I’m never going to knock exercise, it’s important, has many health benefits for both physical and mental health and does help with muscle building, strength etc. But, too many people still believe that they can eat junk all day and then go the gym/workout and expect to lose weight and gain massive benefits. I hate to tell you, it won’t happen! Unless you eat properly too!
The past few days, I have found myself walking more because of the situation I’m in currently. I could get the bus, tram or a taxi but I’m finding that walking has given me head space and I’m not feeling as stressed about rushing to get to everywhere which I do when I’m driving. So although I would never give up my car, I do think I will be using it less from now on and building in time to walk to places because of the headspace it gives me. Exercise of any form has an important place in an overall healthy lifestyle.
To get the most out of your training, your food needs to be fuelling your body and that doesn’t come from junk so here are 3 things to consider when improving your diet to help you get more from your workouts:
• Are you eating enough protein to help your muscles build, repair and grow? As a guide, your meals should be based on protein and veg rather than carbohydrates which give short-term energy but can promote fat storage when eaten too often.
• Ditch the processed junk food. The vast majority of your diet should be made up of fresh, unprocessed food that doesn’t come out of a packet. There should be variety and colour on the plate with plenty of vegetables, protein either from meat and fish or beans and pulses and some fruit. You may sometimes want to include a sweet potato, a little brown rice or quinoa. Carbohydrates are found in fruit and veg so you will still be eating them just ditching the bread, cereal and pasta etc.
• Are you eating enough/too much? Not eating enough doesn’t necessarily lead to weight loss. At an extreme level, your body will go into starvation mode meaning you just store anything you do it as your body doesn’t know when you’ll next feed it. Eating too much leads to fat storage. Doing exercise doesn’t then justify eating loads of chocolate or cake or pizza as a reward for it. Yes, your metabolism will be higher for a while after exercising but that isn’t a reason to eat junk. Your body can’t refuel, repair and build muscles if you feed it rubbish.
Not sure what to eat to help you reach your goals? Book a FREE call with me to find out https://wisechoicenutrition.satoriapp.com/offers/87882-90-day-challenge