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This was written by a local naturopath who is very good.
Planning Your Meals
by Dr. Garrett Smith
Naturopathic Physician
• The main point to remember is to have protein, carbohydrates, and fat at every meal and snack. My general guideline is three meals and two snacks a day. If you wish to reduce the number of meals/snacks during the day, please do three things:
o Eat as few “unapproved” foods as possible. The more you deviate from the dietary guidelines, the less controlled your blood sugar/insulin will be.
o Make sure you are eating enough! If you don’t have snacks, eat a little more at lunch and dinner. If you don’t like breakfast, make sure to eat some more at other times of the day. Be smart!
o Talk to your trainer about what you want to do. They are there to help.
• Always remember the general food selection guidelines: meat, vegetables, fruit, nuts, and seeds. Look at the food list you were provided, it allows for expansion upon that theme.
• Some foods, like ground beef, contain significant amounts of macronutrients (aka protein, fat, carbs) from two groups, ie. ground beef contains enough protein *and* fat. Use your common sense and take this into account—ie. don’t add oil to cook your ground beef in!
• Pick your protein first. Here are some ideas:
o Breakfast:
Hemp seed protein-based smoothie (get it online at www.allstarhealth.com or locally at Wild Oats)
Wild-caught smoked salmon (Trader Joe’s)
o Lunch:
Deli meats (turkey, chicken, roast beef, etc., try to get versions without nitrates/nitrites, aka “uncured”, from WO’s or TJ’s)
Canned wild-caught tuna or salmon (TJ’s unsalted Tongol tuna and Alaskan Pink Salmon)
o Dinner:
Ground beef (grass-fed from TJ’s)
Lamb (Atkins Ranch at TJ’s)
Chicken (organic free-range at TJ’s)
o Snack:
Beef or turkey jerky (TJ’s or WO’s, or make your own!)
Sardines, kippered herring, anchovies (TJ’s or WO’s)
Organic Food Bars (note that this does violate the general dietary guidelines, it’s still the cleanest bar I’ve found, one bar contains enough protein/carbs/fat for the whole snack, get it at TJ’s)
• Then pick your carbohydrate source. Fruits and veggies! It is better for you to have your fruits in the earlier parts of the day and your vegetables in the later parts. Ideas:
o Breakfast:
Frozen berries mixed into hemp protein smoothie
Banana
o Lunch
Apple
Pear
Baby carrots
Celery
o Dinner
Salad (baby spinach, arugula, romaine lettuce, etc.)
Cooked greens (Southern Greens and Chard Mix at TJ’s are good)
Steamed broccoli or cauliflower
Sweet potato or yam
1 glass (this means 4 ounces, ½ cup!!!) of red wine (note that some people’s fat loss is completely halted with even this much alcohol on a regular or even semi-regular basis, is it worth it to you?)
o Snack
Larabar (made with fruit and nuts, it contains enough fat, make sure to add some protein when you eat one, several types at TJ’s)
Small amount of dried fruit/berries (TJ’s, must not have any sweeteners or sulfur dioxide added, just dried fruit!)
• Last, definitely not least, is the dietary fat. It is crucial that you include the right types of fat in your diet, not only for your long-term health, it also helps speed up your body composition improvements! Make sure to look at the fat content of whatever you are eating—if the total fat content of the amount of food you are eating at that sitting is between 9-20 grams, don’t add any more fat! FYI, a Tablespoon of oil is approximately 15g of fat. Ideas:
o Breakfast
Fish oil (capsules taken with food, or liquid mixed into smoothie)
Flaxseeds or sesame seeds (ground, mixed into smoothie, WO’s)
Small handful of raw nuts or seeds (~1/4 cup, TJ’s)
o Lunch
Small handful of raw nuts or seeds (~1/4 cup)
Whole marinated olives
Olive oil & vinegar dressing for veggies (no more than 1 Tbsp oil, I suggest a 1:2 ratio of oil to vinegar, don’t forget to add spices!)
o Dinner
Extra virgin (preferably organic) olive oil & vinegar dressing for salad (TJ’s)
Extra virgin (preferably organic) coconut oil for cooking (WO’s)
o Snack
Small handful of raw nuts or seeds (~1/4 cup)
Note that the above mentioned fish (sardines, anchovies, etc.) and bar (Organic Food Bar and Larabar) “snacks” all have an amount of fat in them that they will not require any additional fat to be added.
• So, you now have an idea of how to put together meals and snacks within the dietary guideline parameters. Look at the food list, find the things you like, try some new things, and get to work at improving your health and body composition!
Planning Your Meals
by Dr. Garrett Smith
Naturopathic Physician
• The main point to remember is to have protein, carbohydrates, and fat at every meal and snack. My general guideline is three meals and two snacks a day. If you wish to reduce the number of meals/snacks during the day, please do three things:
o Eat as few “unapproved” foods as possible. The more you deviate from the dietary guidelines, the less controlled your blood sugar/insulin will be.
o Make sure you are eating enough! If you don’t have snacks, eat a little more at lunch and dinner. If you don’t like breakfast, make sure to eat some more at other times of the day. Be smart!
o Talk to your trainer about what you want to do. They are there to help.
• Always remember the general food selection guidelines: meat, vegetables, fruit, nuts, and seeds. Look at the food list you were provided, it allows for expansion upon that theme.
• Some foods, like ground beef, contain significant amounts of macronutrients (aka protein, fat, carbs) from two groups, ie. ground beef contains enough protein *and* fat. Use your common sense and take this into account—ie. don’t add oil to cook your ground beef in!
• Pick your protein first. Here are some ideas:
o Breakfast:
Hemp seed protein-based smoothie (get it online at www.allstarhealth.com or locally at Wild Oats)
Wild-caught smoked salmon (Trader Joe’s)
o Lunch:
Deli meats (turkey, chicken, roast beef, etc., try to get versions without nitrates/nitrites, aka “uncured”, from WO’s or TJ’s)
Canned wild-caught tuna or salmon (TJ’s unsalted Tongol tuna and Alaskan Pink Salmon)
o Dinner:
Ground beef (grass-fed from TJ’s)
Lamb (Atkins Ranch at TJ’s)
Chicken (organic free-range at TJ’s)
o Snack:
Beef or turkey jerky (TJ’s or WO’s, or make your own!)
Sardines, kippered herring, anchovies (TJ’s or WO’s)
Organic Food Bars (note that this does violate the general dietary guidelines, it’s still the cleanest bar I’ve found, one bar contains enough protein/carbs/fat for the whole snack, get it at TJ’s)
• Then pick your carbohydrate source. Fruits and veggies! It is better for you to have your fruits in the earlier parts of the day and your vegetables in the later parts. Ideas:
o Breakfast:
Frozen berries mixed into hemp protein smoothie
Banana
o Lunch
Apple
Pear
Baby carrots
Celery
o Dinner
Salad (baby spinach, arugula, romaine lettuce, etc.)
Cooked greens (Southern Greens and Chard Mix at TJ’s are good)
Steamed broccoli or cauliflower
Sweet potato or yam
1 glass (this means 4 ounces, ½ cup!!!) of red wine (note that some people’s fat loss is completely halted with even this much alcohol on a regular or even semi-regular basis, is it worth it to you?)
o Snack
Larabar (made with fruit and nuts, it contains enough fat, make sure to add some protein when you eat one, several types at TJ’s)
Small amount of dried fruit/berries (TJ’s, must not have any sweeteners or sulfur dioxide added, just dried fruit!)
• Last, definitely not least, is the dietary fat. It is crucial that you include the right types of fat in your diet, not only for your long-term health, it also helps speed up your body composition improvements! Make sure to look at the fat content of whatever you are eating—if the total fat content of the amount of food you are eating at that sitting is between 9-20 grams, don’t add any more fat! FYI, a Tablespoon of oil is approximately 15g of fat. Ideas:
o Breakfast
Fish oil (capsules taken with food, or liquid mixed into smoothie)
Flaxseeds or sesame seeds (ground, mixed into smoothie, WO’s)
Small handful of raw nuts or seeds (~1/4 cup, TJ’s)
o Lunch
Small handful of raw nuts or seeds (~1/4 cup)
Whole marinated olives
Olive oil & vinegar dressing for veggies (no more than 1 Tbsp oil, I suggest a 1:2 ratio of oil to vinegar, don’t forget to add spices!)
o Dinner
Extra virgin (preferably organic) olive oil & vinegar dressing for salad (TJ’s)
Extra virgin (preferably organic) coconut oil for cooking (WO’s)
o Snack
Small handful of raw nuts or seeds (~1/4 cup)
Note that the above mentioned fish (sardines, anchovies, etc.) and bar (Organic Food Bar and Larabar) “snacks” all have an amount of fat in them that they will not require any additional fat to be added.
• So, you now have an idea of how to put together meals and snacks within the dietary guideline parameters. Look at the food list, find the things you like, try some new things, and get to work at improving your health and body composition!
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