Simple Nutrition Recommendations

2012-02-12T22:19:00.001-05:00

I have been getting a ton of emails and questions lately about nutrition. Being that I am not a nutritionist, I cannot tell you what to eat, but what I can do is give you some idea on HOW to eat. Below I have provided you with the top nutrition recommendations I have collected for fat loss and being as healthy as a horse. I have seen these recommendations work time and time again for many of my clients with great success.

I have read, studied, and connected with a lot of VERY VERY smart people to construct this list. But lets start by being real first... Fad diets don’t ever work, and if they do, they are not sustainable. We all know what foods are best for us but we still choose to eat poorly; and there is no reason to ever count calories, if you just eat correctly the macronutrients will take care of themselves. Please do not email me back and say "oh, well, I don't think I can do that one. Is there something easier?" or ask me "which one can I skip?" The answer is none of them, and if you really do care about your weight, your health, your life, and your family, you will take all these recommendations to heart.

I think this excerpt out of John Maxwell's book Today Matters puts it well…

"You can escape from a lot of things that might hurt you. You can quit a hazardous job. You can move from one climate to another. You can stay away from someone who wants to harm you. But you can't get away from your body. For as long as you live, you're stuck with it. If you make choices that cause you to be continually hurting or unhealthy, it will affect every aspect of your life-your heart, mind, and spirit. Think about how hard it is to be positive, concentrate, or pray when you have a toothache. More serious conditions can be even more distracting!"

So ask yourself.... have my food decisions set me up to be successful today and everyday there after?

#1. "You cannot out train a bad diet" Simple as that. You can exercise until you are blue in the face but if your diet doesn't change, the scale won't either. Some physiological factors will improve in the short term but not until your diet is in check will you be justifying all that hard work and sweat you put in at the gym.

#2. Keep working towards eating more raw unprocessed foods. Anything that comes in a package has been processed. Ya feel me? A good friend of mine Whitney Sickler put it to me best, “If you’re feeding your body with nutrient dense foods it will become gradually less and less deficient, which is really what a “craving” is…your deficient body crying for wholesome foods.” May it cost you more $ ? Yes. May it take a little extra time to prepare your meals? Yes. But think of it this way… if you’re not paying for it now, you will probably be paying for it later in hospital bills, medicines, and lost days in a life that’s much too short.

#3. Eliminate grains! I have had multiple people do this one and all we got was amazing results. Everyone lost weight; some in the 20+ pound range! Along with feeling a whole lot better in general. If you are going to eat grains, which I still don’t recommend, make sure it is from quality WHOLE grains. Look for the word “whole” on the package. If its not “whole” its not worth it.

#4. Eat as many fruits and vegetables as you want! How many people do you know got fat and sick from eating too many vegetables and fruits. NO ONE! Not mention the cancer reducing effects they have... that should be enough in itself for you to start eating them!

#5. Eat more fruits and vegetables! Did I already mention this one? Yes, it's that important.

Eat fruit every morning w/ breakfast (my favorite are bananas, strawberries, blueberries, oranges, and apples)
Eat ATLEAST 4 salads a week for lunch (while working towards having one every single day)
Eat some sort of vegetable with every dinner. My favorite vegetable is spinach. I buy it fresh and it goes with almost everything because it doesn't really have taste. I put it in all my shakes, salads, and omelets.

IMO Closer to What the Food Pyramid Should Really Look Like

#6. Once you get down to your ideal weight, allow yourself one cheat meal per week. Choose this meal wisely my friend! I prefer to use it as time to spend with my family, friends, or significant other.

#7. "Eat food, mostly plants, but not too much" – Michael Pollan

If you remember anything from this email it is this statement. It ties together everything I talked about above. Lets break it down:

Eat “real” food: nothing processed, don’t rely on supplements
Eat mostly plants: vegetables are KING! everything else in moderation
But not too much: don't eat more food then you need too! Eat just enough to full! “Eat half as much as you would in one sitting but eat twice as often.” – Andrew Saul Ph.D

We are all human. Things come up and shit happens. Break the rules once in a while, that is life. “I’d rather you be 70-80% for a life time, than 100% for a month.” But remember "if you neglect enough today’s, you'll experience the "someday" you've always wanted to avoid".

An Example of A Realistic Day:

Breakfast: Omelet w/ cheese & spinach with 2 slices of nitrate free bacon and a bowl of blueberries & Oranges , Coffee w/ a splash of cream or milk no sugar

Snack: Two Apples & a bag of nuts (cashews, almonds, brazils, hazelnuts, & pecans), glass of water or tea

Lunch: Big salad w/ whatever you like in your salad! Lite dressing, only enough to make it taste good. A glass of water or tea

Snack: Shake with blueberries, banana, natural peanut butter, whey protein, almond milk, & spinach.

Dinner: Grilled Chicken w/ peppers & onions & avocado, steamed broccoli & a sweet potato, two squares of dark chocolate for desert with a glass of water or tea

Start implementing these ideas today and get back to me in a few months on how they changed your life!

This Article was written in collaboration with: Kevin Carr, Ana Tocco, Whitney Sickler, Marco Sanchez, and Henry Lau. Thank you for all your help.

Thanks for reading.

-Brendon Rearick

BONUS Required Reading:

1. Most Overrated Supplements http://www.livestrong.com/slideshow/550744-the-20-most-overrated-supplements/#slide-16

2. Most Shocking Diet Myths http://www.livestrong.com/slideshow/546558-the-most-shocking-diet-myths/#slide-11

3. Food Rules by Micheal Pollan

4. Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman

5. Today Matters by John Maxwell

RearickStrength.com

Simple Nutrition Recommendations