You must know where you are starting to know where you are going. Before I start giving nutrition guidance to the clients that I work with I always have them do a 3 to 5-day food audit by keeping a journal of everything they eat or drink for that time period. The majority of people severely underestimate just how many calories that they take in on a daily basis. So, before you embark on making changes to your eating and nutrition habits do a food audit on yourself so you know where your starting point is. Remember, be totally honest with yourself a track every single thing you eat or drink.
Calories In vs Calories Out Once you have determined where you are the next step is making changes based on your goals. If your goal is to lose weight or more importantly fat, you must take in fewer calories than you burn, this is called being in a caloric deficit. This can be done in any number of ways on any diet which is why there is no best diet. The best diet or way of eating is the one you will stick to long term and that will get you to your goals. It takes about a 3500-calorie deficit to lose 1lb. So, if you wanted to lose 1lb a week you would have to average a 500-calorie deficit each day. Now you may lose more weight than that especially in the beginning with water weight but truly lose bodyweight this comes from being in a caloric deficit. How many calories you need to take in depends on your activity levels, age and starting weight. But if you aren’t losing weight then start by cutting 100 to 200 calories a day for a week until you see the weight come off. I also recommend tracking not only body weight but also for males I recommend tracking waist circumference around the level of the belly button and females tracking waist circumference around the level of the belly button and circumference around the widest part of hips at least once a week. If you a resistance training it may be possible at times to be losing inches but not lbs. on the scale.
Make Simple Changes First I don’t believe in making extreme changes or totally cutting out certain macronutrients or foods especially if you enjoy them. Rather start by slowly replacing less healthy or higher calorie foods with healthier or low-calorie choices. Protein is generally the first place that I start for all of my clients. You should be taking around 1 gram of protein per lb. of goal bodyweight. Make sure you are getting a healthy protein source with every meal. Good sources of lean protein are Lean Beef, Chicken, Lean pork, Fish, Beans, Eggs. IF you are vegetarian there are also great sources of protein such as quinoa, tofu, beans, lentils, nuts as well as yogurt and cheeses.
Below are some tips on making small changes to your eating habits that can help in restricting caloric intake and promote healthier eating over time. • Eat until you are 80% full. Stop and allow 20 minutes for the food to digest even if there is food still on your plate. Make sure whatever meal plan we make is something you know you can stick to. • Make vegetables/Greens your biggest Portion. With protein being second and a small portion of starches finishing off the plate. • Eat slow. Put the fork down between each bite and take a breath. Don’t eat in front of the t.v. and eat dinner with your family where you will conversate. • Don’t get on a restrictive diet rather slowly make better food choices a little at a time. Slowly replace the foods that aren’t as good for your health with those that are better. There are no good or bad foods only ones that are more or less healthy for you. Start by doing this one meal at a time even. For long term, success build some consistent habits first before trying to go all in. • Track your macronutrients: Calories, Protein, Carbs, and fat. I recommend using the My Fitness Pal app for this. When doing this don’t get too caught up in the day to day numbers but rather what you average out over a week. I.E. if your goal is 1500 calories a day then one day may be 1700 and the next 1300 and so on so forth. You don’t have to hit exactly 1500 every day and if you have a day you go over just correct for it the next day or days.
If you have any questions regarding any of this information in this guide you can also email me at johnpaul@guidrypt.com
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Dr. John Paul Guidry DPT CSCS TPI F2
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