Simple Success for Healthy Nutrition
This article was put together by Pilates & Co’s David Norman and Guest Blogger Haydn Kiel from Macros on the Run
At Pilates & Co our focus is primarily on you doing more and/or doing your Pilates practice better each time. Moving better to feel better as we strongly advocate movement is medicine for your body and mind. We 100% encourage health living, good eating, enjoying nature and the outdoors and positive relationships to get the most out of life and support you achieving your best.
HOW TO GET STARTED
When it comes to eating well/nutrition/fuelling your body or what ever you want to call it, the old 80/20 rule is a great place to get started. That is; eat things you know are positive and get the best results for your energy levels, skin, mood, and weight/shape (note: nutrition has more impact than just body weight). If you do this 80% of the time then you have room for the other 20% which can be the unexpected events, eating out, cheat meals or those days when everything goes pear-shaped (we all have them).
I think this 80/20 rule is a sustainable model if you are generally happy with how you feel and perform in your exercise and daily life currently. However, if you are not and you need to get your nutrition to this point then a concerted effort to form better habits and practice is needed (just like doing a Pilates & Co 6 week challenge can help your consistency in classes).
Unfortunately, for nutrition and eating well, there is no magic solution for every person and every person has different goals and tastes which makes advice always quite general in nature. What we can share is that forming habits will help immensely when you want to eat right or better for a period of time to assist in reaching a goal, with the hope these routines can be maintained for lifetime.
THE NUMBER ONE SOLUTION IS MEAL PREPERATION
And yes, we are all time poor… BUT (and hear us here) when you get into the swing meal preparation actually saves time. Also, by simply doing these in advance and planning, the right choices and right food can be consumed immediately when you want and are ready each day.
Some choose to do this weekly in organising all meals for the week ahead, this includes shopping with the week in mind and then preparing either pre cutting, pre cooking, freezing and generally setting out meal options and normally this may be 1-3 meals per day, with the balance coming from snack, fruit, shakes and more easily non-prepared food and drinks. We prefer doing things the night before and combine it with the evening’s cooking and school lunch prep for kids. This ensures breakfast, lunch are well covered and by lunch we simply cook enough dinner from the night before to eat as left over base for our lunch. Master this 80% of the time and you will already be ahead.
STEP TWO: UNDERSTAND MACROS
The second step is more detail in understanding macro nutrients in food for your planning. This can be easier than you think and again comes from practice and forming habits… these are not diets.
On the 4th February at Bundall at 6.30pm we will be hosting another FREE member event and this time the focus is on Nutrition, meal preparation and understanding macro-nutrients. Haydn Kiel From Macros on the Run will join David to discuss further some simple tips to nutrition success and Haydn will explain his success, background and an offer for Pilates and Co members and challengers that might help them improve their habits and kick start their year to better eating.
Top tips to keep your nutrition plans on track when the unexpected arises
When trying to reach your health and fitness goals it can be a quite frustrating trying to navigate the social events you get invited to. They always seem to pop up at the worst times, just when you are starting to make some serious progress and starting to feel awesome. As industry professionals working in the fitness industry we have both seen how quickly a single event can bring undone our healthy living intentions for weeks after the event!
We have put together a few easy options for you to try when facing a birthday or eating out:
INCREASE WATER INTAKE
This is a very simple one, water obviously has so many benefits but one of our favourites is the fact that it helps you stay full. We always recommend trying to consume 2 litres a day as a general rule but a good trick is to drink a glass of water after or with each meal! This helps trick the mind and stomach into thinking it’s full.
READ THE MENU BEFORE GOING!
There are always going to be good options on the menu, you need to be prepared and check it before you go. Most places will have salad options but we always recommend having steak or fish with a nice salad (no chips of course). Also asking for the dressing on the side can help you choose the amount that you put on.
TRAIN THE DAY OF THE EVENT
Getting a workout in before you go out can be a good way to burn some more energy. We recommend doing a class or some cardio like a walk/run for about 45 mins the day of the outing. If you strapped for time something like a HIIT session (from our online library) will do the trick.
KEEP THE EATING OUT ISOLATED
In my opinion the next day is the most important. This is where the real damage can be done. If you have had a few drinks the urge to eat bad is higher. If you nail the day after you can normally get away with any social outing. If you make 1 bad meal choice you need to keep it at that. Don’t let it become 2,3,4 bad meals in a row.
Choose low GI foods like brown rice or sweet potato.
Drink soda water and fresh lime instead of alcohol.
If going to a friends place take your own food options.
Have a protein shake or snack right before you go.
Check out our February Nutrition Workshop at the Bundall Studio. If you missed the workshop, you can watch the recording below.
