As my first post I should provide a little background so I don’t seem like some random guy that found this blog and decided to start posting here. \u00a0I am a certified personal trainer through the National Strength and Conditioning Association and also certified through Crossfit. \u00a0I work at a Crossfit affiliate gym and also I have my own personal training clients. \u00a0I was one of Alan’s friends going through school so he asked me to occasionally add insight and posts to help you guys keep going and answer any questions you may have. \u00a0You will also have to excuse the rather lengthy post, I tend to get long winded on occasion.<\/p>\n
First off (excuse the cheesy line), well done. \u00a0You are taking steps to improve yourself and I applaud you for that. \u00a0I will be happy to answer any and all questions you have for me no matter how minor or obscure.<\/p>\n
I wanted to talk to you today about the quality of food that you generally eat. \u00a0I’ll try and keep all the science mumbo jumbo out of it as best I can. \u00a0A lot of the time when people think of “healthy” they think whole grains, vegetables, fruits, low\/no fat whatever, etc. \u00a0Some of that is correct and some of that is misconceptions.<\/p>\n
What people don’t realize is why<\/em> certain foods are considered healthy and why they are not. \u00a0There are also varying degrees of how healthy foods are. \u00a0So, what makes a type of food healthy? \u00a0Is it all about macronutrient balance (Carbs, fat, and protein)? \u00a0Or is it how nutrient dense it is? (Vitamins and minerals) \u00a0And which one is more important? \u00a0I can say without a doubt that the nutrients in the food that you eat are the most important factor.<\/p>\n So, nutrient dense foods huh? \u00a0What are those? Well for starters vegetables, fruits, meat, and dairy (mainly eggs). \u00a0Notice anything missing from your previous conceptions of healthy food? \u00a0Thats right, grains. \u00a0The biggest block of the USDA’s approved “healthy diet” is gone. \u00a0The reason for this is grains (yes, even whole grains) are basically empty carbs. \u00a0There are very little nutrients present because of how they are cooked and generally how processed the finished product is. \u00a0Go to your local supermarket and try and find a loaf of whole grain bread that does not have high fructose corn syrup (an artificial sweetener) in it. \u00a0I bet it will be a lot harder than you think. \u00a0Its doable but most companies stick that in everything, even if it’s not something that you would generally classify as sweet.<\/p>\n So, if grains are out of the picture what should I eat for my daily intake for energy? \u00a0Simple, lots and lots of vegetables, a bit of fruit, and (bear with me) you don’t need to skimp on the fat. \u00a0Honestly most of the calories that I eat in a day come from fat, next is protein, and finally a little bit of carbs. \u00a0I don’t count my calories at all and just eat however much I like and just pay attention to the quality of food that I eat. \u00a0I maintain a body weight of about 190 at 5’10” and my body fat % is somewhere between 8-10%.<\/p>\n Fat gets a bad rap because most people associate the fat we eat with the fat that gets stored in\/on\/around our body. \u00a0They don’t associate the fat on our body with all the extra carbs that we just ate and didn’t actually use for energy. \u00a0If the energy from all the carbs that we eat are not used where do they go? As much as I would like to say they magically disappear unfortunately for us, they get stored in cells for later use. \u00a0And once our cells that require energy are filled to the brim with the energy where does all the extra energy go then? Simple, it gets stored in our “backup” storage, our fat cells.<\/p>\n To wrap up this exceedingly long post that kind of took on a mind of its own I will leave you with a simple message. \u00a0Eat lots and lots of vegetables, a little bit a fruit (can go into the science of why you should limit your fruit intake if you want), go house on any lean meat you can find (unless you vegetarian, then I’ll have to think of new ways to get protein), and to hell with counting calories. \u00a0My favorite sources for fat are eggs (protein too), bacon, and nuts. \u00a0Fat will help you feel full so you wont be a ravenous unhappy person the whole day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As my first post I should provide a little background so I don’t seem like some random guy that found this blog and decided to start posting here. \u00a0I am a certified personal trainer through the National Strength and Conditioning … Continue reading