I am often asked for nutritional advice by people looking to lose weight and the single best piece of advice that I can give a person that wants to lose weight is to lose the processed foods. Processed foods are full of weight loss sabotaging ingredients and offer very little nutritional value. Instead of starting out by counting calories or grams of this and that, begin replacing the processed foods with whole and nutritious food options.
I am an advocate for eating 6 small meals per day verses 3 large meals. I subscribe to the belief that eating consistently throughout the day keeps the metabolism firing, as well as supplying you with a steady stream of energy…all day long. When you consume large, heavy meals your body requires a lot of energy in order to break those meals down digestively. This leaves you feel tired, lethargic and sleepy, all of which are the opposite of what we need to make it through our day. Aim to have a meal every 2 to 3 hours during the waking hours. I eat a protein rich diet as it helps with building and repairing muscle, and you’ll find that having a decent amount of protein with each meal will leave you feeling fuller for longer. Protein takes a while to break down and digest so this is where the prolonged satiety comes from.
Here are some simple meal ideas to get you started:
Breakfast: 3 whole eggs (you can cook 1 whole egg and 3 egg whites if you have high cholesterol) and ½ to 1 cup of plain oatmeal. Sweeten the oatmeal with several packets of stevia.
Meal #2: 2 cups of skim or almond milk and one scoop of whey protein powder. If you are targeting weight loss, find a protein powder without added sugars.
Lunch: 8 oz. of baked flounder fillets, 1 medium sweet potato (baked, not microwaved), 1 ½ cups of steamed broccoli. I flavor the meal with Old Bay Seasoning or simple salt and pepper. Adding pepper (cayenne is best) can increase the body’s core temperature slightly which translates into increased metabolism.
Meal #4: 2 cans of chunk light tuna in water drained, 1 small baked potato, 1 ½ cups of steamed green peas. Peas are a great source of protein and season this meal the same as the prior meal.
Dinner: Veggie Stir fry using all of my favorite vegetables and those that I was able to get on sale this week. Always go with carrots, celery, greens of some variety (turnip, mustard, chard or kale), mushrooms, green bell peppers, onions and any others that you want to add. I brown a packet of tofu in another frying pan and serve on top of my stir fry. Make certain to get organic non-GMO tofu!!!! I season the stir fry with fresh pressed garlic (up to 3 cloves depending on preference) and use Bragg’s Liquid Amino Acid which is a great substitute for traditional soy sauce.
Meal #5: 1 cup of Greek Yogurt (Plain) and one scoop of whey protein powder
You can easily replace the fish with lean chicken breast or lean seafood of your choice, but I suggest avoiding pork and red meat if targeting weight loss. Interchange the vegetables with other “green veggie” options such as greens, cabbage, green beans, asparagus, etc. I always choose sweet potatoes over white potatoes because of the increased nutritional content of the sweet potatoes but you’re fine to switch it up from time to time, just make certain you aren’t using either variety of potatoes that are any larger than a baseball.
The above meal plan is also great for muscle building! The only tweak that I would make is going with 6 whole eggs in the morning for breakfast and the full 1 cup of oatmeal (that’s 1 cup uncooked which yields several cups after it’s cooked). As a general rule of thumb in order to build muscle, we need to aim for 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight.
Hope this helps! Stay Focused and Happy Training Y’all!!!!!!
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