The  Fitness  Octagon

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FOOD




"COMMITTED TO FITNESS LIFESTYLES"       

OCR   -   BOOT CAMPS   -   TRAINING   -   REHAB
 
               MEAL PLANNING is a delicious learning experience!

Don't diet... meal plan!  If you had a dollar for every diet book out there, you would be a lottery winner! Eat this, don't eat that, this is better than that, cook it this way, no that's not good for you, etc, etc, etc!!! 

Aren't you fed up with it, or do you need "another" cookbook? Food is simple, we just like to complicate it. Burning food for fuel is a simple process. Some foods burn better than others. Depending on your activity level, you eat what you need. For sedentary individuals, it's so easy. They can eat anything, yes anything to sustain the heart to beat and the lungs to take in oxygen. But don't you dare have them park faraway from the grocery store entrance, they will be exhausted and need a scooter designed for handicap people to shop! Yes, this is so frustrating! The appropriate prescription would be... park as far as you can from the entrance or walk to the store! You need it!

Food basics are simple. If you eat more than you burn, you gain weight. If you burn more than you eat, you lose weight. Choose your foods wisely.

So why all the drama? Because food overweight or obese people eat is not for you! You can't run a fine piece of machinery on low-grade fuel. It will breakdown. A fit body requires high octane fuel to run efficiently. As you read on you will discover the importance of fuel value and the money you can save on groceries if you learn meal planning and eating to compete.



EAT TO COMPETE


There are so many options and ideas to decide from when it comes to food, but whatever works best for you is really what matters. Eating food that tastes like cardboard will not last because it's not normal. Taste buds rule and yours will play an important role in deciding how and what you cook to make your plan successful. When we say plan, we mean put together, "A Plan". You will quickly find out that diets are just that, diets. Search your browser for diets and there is more out there on diets than you can read. Ever wonder why there are so many?  Your taste buds rule and everyone is looking for the next recipe to combine taste and needs. We have a few ideas we will pitch to you, but ultimately, you will decide what works for you. 

Crossfit enthusiasts like the modern Paleo Diet and Zone Diet approach. Both have endless options and clear restrictions. Some trainers recommend a micro-gram system which requires you to weigh everything you eat. This is taking portion control to the next level and very successful. Carb Cycling is the rotation of of carb % in your meal plan. Keto Diet is originally a ketogenic diet monitored by a doctor for obese patients. It's been modified for the overweight population. And of course, all of them require you plan your meals.  Check them all out and or combine the ideas. One individual hates to think about what to eat and she does the Jenny Craig program, yet another did Weight Watcher's because counting points is so much easier for her. The most important decision to make, is to do something! As you progress in your fitness goals, your demands will increase and your plan will change too.

We NEVER suggest dieting, we always RECOMMEND MEAL PLANNING. When people see the results you're making physically, they will ask you what your diet is. Be prepared to  to tell them you don't diet, you Meal Plan. Just watch their faces in amazement as they ask to know more. Once you learn to manage the meal plans and how easy and cost effective it is to buy your groceries, you will stick with it. You will not go back to the old expensive way of random or impulsive shopping.  

Dangers of too much food info. There is so much to learn and research on foods. However, if you just focus on the 1)benefits, 2)dangers, 3)quality and 4)quantity of food you consume, it will go a long way. By this we mean that the more you know about the VALUE of food (how it turns into fuel for your body) the better you will eat and the better your choices become. 


Every workout puts a demand on your body. If your workouts are designed correctly, you compete against yourself every time to do your very best! To keep this up without feeling all drained, tired or overworked, you must learn to eat correctly. "Eat to Compete" is what we call eating the best foods to fuel your body for the best results in every workout or event.  Learn how to "Eat to Compete" by creating meals (menu/plans) that produce energy and recovery for great workouts and fantastic results.  Your choices will continue to improve and you'll be amazed how much you learn about food value in just a few months.

The classic guilt trip..."Don't eat that". As you journey toward a fitness lifestyle, your taste buds will change and your desire to eat good foods grows. Just like you can't run a marathon just because you ate a protein bar, you won't lose everything you've done this week if you eat a doughnut. (This doesn't mean to put doughnuts in your meal plan!) In fact, if you've been eating to compete as you planned all week and are getting the most from your workout, it (the doughnut) will not satisfy you like it used to. So don't be so hard on yourself and others at the birthday party for eating a slice of birthday cake. It's not your typical food, remind yourself that you can't win them over to the "Fit Side" if you exclude yourself or come off as if you're too fit to eat birthday cake. Accepting the slice is 90% of participation, you don't have to eat all of it if you don't want to. 


Being overweight

is simply an indicator that your intake overpowers your output. How long this has been going on, is measured in pounds. A minority of people suffer from a far more complicated problems but studies show that for the majority of the population, sedentary disease is the base cause of millions of deaths every year due to inactivity. Read the W.H.O. study on Sedentary disease on the blog page. Regardless if you are skinny and weak or carry too many pounds, your mind is the first place to start for changing your destiny.
MEAL PLANNER
Paleo Diet, Zone Diet, Microgram Carb Cycling or any type of eating strategy can be tracked in this sheet. It's so simple to use that the only way it won't work is if you just ignore it! Click below for your FREE PDF meal planing sheet put out by The Fitness Octagon that is so simple. (When it comes to tracking your protein, carb and fat %, you can use a smart phone AP like, "Lose It" or "My Fitness Pal". It does all the calculations for you.) Try it or build your own and let us know how it works for you.
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Free PDF Meal Planner
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