Wednesday, September 15, 2010

3 under-rated nutrition tips

I have a bit of an embarrassing story to share with you. I missed the bus to the bachelor party last week. And so I didn't get a chance to create a "lose fat at a bachelor party report".

However...I'm off to a business seminar this weekend and then a few days at a resort in Mexico, and I'll be bringing you a full report on how to get lean and stay lean when you take these types of trips.

The secret is to follow this #1 nutrition tip:

1 - Be accountable.

By promising you that I'm going to record my every meal, I have to make the right choices or I'll suffer embarrassment in front of over 87,000 people when I send out my food diary from the trip.

So you must find someone to be accountable to as well. It can be online, or it could be a friend at work or someone at the gym. All that matters is that you have someone to hold you accountable for your nutrition choices!

By the way, just keeping a food journal has been proven to increase weight loss. So even if you don't show it to anyone, holding yourself accountable will be enough to help your beat a fat loss plateau.

The next tip works really well for the final phases of dieting, or when on a business trip.

2 - Eat the same food everyday (sometimes).

Okay, I know, this doesn't sound like fun, but my ol' buddy John Romaniello, author of Final Phase Fat Loss, uses this when he has to lose the final 5-10 pounds of fat for a photoshoot.

And John is able to get super-lean by doing this.

Of course, this isn't a long-term strategy, but when you need to get "advanced results", you have to take advanced measures.

So when traveling to a business seminar, find the right choice for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and eat the same thing at each meal. That will minimize the damage - or even help you lose fat while on the road.

Or if you are in the final phase of a fat loss program, stick to the meals that are the best for your fat loss and easy to prepare.

You can treat yourself when the job is done.

3 - Increase your fiber intake.

I've stolen this idea from Josh Bezoni who gave some amazing tips on how to eat more fiber.

Fiber fills you up, helps you eat fewer calories, and may even help you eliminate extra bad calories.

Now here's a few ways for you to get more fiber in your diet:

- Blend in raw nuts with your smoothies & protein drinks
- Add vegetables to your omelet (I add broccoli, spinach, & mushrooms)
- Eat fruit between meals instead of high-calorie granola bars
- Snack on raw nuts instead of white-flour products like pretzels
 (I had a pretzel addiction in high school, and now I eat almonds)

Those are simple and under-rated, yet proven ways to improve your nutrition and lose more fat at home and while you travel.

On Thursday, I'll be starting my day with a high-fiber, nutrient dense blender drink, then eating some fruit, and then having a big omelet with vegetables before I head to the airport after lunch.

And you'll get to hear all about my meals, workouts, and adventures when I get back.

Just say NO to bellyfat when you travel,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

PS - Take your before photos to enter the 9th TT Transformation Contest. Last day to enter is this Saturday.

1 comment:

Ryan @ Fat Loss Informant said...

Hey Craig,

Great post.

I would have liked the "Get Fit at a Bachelor Party" concept. Maybe some other time.

I really love that you mention eating the same thing every day. It's super boring, but when I lost all my weight and found myself slacking off, I just ate the same thing for a week straight and it got me back on track.

Great tips,
Talk to ya soon,
Ryan "The Fat Loss Informant"