The Spinstream Nutrition Coach

Preparation! 

P – plan your meals and snacks. Either the night before, the beginning of the day, or if your an absolute warrior, plan let’s say Sunday for the food you will eat Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. This takes time to get good at and how to use food to stretch a little. It all needs writing down and sticking to.

R – rid your kitchen of crap. That’s right, if it’s in sight, it’s going to test your willpower too much and it will just get eaten. Fill your fridge, freezer, cupboards, pantry with healthier alternatives 

E – eat approx every 3 hours. Now I know the calories in versus calories out energy balance equation is going to have the final say regarding losing and gaining weight, but from personal coaching experience, clients can control what goes in their mouth better when fed more frequent and less of. Moreover, the body can’t cope with too many calories all at once so eating more at a serving if you’re not utilising some of the food for exercise energy, is more likely to be held on to and stored. The body likes the regularity of feeding, leaving it too long will also run the risk of a drop in blood sugar and the temptation to get this back up by something high in sugars. This still can be 3 main meals and two snacks, one mid morn, one mid afternoon, with a possibility of a bedtime snack making that 6 meals per day. Tinker this to suit your daily routine. 

P – protein intake between 0.5-1g per pound body weight. Find your weight in pounds, that’s your upper limit in grams. Then divide the figure by two and you have your lower limit to aim for. Don’t be scared off, this is maybe more than what you normally eat. For one, as soon as you start to exercise regularly, the need for protein increases, to reduce muscle degradation, enhance recovery and cell regeneration. Protein is also more satiating than carbohydrates and thus keeps you fuller for longer, reducing the chances of overeating. 

A – Accountability and Social Support. Now this is potentially the biggest reason behind success and failure when embarking on change. You must have someone to be accountable to, it’s as simple as that, whether that be yourself, a friend, a coach! It’s the person that makes you think twice about skipping workouts, having too many cheat meals, staying on track, being your motivation when you are going through the tough times. Your close circle need to be supportive of the changes you are going through. There will be people, some of whom you would class as close to you that might do things to jeopardise your progress. Keep alive to this, you need only positivity around you.

R – Rest and sleep. We neglect both as a society but are absolutely vital to growth both psychologically and physiologically. The bodies grows and regenerates when resting, not exercising. I know too many people that don’t like taking rest and then often run the risk of illness and injury. Schedule rest days in at least once a week. If it’s not complete rest then any light activities like walking can be a substitute. There’s whole books on sleep and it’s importance but the things I’ve learned is that good nutrition enhances sleep and a period of wind down an hour before bed, no artificial light, nothing too stimulating gets you ready for some shut eye.

A – analyse your process and progress. How do you know if what your doing is working? That’s right, you must measure, but not with the scales. There you go, I said it again. Take a picture from a few angles with the least amount of clothing on. Measure your waist (round the belly button), your hips (biggest part of your bottom), try on clothes, belts, anything to gauge your progress and every week, not every day. Others will see before you so don’t be surprised if a few compliments come your way before you even notice any changes. I mentioned above testing body fat. It’s the best way to see if your training and nutrition are marrying up to each other. I will provide some more blog content on this to assist your testing.

T – thirty minute window to eat after waking. Break the fast. Do it as soon as you can. A good first meal sets you up perfectly for the day and great for stabilising blood sugar after a nights fast. Fasting for longer in the morning can be useful though I would only start to fast for longer once on top of a consistent optimal nutrition plan. 

I – imagine yourself already successful. Play tricks on your mind by already believing that you have achieved what you set out. If you think something that often, whether real or imagined the brain cannot distinguish the difference. Plus it puts you in a great mindset, which we know can make or break success. 

O – one gallon of water per day. 4.5litres of water that is. Again some of you might think that’s a lot. Let me remind you. Your an athlete now, losing a lot of fluid as sweat, hence it needs replacing. Drinking up to a gallon of water every day for up to a month will transform you. Your skin, hair, mood, concentration, headaches, sleep will all benefit from being truly hydrated cos lets face it, nearly 75% of us are chronically dehydrated. Water is used for all chemical reactions in the body, and the sheer fact that we can’t survive more than a couple of days without, highlights it significance.

N – none or very little sugars. We live in a world now surrounded by sugar, and it is the one thing that is making us all disease ridden. It’s no good for us, yet we consume so much. It’s highly addictive, just like powerful drugs. The only time when I personally say it’s ok to have sugar in its purest form is either during a super intense workout, or straight after one when the body is receptive to carbohydrates. Even here, there probably would be a protein food/drink to accompany the sugar. There is no need if you plan and eat well to ever need something sugary. Again I could go on but I think you get my point. There is so much food out there that’s highly nutritious and tasty to be feasting on food which has little or no value in it, makes us feel awful, scatty, poor concentration, sleep and mood. So stop it!