3 Ways to Improve Nutritional Efficiency and Results
There are two words I have grown to hate over the last little while. Both of them I am convinced are because of social media in some way. Grind and Hack. I’ll tell you why these words grind my gears a tit bit. People who don’t work hard, who don’t give it their all, who don’t practice discipline will still throw the word Grind around and feel that if they drop that work they sound cool.
How’s your day been?
Oh, you know…I’ve been grinding
Grinding what?? Your ass into the couch?
The other word is Hack. Hack implies there is a shortcut, a way around things. Well that simply isn’t true with anything worth having in life. If you employ a Hack in anything in life I hope you’re planning to do it twice. Once with the Hack and the other to do it over the right way. Time is the most precious commodity on this planet. So…why plan on doing it twice? Let me tell you a secret…If you don’t do it right the first time, chances are you won’t do it a second. You can’t afford to. The only way to the goal is straight through. And most times it’ll suck and make you feel uncomfortable and probably hurt a little. Hacks are for quitters and that’s not you.
Now that I have that off my chest, let’s get to it eh?
Every single one of us can make some improvements and tweaks to our current nutrition plan, nobody is truly perfect when it comes to what we put in our face. I have a few tips that have helped me stay on the ball nutritionally while also being able to live a little and enjoy a happier and more fit life.
1. One bad meal isn’t a green light to go overboard and trash your day. The all or nothing, zero sum game when it comes to eating has to stop. So many people I talk to say because they screwed up one meal they said F it and ate like crap the rest of the day. STOP IT!! It’s one meal, get over it, put it behind you and get on track at your next meal. Don’t let one small mistake snowball into a day, week, month or year. Because that’s how it starts.
2. Get some more FAT in your diet. Yup, you heard me correctly. What I am talking about more specifically is essential fats. The majority of us fun loving Americans is that we are severely lacking Omega 3 fatty acids in our diets and it is making us perform at a subpar level. Omega 3’s cannot be produced by your body, so we must consume them through smart food choices and supplementation. Omega 3’s do everything from helping our brain, nervous system, heart, reduce inflammation and of course weight loss. A super easy way to add this to our diets is through a good fish or krill oil supplement; also foods like chia seeds, flack seeds and cold water fatty fish work.
3. Understanding how Macros work. This is probably the most significant thing, which is why I put it last. Macros are the big 3 macronutrients your body uses for fuel, building muscle and repairing itself. These are Protein, Carbohydrates and Fats. It blows my mind how much mental energy people place on what foods to eat, making sure they are eating the trendy superfoods, or whatever strange diet protocol some celebrity just made popular or fixated on a certain overall calorie number that they pay no attention to the macro breakdown of what they are eating. Eating 2000 calories a day of 60% Carbs, 30% Fats and 10% protein will have you looking and feeling far different than eating 2000 calories a day of 35% Carbs, 35% Fats and 30% Protein. Knowing these macro breakdowns is paramount to looking and feeling good on a foundational level. But if you are working out, have physical and health goals you want to achieve it is a must to get these dialed in. If you don’t you will just become frustrated, spin your wheels and flame out.
You must feed the body that you want. Remember that. It’s simple.
I guarantee you that if you follow these 3 tips, stay consistent, have a growth mindset, think long term you will have success. If you need help or have any questions about macronutrients reach out to someone you know that can help. And since you’re reading this we know each other, so drop me a line and one way or another we will get you on the “War Path” to your health and fitness goals.