Monday, April 19, 2010

WHAT DO I EAT?

Being a personal trainer for so many years, you know I've been asked just about every nutrition question in the book. I usually get something that sounds like one of these: "What diet should I be on?" "Is __________ diet good? I heard a lot of people talking about it." "How many calories should I be eating?" But basically they are all saying the same thing: "WHAT DO I EAT in order to reach my goals... and quickly if you don't mind?" :)

BUT... when I ask them if they even know how many calories they are eating right now... 99% don't know. So I say...
"You can't get where you are going if you don't know where you are."

Steps to Achieving Your Goals Nutritionally

Realize that what you eat accounts for at least 50% of you reaching your goals (and that's a low number, some figures are as high as 80%). So nutrition matters.... A LOT!!!

Before I start let me state something: When you desire a long-term goal greater than momentary gratification, that's when you are on your way to changing your life.

The steps aren't difficult at all but they do take some effort.

Here's the first step. It is simple and barely takes very much time.
Get a little notebook and write this down:

What am I eating (measuring is good)?
What am I drinking?
And What time is it?

Do this for 1 FULL WEEK! And don't wait for Monday or the morning. Just start right now. I am not asking you to watch what you eat. You want to get an honest reading of just exactly what it is you are doing RIGHT NOW!

You can't get where you are going if you don't know where you are. RIGHT? Exactly Right! That is why we want to see where we are to begin with.

I'll be posting mine this week... feel free to post yours as well. Accountability helps us reach our goals.

...Zumba Love... <3

7 comments:

  1. Monday:
    7:00am 1/2 C. Dry Oatmeal
    1 Banana
    1/4 C. 1% Milk

    9:00 8oz. Vitamin water
    11:00 16 oz. Vitamin water

    11:30 Enchiladas - homemade
    3 corn tortillas (steamed)
    3/4 C. Green Enchilada Sauce
    2 oz. Chicken
    2 oz. Cheese
    12:00 1/2 piece of brownie (yes I eat sweets sometimes)

    3:15 PB Sandwich
    2 slices Whole Wheat Bread
    1 Tbsp Natural PB
    2 tsp. All Fruit Jam

    4:30 8oz. water

    7:00 16 oz. water

    7:15 Homemade Hamburger - no bun this time
    3 oz. Hamburger Meat
    2 Tbsp. Ketchup
    1 1/2 Tbsp. Mustard
    Romaine Lettuce
    1/4 Roma Tomato

    Sweet Potato Fries - Homemade
    1/4 Sweet potato (some Olive oil, salt and pepper - baked in oven)


    -----------
    So, I need some more fruits, veggies and water.

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  2. oops! almost forgot... 8:15pm
    1/2 C. Low-fat Cottage Cheese
    1/2 C. Peaches

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  3. I did bad on water today. :( Non-Zumba days are harder for me to get my water in.

    7:30 1/2 C. Oatmeal
    1/4 C. 1% Milk
    1 Banana
    Yes... this is pretty much what I usually have for breakfast. :)

    8:50 11oz. Water

    10:00 PB&J (same as above)

    12:30 Slice of Pumpkin Bread (my sweet today)

    1:00 Salad
    Romaine Lettuce
    1/2 Roma Tomato
    1/4 Sweet Potato
    1Tbsp. (little less) Thousand Island light

    3:00 1 slice Whole Wheat Bread
    1 oz. Neufchatel Cheese (light cream cheese)

    4:15 11 oz. Water
    4:30 1/2 C. Cottage Cheese
    1/2 C. Peaches

    6:00 11 oz. Water

    6:15 2 oz Meatloaf (YUM)
    1/2 C. Mashed Potatoes (with skins, olive oil, salt and pepper... they were yummy)
    1/4 C. Peas and Carrots (these had a little butter on them)

    You should eat something small... preferably a GOOD carb and a GOOD protein every 2-3 hours. It keeps your metabolism working hard continuously. You can see I was not very consistent today on my times. And I was SO HUNGRY today for some reason. Felt satisfied though and no cravings.... eating consistently will usually eliminate cravings.

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  4. Sorry, I'm a bit behind:
    Wednesday...
    Guess what I had for breakfast???
    Yep, Oatmeal, banana and milk. I do put in a little dash of salt, cinnamon and vanilla before I cook it... YUM! Same measurements. :)

    Noon: 6" subway sub - black forest ham, pepper jack cheese, spinach, tomato, green peppers, banana peppers, jalapenos, hot sauce, sweet onion sauce, cucumbers

    3:00 6" subway sub - other half of above. :D

    4:00 slice of pumpkin bread

    6:00 3 tacos - I know this is weird but I had leftover smashed potatoes on 3 corn tortillas, tomatoes, lettuce and salsa. It was yum, yum

    9:00 - 1 C. cheerios and 1/2 C. 1% milk

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  5. Wed update water: 74oz water

    Thursday:
    7:30 1/2 C. Oatmeal
    1/4 C. 1% Milk
    1 Banana

    36oz vitamin water

    12:00 slice pumpkin bread (I know, I know. It's just sitting here and no one else is eating it... and I haven't had pumpkin in a long time)

    12:45 6" Subway Black Forest Ham - pepper jack cheese, spinach, tomato, green peppers, banana peppers, jalapenos, sweet onion sauce, cucumbers

    3:00 PB&J
    11 oz. water

    5:30 - Hamburger & coleslaw
    3 oz. lean meat
    bun
    mustard and ketchup
    homemade coleslaw

    36 oz. water

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  6. So I have started trying to keep track this weekend. It didn't work well so I am going to try again. I think my biggest problem with my eating is that very often through the day I don't feel hungry so I don't eat at all. This started after I had Piper...I have 30 pounds to loose still from having her.

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  7. While you're keeping track. Don't worry about how often you eat. You are right and we'll get to that but you need to make sure you know what you're doing now, in order to know what to change.

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