3 PHASE NUTRITION PLAN
The world of nutrition may be the most confusing process outside of molecular biochemistry and rocket science. There is a lot of conflicting data mainly on the internet, and most of it is people trying to get you to buy something. There is also a lot of biases when it comes to people explaining nutrition, what works for some does not work for others. We also have excellent marketing companies that disguise themselves as nutrition companies that can sell, sell, sell and make you feel like you are buying the next magic pill.
Not only is it confusing from a “what do I eat” standpoint, the food quality has also taken a hit. Food companies have found a way to fatten up their produce and meat while fattening their pockets and our waistlines. The old adage “you get what you pay for” is very fitting when buying food. We see now that stores will advertise ground beef for $1.99 a lb. Obviously this meat quality is very poor compared to organic meat that is $6.99 a lb. The issue with buying lower quality meat and produce is that the nutrient quality goes way down. Grass fed beef provides a lot of iron, omega 3 fatty acids, and is lower in saturated fat than corn fed, low quality meat. Bagged produced sprayed with pesticides and added preservatives contain less nutrients than locally grown organic produce. To reduce inflammation in the body we should shoot for 2:1 ratio of omega 6 to omega 3s. The American diet due to low food quality and convenient choices ranks around 30:1 omega 6 to omega 3. This is a huge issue!
I have a solution for most or all people to follow. A certain set of guidelines if you will in phases. Most people, as I mentioned struggle with even knowing what is a good ,everyday diet. Sticking these people with an all or nothing meal plan or a super restrictive diet is setting them up for failure. Lets start by taking 1 step forward. Move into phase 1, what the heck do I eat, move from there to a more structured form of nutrition, then move to phase 3 to look at quality of food.
Phase 1: What the heck do I eat?
You may be totally confused by past diets you have done, or maybe you have never been told how to properly eat. Similar to how we would start someone doing an air squat before putting a kettlebell or barbell in their hands, we want to start with the basics. Start with 3 meals a day if possible, breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Every meal should consist of the three “macronutrients”, protein, carbs, and fat. Here is a good chart to see what good sources of each one of these are.
A good example would be for breakfast you eat: 2 eggs, ½ banana, and peanut butter. For dinner it would look like this: Chicken, sweet potatoes, ½ avocado. If you make a casserole, soup, or salad make sure all 3 elements are included.
The next step is portion size. Keep it basic of course so we will use our hand to determine good portion sizes. Here is a great guide that is simple to use.
Photo Credit: Precision Nutrition
Generally speaking, males can do x2 on these as they carry more mass.
Now that we know what to eat and how much to eat, we need to figure out a plan to eat better. I like to think for general population, 70% of the time you are eating this way, 30% would be a cheat meal. If you are more dialed in, 80% to 20%. If you are just getting started on this journey, taking 1 step forward is better than nothing so maybe 60% to 40%. I encourage you to look up some recipes, find some you like that are easy to make, the easier the better. Write down the ingredients you need to eat the meals for the week and make sure you have all the ingredients on hand.
Phase 2: Structured Eating
Now that we have Phase 1 down, we want to take it up a notch. Again many people are going to stick with phase 1 for life. Nothing wrong with that. For those looking to dial it in a bit we may need a more structured eating plan. Maybe we eat a certain percentage of macronutrients or calories. For some it may be restricting certain things like gluten, dairy, and carbohydrates all together. This is unsustainable for life as carbohydrates make people happy!
3 ways to create a more structured eating plan:
1-Counting Calories
2-Counting Macros/zone diet
3-Meal timing
4-restricting certain food groups
5-carb cycling, nutrition cycling
“I have phase 1 down, now I want to kick it up a notch, how do I do that?”
Here is a good chart that will give you an idea of how many calories you should be eating a day. Just keep in mind that this is just a guide for you, every ones body is different and therefore we should look at our energy levels as well as our weight and body fat to make sure these are accurate for us.
| Your Goal | |||
| Fat Loss | Maintain | Gain | |
| Sedentary | 8-10/ 10-12 | 10-12/ 12-14 | 14-16/ 16-18 |
| Moderate Activity | 10-12/ 12-14 | 12-14/ 14-16 | 16-18/ 18-20 |
| Very Active | 12-14/14-16 | 14-16/ 16-18 | 18-20/ 20-22 |
*Multiply these numbers by your bodyweight in pounds (I.E.-I am a moderately active man that wants to lose fat and I weight 200 lbs. 200 x 12=2400 cals 200 x 14=2800 cals, so My daily calorie goal should be somewhere between these) Men are in Red, women in black.
This is a good chart to figure out calories. The next chart is how to figure out macros.
PHASE 3: Quality + Quantity
Once you are consistent with the basics of good nutrition, we then look at the quality of food we are eating. In the past 3 decades, the food industry has taken a massive shift in lowering the quality of food allowed to be distributed. More preservatives, more marketing, and less wholesome ingredients plague the food we eat today. Sit back and think for a second about what the purpose of food is, to give us energy and nutrients. Food is meant to decompose and “turnover” just as energy and nutrients do in our body. If you see the food on the shelves today either doesn’t decompose or has a way longer shelf life. As our consumeristic culture lends itself to companies looking for cheaper ways to produce food, our waistlines and health deteriorate.
The best application of this can be described by what Michael Pollan, author of the “Omnivores dilemma”, says “Eat real food, not too much, mostly plants.” That’s a rather unbiased way of saying, stick to the perimeter of the grocery store, don’t eat too much, and stick to things that decompose. Here is a good guide to look for when shopping.
- Don’t fall for clever marketing, look at ingredients on the back.
- Shop local when possible. Local produce farms and local butchers generally have higher quality food
- You get what you pay for! Organic beef that is 1.99 a pound is probably too good to be true.
- Don’t stress if something isn’t organic, do your best!
Conclusion
I wrote this article for the purpose of getting people to understand that they don’t have to go crazy restrictive with their nutrition. In fact, from a mental standpoint, crazy restrictive can be detrimental. Start off with basics of eating better, don’t worry too much about food quality, quantity, or meal timing. Once we have mastered the basics and want a little more from our diet, we should look at getting into phase 2 in which we take a deep dive into the quantity of food we are eating. Phase 3 is when we really dial it in and eat high quality food as well as control the quantity that we eat. You may also be in phase 1 and eat high quality foods, phase 2 is not a prerequisite for that. STRESS LESS, EAT WELL, LIVE WELL, LOVE LIFE.