
By using these tips you can help steer yourself toward making a sustainable, like long, healthy lifestyle. And what better way to enjoy your hard earned fitness.
Stinky Fruit Waffle:
Stinky Fruit Waffle
Ingredients:
2 large eggs
2 cups 100% whole wheat flour
1 3/4 cups skim milk
1 tbsp sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
half cup durian fruit, seeds and any fibrous parts removed leaving only the smooth, creamy flesh
1 tsp vanilla
Instructions:
Beat eggs till fluffy. Then beat in the rest of the ingredients till smooth. Pre-heat waffle maker or skillet appropriately and pour in correct amount of batter. Makes 5-7 waffles or 28-30- 3 inch pancakes.