By Dr. John M. Berardi, PhD, CSCS
Alright, brace yourself. This lesson is a bit longer than the others, but it’s also perhaps the most important. So stick with me, because we’re going to cover the most critical question, namely:
What is good nutrition?
Do you know, specifically, what types of things you have to do to look better, feel better and live healthy? And do you know what types of things you have to avoid?
What do you think it means to “eat well” or “eat healthy” – that is, to eat in a way that will improve the way your body looks, feels and performs?
Jot down a few notes on what you think it means to eat healthy.
Then take a second to think about your list. Think about where you learned these rules.
Who taught you what you know about nutrition?
Perhaps you learned what you know about nutrition from parents or family – what you were told at the dinner table growing up, what comfort foods you ate.
And of course, no one is immune to the influence of the media – heck, every 3rd episode of Dr. Phil is about food and dieting.
And, no doubt, you’ve probably been influenced by your past dieting efforts – whether you’ve been successful or unsuccessful. Maybe you picked up a book recommendation from a friend, or read a magazine article and gave it a shot.
Here’s the point:
Most of what folks know about nutrition was taught to them by people who know little or nothing about nutrition!
And worse yet, most of that information gets hammered home without you even knowing it.
So let’s start from the top.
The 3S Criteria
I’ve committed my career to helping people change their bodies, and in turn their lives, by changing their nutrition.
Over many years of research, and many more of trial and error, I’ve developed a pretty sound system to help you change the nutritional rules and habits that determine so much about our bodies.
Once you change these rules and habits, everything changes: the way you eat, the way you sleep, they way you look, the way you feel when you wake up in the morning, the way you perform – even the way you think.
To do that, you first need to know how to evaluate a nutritional strategy. I teach my clients to use The 3S Criteria:
1. Simple. Are the rules easy to follow?
2. Science-based. Are the rules based on sound scientific principles?
3. Successful. Have the rules produced success in others like you?
A system based on those three things is absolutely critical.
Think again about your nutritional rules. Are your rules based on simplicity, science, and success? Have your rules produced the desired effect – a lean, healthy body that you’re able to maintain; a body that you’re happy with when looking in the mirror?
If not, perhaps they could use a re-evaluation.
5 Key Rules for a Better Body
To help you out, I’ll show you the exact rules I use, both in my own diet and in those I’ve used with people around the world for years with phenomenal results. For more on how I arrived at these rules, and on how to apply them daily, pick up a copy of Precision Nutrition.
Here they are:
1. Eat every 2-3 hours.
Now, you don’t need to eat a full meal every 2-3 hours – some of them can be smaller snacks. But every few hours you should be getting a dose of good food that follows the other rules below.
That may seem like a lot, but understand a) that each meal will be smaller than the ones most people eat, and b) that eating this way can drastically reduce your body’s inclination to store the calories you eat as body fat.
2. Include lean protein in each meal and snack.
Complete, lean protein generally is food that, well, was an animal or comes from an animal. Things like chicken, beef, fish, dairy, and the like.
“Lean” means low fat. So you want food high in protein but low in fat (e.g., leaner cuts of meat, low fat dairy, etc.).
Are you getting protein in each meal? If not, make the change.
Note: If you’re a vegetarian, this rule still applies – just like for the non-vegetarians, I discuss your needs in Precision Nutrition.
3. Include vegetables in each meal or snack.
One of the best and easiest things you can do to improve your health is to include veggies in each meal or snack you eat – every 2-3 hours, right?
Psychologically, that’s a big change for most people. But it makes such a difference physically that it’s well worth it. To show you that eating veggies isn’t the frightening proposition it used to be, most of the meals contained in Precision Nutrition use veggies in their preparation – and we show you how to make them taste good!
4. Save carb-heavy meals for after exercise.
This includes things like things rice, pasta, potatoes, etc. You can eat them all – but wait until after you’ve exercised. Plenty of research shows that the body is better able to process carbohydrates in the 3 hour period following a bout of intense exercise.
It’s true that starches, grains and sugars are dietary staples in North America, but remember that heart disease, diabetes and cancer are medical staples in North America – and there’s a relationship between the two!
To stop heading down the heart disease highway, reward yourself for a good workout with a good carbohydrate meal right after. For the rest of the day, stick to lean protein and a delicious selection of fruits and veggies.
To make this rule easy on you we label the meals in the Precision Nutrition program as Post-Workout (good carb-containing meals to be eaten within a few hours after exercising) and Anytime (good meals for any other time of the day).
5. Include a good balance of healthy fat in your diet.
For a long time, dietary fat was vilified in the media. The truth is that dietary fat is absolutely essential! There are 3 types of fat: saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated. Eating all three kinds in a healthy balance can dramatically improve your health, and actually help you lose fat.
Your saturated fat will probably already be covered. Most foods containing lean protein also contain some saturated fat, and that’s okay. You can even toss in some butter or coconut oil for cooking.
Your monounsaturated fat should come from mixed nuts, olives, and olive oil.
Your polyunsaturated fat should from flax seed oil, fish oil, and mixed nuts.
Working healthy fat into your meals is easy. The meals contained in Precision Nutrition offer a good variety of healthy fats and teach you why they’re important.
Summary
Good nutrition can seem complex, but it starts out with a few simple rules. We get into the more advanced stuff in the Precision Nutrition System, but the 5 rules above alone will have you eating better – and looking better – than 85-90% of the population.
