We all have heard of the importance of diet and nutrition to meet whatever fitness and performance goal we set. For example, those looking to lose fat and keep muscle have to eat differently than those who are getting set to run a marathon. But what about those who do not have a fitness goal? What if they just want to eat better and healthier? Is it as simple as “cutting out carbs” or “take some vitamins” ?
Let’s take a look at a fictional diet throughout the course of one day. I am totally setting this up so I can make some changes, I know, but I feel this can illustrate how you don’t have to sacrifice most of what you are eating to make positive changes.
OLD DIET
Breakfast - 1 glass orange juice, Rice Krispies cereal, skim milk
Snack- Handful of baby carrots
Lunch- Big Mac, large French Fries, large Coke
Dinner- Grilled chicken salad, Ranch dressing, Snapple iced tea
NEW DIET
Breakfast- Half a glass of orange juice with half water, 3 egg whites, Half Rice Krispies, Half All-Bran cereal, whole milk*, multivitamin, fish oil
Snack- Greek yogurt with strawberries
Lunch- Quarter Pounder, small French Fries, small Coke
Dinner- Grilled chicken salad, Ranch dressing, green tea or water
A couple things to note. First, breakfast has some more protein from the eggs, more fat from the whole milk, more fiber from the All-Bran, and less sugar from half the OJ. In addition, a vitamin and fish oil has been added. This breakfast is a big hack, but can hold off hunger a bit longer than the previous diet.
Second, the midday snack is a more complete meal. The Greek yogurt is more balanced since it has protein, carbs, and fat. The strawberries are added for nutrition and taste.
Third, lunchtime at McDonald’s has been cut in half calorie-wise. The old diet had a 1350 calorie meal, while the new diet is down to 790 calories.
Dinner is roughly the same with the only hack being no calories coming from the Snapple, just the salad and dressing. This can leave room for more salad or maybe some dessert.
So if your diet needs some “hacking”, don’t go crazy by completely changing what you eat. Just a few minor changes can go a long way.
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nickpahountis posted this
