Last week I introduced Part 1 of the the Girlfriend Bikini Workout – exercise. This week we are going to talk about what to eat, how much to eat and when to eat it. In my humble opinion, this is THE area where people fail in body transformation.

Don’t go into this blindfolded

today: What to Eat, How much to Eat & When to Eat it

You would struggle to be able to avoid dieting advice. The sheer volume of information on this topic is, quite simply, beyond belief. We’ve all been eating for some time now, so you’d think we might have figured a thing or two out about it – you would be wrong. The main problem, of course, is food choice.

In western society we simply have far too many choices that we are exposed to, too frequently, and the marketing of said foods is so well calculated and executed we can hardly blame ourselves for poor food choices. Food choice is really only part of the parcel. Alongside with excessive quantity of food – also known as serving size, the other area we will address today is timing. Timing, or nutrient timing is a frequently overlooked area of nutrition that simply cannot be ignored. Get your food choices, quantities and timing pegged down and you’ll be well on your way to a bikini bod.

what to eat

I am not an expert or a nutritionist. I am however an hopelessly obsessed cook, a very avid exerciser, and know a thing or two about what works for me and for others.

So, what to eat… What to eat, what to eat… hmmmmm…. Ever stood with the fridge or pantry door open and mumbled these words. Probably NOT a great start. Definitely a recipe for poor food choices. I strongly urge you to start to cultivate an attitude of forethought in your food choices. The way I see it, what you eat comes partly down to personal preferences, partly to circumstances and a LOT down to preparation.

I personally like Italian food – a lot. I will cook a variety of Italian dishes in any given week – usually with less than a days forethought. I will always try to stick with higher protein dishes and avoid excess pastas and so on. Knowing that I might randomly want an Italian dish, I typically make a big batch of pasta sauce and freeze it in several separate tubs, each the right size for 2-3 servings. I will take some ground beef, chicken breast or fish out of the freezer or pick some up on my way home to cook – then get to work when I get home.

So what we can see here is my personal preference for Italian food, the circumstances in which I cook it and preparation I make in advance to ensure I can whip it up if I am short of time.

So, while that makes sense, how do you know which recipes to choose, what kind of foods you should be eating, and seriously – how much?

A great start is some of my recipes, which can be found here (the lamb kebabs with spicy yogurt is my personal fave!). All the recipes I put up on this site are chosen for their suitability for women who are seeking to increase their protein levels, get the full range of nutrients and basically keep things simple enough that even I can cook it!

Another absolutely flawless source is a book entitled Gourmet Nutrition, by Dr John Berardi. I am a long-time follower of Berardi’s work and highly recommend this recipe manual to anyone who takes their training and nutrition seriously.

Going further, most websites such as Women’s Health or even Cosmopolitan magazines sometimes have recipes that when combined with a little common sense and following simple rules you can easily use in your meal plans.

the 5 Golden rules

Here are my 5 rules to implement in changing your diet.

1. Drink more water - Try to get roughly least 8 glasses of water in per day
2. Protein with every meal - You should be eating 15-20g of protein with every meal, and be eating every 3 hours
3. Fuel your body with carbohydrates appropriately and at the correct time - Carb choices are far from simple. Stick with carbs from vegetables and whole grain sources. See below for timing information
4. Eat healthy fats - Think fish oil, flaxseed oil, avocados, and nuts
5. Maintain a food log - Get a free account at Fitday, record everything you eat for a week and see what you’re really putting in your body

The above plan roughly follows the prescribed advice in The Girlfriend Workout, but is definitely enough to get you started.

and how much of this food am i meant to be eating?

Quantity FAIL

Heres where a lot of guesswork goes into the average persons feeding habits. Most people typically eat based on satiety (fullness), personal comfort levels, as well as their general tendencies toward eating. If these habits are not getting you your results, you have to change them.

No excuses, no ifs, no buts – it’s time to change.

We calculate your daily caloric requirements in order to know how much you need to eat. While this can be simply done with one of many calculators around – such as here or here , it won’t be 100% accurate and may not take into account individual differences, but is a good start nonetheless. Be sure to accurately indicate how much activity you currently undertake.

Here’s a quick example for you.

A 25 year old female, weighing 52 kg (114lbs), who is 5′8″, and exercises 3 times a week will require:

1863 calories a day to maintain her weight
1491 calories a day to lose weight

Now I want you to remember this does NOT take into account attempting to gain weight (muscle) while losing fat,  but looking at somewhere around the maintenance or fat loss caloric level is a good start on how many calories you should be getting daily. The best bet is to monitor as you go, and adjust based on your results.

so, when do i eat all this food?

Timing can be confusing

My father has been trying to shake a few pounds lately, and when I chatted with him on what he is eating daily, I found that he was eating 3-4 pieces of fruit, several muesli bars, a tin of tuna and some crackers most days.  This will bring us to the area of nutrient timing. After we made a couple of changes to his diet – for example he now prepares, in advance, Tuppaware containers of vegetables, drizzled with a dash of olive oil, and reheated in the microwave at work, and is eating more lean chicken breast during the day- he is starting to get some results. 2 kgs in 8 weeks without any other changes to his diet or exercise routine.

Why did this change? Timing. Although this sounds like moderately healthy eating, he simply did not realise the majority of his calories were arriving in the form of carbs – and most specifically – sugars (frucrose from fruit to be exact), and that he was getting almost no protein in his diet.

There are two main principles of nutrient timing.

1. Dividing your meals up so you are eating consistently throughout the day - Shoot for 6 smaller meals throughout the day. This helps to maintain blood sugar levels, improve glucose tolerance, decrease body fat and decrease the insulin spikes you receive after eating which causes you to feel tired after eating. Every 3 hours is a good goal, using the calorie calculators above and simply dividing by 5-6 meals.
2. Certain meals are appropriate at certain times of the day, and not at other times - Meals containing simple carbs, or sugars, are not so great during most of the day, but are excellent immediately before, during and immediately after workouts. Similarly, high fibre meals are excellent throughout the day, but not so good in the peri-workout time.

So we’ve covered what to eat, how much to eat and when to eat it. Is there anything else left to cover? Maybe one last nugget of advice.

When you are filling in your daily food log (you are right? go to www.fitday.com), aim to fulfill the following general guidelines:

• 40% from Carbs – mainly from vegetables and whole grains
• 30% from Protein from lean meat and dairy sources such as yogurt
• 30% from Fats – good fats thanks – from fish, flaxseed, avocado and the like

All the very best in health.

See you next week for Part 3 – Managing Motivation

/AT

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