It’s that time of year again. Everyone is planning on doing the right thing and the gyms are starting to pick up. Almost everyone you speak to is on the “keto diet” as of the first of the new year. So many great intentions, so little sustainability. Here’s a quick reference guide for the new year.
Diet
The word diet is more a statement of what you consistently consume as opposed to the 8 week fix that you’re about to embark on. Instead of jumping on the bandwagon of the newest fad diet that will inevitably fail, choose the healthy option. What exactly is the healthy option? The technical answer is that it depends on a host of information that is impossible to answer in one generic blog post. But, it is possible to give a generic outline that you can plug and play with. The following is a simple cheat sheet that you can use that is a heck more sustainable that getting extreme.
For Ladies
To maintain your current bodyweight/body fat consume roughly 1 palm size portion of lean protein, 1 fist portion of veggies, 1 handful of starchy carbs, and 1 thumb of healthy fats/oils. To drop bodyweight/body fat simply cut out some of the starches.
For the fellas
Double what the ladies consume.
For a more detailed list of healthy foods and complete food composition, check out Precision Nutrition’s website.
Sleep
Whatever you do, get appropriate amounts of sleep. This isn’t always possible if you have newborns or crappy neighbors, but ultimately you should be able to your sleep pretty regularly. I’ve made mention of this in the past with an entire article, but the jist of the information is that in order to progress you need your sleep. There are a number of sleep aids out there. Melatonin seems to be the simplest choice, but now CBD is jumping into the mix. If you’ve read my material before and you’re still looking at your phone in bed before trying to sleep, why? Blue light emission from your phone/tv/tablet/computer can inhibit melatonin production in your body for up to two hours.
Exercise
If you are currently working with a professional, continue to do so. Who couldn’t benefit from someone else pushing you and tracking your information. Anything or anyone that promises to get a quick fix is just looking to get your money. There is no magic pill here.
We can break exercise down into a number of different categories, however, resistance training and some sort of conditioning work are the most effective at achieving your goals. There are certain populations that need to be careful about what they do and how they do it, but the evidence is pretty clear that exercise seems to positively impact everything. Doing yard work and house work does not constitute exercise. Walking does not constitute exercise unless you were unable to walk prior to starting a walking program. Including upper body pushes and pulls, as well as lower body hip hinging and knee dominant work (squats) are a good starting point.
In conclusion, start to implement these simple tasks into your daily routine and you’ll find that your goals will start to come to fruition. Seeking out a qualified individual who has experience in not just the exercise aspect of well-being, but in the entire performance envelope will be greatly beneficial. This way you can have all of this information monitored. Looking for an exercise physiologist or exercise scientist degree and an appropriate certification is usually a good place to start.