Keto. Intermittent Fasting. Glycemic Index. Low-Carb. Caveman Diet.
You uncover so many dieting strategies and exercise methods and philosophies when you Google search for fitness and health advice.
I've tried all of them.
Some of them didn't work for me.
Some of them were only optimal for certain circumstances that I never dealt with.
Some of them worked for others around me.
To start, I believe it's all noise: let's worry about the "extras" down the line. It's unnecessary stress. In the beginning, we focus on making better habits and eating better.
Here at Reforged, we believe that simplicity is key: if you can get into better habits and they work for you, everything else will fall into place.
Over time, you will find things that do or do not work for you.
Here are some simple nutritional guidelines that you may follow to get started in eating better.
Hydration is a habit that should be prioritized, especially when it comes to improving brain power and mood, believe it or not. Staying hydrated also helps move nutrients, regulates body temperature, cleanses your body, and more.
It is essential to consistently drink water - especially when you engage in exercise.
Here are a few recommendations you can do in staying hydrated constantly:
As I write this, I have this obnoxious 64oz Hydroflask right next to me.
Keep it simple, and keep water on you at all times.
Eat your fruits and your vegetables. These provide us the fiber and micronutrients necessary for overall mind and body health.
Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals: they help with providing you energy, immune function, cognitive health, bone health, and more.
Fiber keeps you full and allows you to properly use the bathroom. As a result, we improve our cholesterol health, maintain blood sugar, and more.
We live longer because of it.
To hit our micronutrient and fiber goals, a practical recommendation is having 3–5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day.
Simple and practical.
I recommend having a fruit as a snack, along with a protein bar or shake, which we will discuss in the following section.
To start, most of us don’t consume enough protein in our diets, especially when we start exercising.
Protein helps keep you full for longer periods of time, providing you a satiating effect. While there are mixed studies on how much protein one could consume in a sitting, it’s recommended you split your protein into your meals throughout the day in order to keep yourself satiated and focused.
When focusing on work, I like to carry a protein bar and a protein shake on me daily. If I need to snack before lunch or after, I have something that’ll keep me satiated.
If you want to understand why you should consume protein in-depth, you can read our article here.
The PFFT Method is the Palm-Fist-Fist-Thumb portion control method.
If you don’t track calories or macronutrients in any way, this method will help you build great habits in nutrition.
PFFT is defined as follows:
In giving yourself a meal of this proportion 4–6 times a day, you can potentially be able to build a consistent habit in nutrition, and covering fiber and vegetables.
You can read more about PFFT and other methods in our Flexible Nutrition article. We cover some fat loss dieting strategies on this as well.
There you have it: some simple guidelines that will allow you to slowly craft and build your own Fit Habit.
Start small, master these basics, then add to it over time.
Any other practical tips you would like to add to reinforce habits? Throw them in the comments below!
Until next time legion!
If you look at your body in a biological standpoint, we have various processes that occur in a Yin & Yang like-way. For example, anabolic and catabolic processes are both a necessity for our sleep/wake cycles, for exercise & recovery, and more.
These are a part of our Circadian Rhythm, which are physical, mental & even behavioral changes that follow our 24-hour sleep-wake cycle.
In understanding this, we can explore a new and promising area of study: Chrononutrition.
In this post, we are going to talk about Chrononutrition, an area that could potentially be great opportunity for building healthy habits towards fitness.
Let's dive in!
Everyone uses the scale to track progress, but I’d argue it’s one of the least important methods to track progress.
It's never consistent, due to a variety of factors: sodium intake, water intake, stress, hormones, poor sleep, and more.
So today, I wanted to talk about all of the Body Performance Indicators you can utilize to measure progress.
Let's dive in!
One of the more common questions that gets asked in fitness is if 6 meals a day is "mandatory".
It's not necessarily mandatory, but it is commonly utilized by pro bodybuilders in their contest prep phases.
I have been eating 3-5 meals a day for years, implementing 4 strategies I typically prioritize my nutrition with.
So with that, we are going to dive into 4 Nutrient Timing strategies you should utilize in this post.
Let's dive in!