Diet Meal Plan
August 16, 2010
Diet Meal Plan
Lately I’ve been asked a lot about writing a diet meal plan that is not only healthy but full of the nutrients that our bodies need when it comes to defining and toning muscle.
In this diet meal plan I will be focusing strictly on fat loss and getting a nicely carved midsection. In order to keep it basic it will be just one day of a diet meal plan, but if you guys provide enough feedback in the comments section below I will make sure to make this a series of articles which will include many other options for other days of the week.
Remember one thing when looking at this diet meal plan, portions will vary depending on your height, weight, age, metabolism and overall health. Instead of me giving out portions and calories which I find steers my clients in the wrong direction, you will be the judge for yourself. Test these recipes and then play with portion size to see how your body responds.
Diet Meal Plan: Breakfast
Breakfast parfait:
1/2 cup fat-free vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup flax cereal
handful of blueberries
4 hazelnuts or walnuts (skip if allergic to nuts)
2 strawberries sliced
Diet Meal Plan: Snack (2hrs later)
1 banana or apple
Diet Meal Plan: Lunch
Asian Chicken Wrap:
1 whole wheat tortilla
1/2 chicken breast grilled
1 teaspoon peanut butter
1/2 lime juice
1/2 red pepper
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
sprinkle of sesame seeds
Directions:
Grill the chicken with the peanut butter and lime juice using 1 tablespoon of olive oil
Heat tortilla wrap
Place chicken into wrap and garnish with other ingredients
Diet Meal Plan: Snack (3hrs later)
1 fruit smoothie (view fruit smoothie recipes)
Diet Meal Plan: Dinner
Mediterranean Fish:
1 tspn oil, olive, extra virgin
1 small onion, sliced
1 cup fresh tomatoes, diced
2 tablespoons white wine
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/8 teaspoon oregano, dried
4 olives, Kalamata, pitted and chopped
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Sprinkle of sea salt
2 halibut fillets, thick-cut
Directions:
Set oven to 450°F.
Warm oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until lightly browned for 3 mins.
Add wine and garlic and simmer for 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes, olives, oregano.
Season with salt and pepper.
Arrange the fish on a baking pan.
Spoon the tomato mixture over the fish.
Bake, uncovered, until the fish is just cooked through, 10 to 20 minutes.
Divide the fish into 2 portions and place over rice and then add sauce on top
Diet Meal Plan: Night Time Snack (1-2hrs later)
1 orange
Diet Meal Plan
Sounds pretty good doesn’t it? This is a full day diet meal plan which includes 3 major meals and 3 healthy snacks, keeping your metabolism high and feeding your muscles with all the nutrients they need to recover and work at optimal levels. Remember this diet meal plan is intended for fat loss so you will need to watch the portion sizes and remember that since there are frequent snacks you shouldn’t be felling starving at any one time.
One other component to remember is drinking a full glass of water at about once an hour especially if you are going to be exercising that day. Water will help drive nutrients, keep you from dehyradation and feeling of being hungry when you’re not supposed to be and best of all keeps your metabolism engine working at full force.
Did you like this diet meal plan? Would you like to see more like this? Please leave me a comment below so I know to keep this series going!
3 Foods You Should Eat After a Workout
August 2, 2010
3 Foods You Should Eat After a Workout
You may have had some problems where you are working out like crazy and not seeing the best results even though you keep trying different variations with your exercises and even your diet. This article is aimed at providing you with 3 foods you should eat after a workout so you get the most out of your workouts.
The science behind this article is based on re-supplying your muscles with the nutrients and energy they need to recover and grow. With many of you who don’t eat for sometimes an hour after your workout this is a pretty big mistake which you may not have really paid attention to in the past.
A lot of the times the problem is timing and being in a hurry to get somewhere after your workout or simply needing to shower and attend do chores, etc. With this in mind I’m going to include easy to prepare or raw foods to take as minimal time as possible.
After a Workout Food 1: Protein Smoothie
Like you probably have noticed in so many other articles on this site I stand strong behind having a whey protein smoothie after your workout. The reason behind this is because whey protein provides your muscles with essential amino acids which they need in order to recover.
During a workout we often go into a catabolic state which means that our muscles are broken down and even incur micro tears. Although this may sound like a bad thing, it actually isn’t. This is a necessary process which needs to occur in order for our muscles to get stronger and grow. There have been many many supplements which promise to take you out of a catabolic state or minimize that from happening, but in my perspective nothing comes close to whey protein powder.
Regardless of whether you want to increase muscle size or lean out and increase definition the essential amino acids whey protein provides is a fantastic resource for both men and women.
Lucky for us as consumers there are many different brands and many of them have some pretty fantastic flavours.
If you haven’t tried Gasapri’s Myofusion yet I don’t think I’ve ever tasted anything as good as their milk chocolate flavour. It’s like my favorite chocolate desert, I just can’t get over it. Here is a link for you on all the flavours they provide – Gasapri’s Myofusion.
Another one that is highly rated and is getting a lot of buzz for the high quality ingredients it contains is – Cellucor IsoPro Ultra Lean.
After a Workout Food 2: Any Fruit
Since we use sugar as our primary source of fuel for all our muscles, after a workout we are quite deficient in the amount of sugar we have in our systems. While it may seem like a good idea for this to be the case so that maybe we can get some weight loss happening a pretty strong argument can be made against this.
Much research on athletes has shown that although weight loss can occur with some starvation of sugar after an intense workout the problem that occurs is that your muscles are not able to regain and store that sugar for energy next time you workout. In other words, your muscles are starving for sugar especially within 30 to 60 minutes post workout. If you don’t supply this sugar then they are not able to completely fill up and have you completely energetic for your next workout.
I’ve taken this principal and applied it to both my workouts and many of my clients and we have been shocked at the results. You have to try it for yourself to see how much this can affect your next workout.
Brilliant idea and bonus points is that you mix in some fruit with your whey protein. I like berries especially blueberries and bananas, they make a very tropical flavour!
After a Workout Food 3: Salmon or Omega 3 Supplement
Hopefully you saw my recent article on the health benefits of Omega 3′s. If you have time to make a meal with salmon or another one of your favorite fish then even better, but the Omega 3 fatty acids that fish contains is excellent because Omega 3′s are linked with reducing inflammation.
This is fantastic news for sore muscles because with reduced inflammation we can have less pain and faster recovery times.
If you don’t have time for a fish meal then you can find a high quality Omega 3 supplement which is known for not having any toxic metals like mercury which most fish are found to have these days.
Without a doubt the most renown and consumer reviewed Omega 3 supplement is Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega.
Have any questions or comments about the 3 Foods You Should Eat After a Workout? Please leave a comment below…
Weekend Cheat Food: Protein Peanut Butter Balls
May 14, 2010
Weekend Cheat Food: Protein Peanut Butter Balls
This has got to be one of the best weekend cheat foods on the planet! Protein peanut butter balls are quick and easy to make, extremely nutritious and will pack on muscle power like almost nothing else!
Just think, melted peanut butter with whey and oats in the oven and the yummy smell perforating throughout your home….seriously….
Need I say more?
Protein Peanut Butter Balls Recipe:
Read more…
Weekend Cheat Food: Fruit-Melon Sorbet Blast
April 30, 2010
Weekend Cheat Food: Fruit-Melon Sorbet Blast
This article series is blasting away any notions that healthy food can’t taste good, and you’re definitely going to want to bookmark these ones! The last weekend cheat food created quite a stir, cause it was so freakin yummy…if you didn’t get to read it check it out here – Strawberry-Vanilla Hazelnut Banana Split.
If you’re tired of the same old fruit, day in and day out then this Fruit-Melon Sorbet Blast is going to shake it up for you, and remember you can’t really go wrong with fruit! Sure it has fructose sugar, but it also is packed with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fiber and everything else that will keep you looking and feeling young and energetic.
Check this out…
Weekend Cheat Food: Strawberry-Vanilla Hazelnut Banana Split
April 16, 2010
Weekend Cheat Food: Strawberry-Vanilla Hazelnut Banana Split
As I was getting ready for bed last night I had a great idea for an article series on the Fridays before the weekend – healthy weekend cheat foods. It’s funny because I’ve noticed most people tend to not think about being healthy on Friday or Saturday, they simply want a break and that’s not a bad idea actually!
My philosophy for healthy eating and working out is a little bit different than most health nuts. I like to relax on my weekends too, and you know what? I’ve found it to work really well for me and my clients. I love food, and really enjoying being creative with meals even though I honestly have little time to make them. If it’s gong to take longer than 30 minutes to prepare I generally don’t do it! Nevertheless, cut yourself some slack and think creatively too and you may find that you will be able to live a healthy lifestyle for life and it won’t be such a battle anymore.
Healthy Diets for Men – Dinner
April 7, 2010
Healthy Diets for Men – Dinner
How is your eating plan going now? You got some pretty tasty breakfast ideas (Healthy Diets for Men) & some killer lunch recipes (Healthy Diets for Men – Lunch), but now we need to take our eating plan to the next level with dinner ideas that will not only keep you lean but also pack on crazy muscle.
You’ll notice that I have given the regular 3 big meals idea…but I should mention again that you should also have some hearty snacks in between like protein smoothies. I recently came across one of the best tasting whey protein powders I’ve ever tasted you got to check it out – Gaspari Nutrition Myofusion. Try the milk chocolate flavour with a tablespoon of natural peanut butter and half a banana, mmmm it’s better than any milk chocolate you will ever taste!
Healthy Diet Plan for Women – Dinner
April 6, 2010
Healthy Diet Plan for Women: Dinner
It’s time to round up the healthy meals section of the healthy diet plan for women series before we get into smart snacks and in depth supplement suggestions, how is your diet going so far? Have you enjoyed the healthy breakfast ideas and the healthy lunch ideas?
Hopefully by now you are noticing some great results and feeling great after eating healthier meals, but the dinner is also an important part to keep your metabolism burning on the most nutritious and beneficial foods of the day. We usually have a little more time to prepare our dinners but again this really depends on preparing a little beforehand and having all the right veggies, herbs, spices and lean meats.
Healthy Diets for Men – Lunch
March 29, 2010
Healthy Diets for Men – Lunch
Your breakfast is the most important meal of your day as it fuels your body after a night of sleep (aka fasting) and you should have gotten some great ideas from the several recipes I gave you in Healthy Diets for Men. And now? Well the time most guys usually fail in their diet plan is a healthy lunch, mostly because they didn’t prepare enough the night before.
Should you have had a good hearty snack between breakfast and lunch? The answer is an absolute YES! Without a doubt you should have had something like a protein smoothie to keep your hunger in check and continue supplying essential amino acids to your muscles. For a recommendation on whey protein check out the top selling protein in the market – Optimum 100% Whey Gold Standard.
But I digress, I will include an entire article on healthy snacks for men in the near future that not only taste good but will definitely keep you on track for building lean muscle.
Healthy Diet Plan for Women – Lunch
March 26, 2010
Healthy Diet Plan for Women: Lunch
Ok we’re well on our way in Phase 3, and you should have had some pretty healthy breakfasts this week (if not please read Healthy Diet Plan for Women).
Today we’re going to look at some super healthy and yummy lunch ideas. Some of you may ask about calories but I want to get you out of that head state because I think it leads to too much stress when eating and leads you down a wrong path. A much better idea is to try these ideas and see how your body specifically changes.
In other words, increase or decrease your portion size according to how your body feels. If you’re not fully satisfied after eating then add some more veggies and make sure to drink lots of water so you get more minerals and nutrients and allow the water to also satisfy any dehydration (which may be disguised as hunger).
Healthy Diets for Men
March 23, 2010
Healthy Diets for Men: Phase 3
You guys already have a kick ass workout plan which is taking you back to the basics and building your muscle foundation from the ground up. Make sure to read through from Phase 1 as this is going to set you up for much quicker results as we get into the advanced weeks.
You should be following this workout for the next several weeks and stay tuned to the web site as I will be updating with new variations and advances every week until we hit the beginning of summer.
Many of you have expressed that lower belly fat is a problem as well as gaining muscle mass in your back/shoulders, chest and arms, so please leave me comments below if you want me to bring focus to anything else as well.
