Diet Smarts For Fitness Warriors

You’re a fitness buff and are enjoying the benefits of your disciplined routines. You get up early most mornings, spend an hour working out, and then you move on with your day. The benefits are evident to everyone with your firm pectorals, strong biceps and tight waist.

One area where you can make some improvement has to do with your diet. Not that you’re not showing some discipline here, but there is room for improvement. To that end we’ll look at certain essentials that can benefit you in your fitness pursuit.

1. Commit yourself. Yes, diet smarts begins with you committing yourself to following through. Just as you wouldn’t give your exercise routine lip service, you’ll pursue a diet plan that is healthful and beneficial.

2. Water, water everywhere. Avoid sugary drinks, including sodas, juices and Gatorade. The occasional Gatorade to replenish your body is okay, but what you need is water. Drink it like it is going out of style. Sure, initially you will use the bathroom more, but after a while your body will get used to consuming a gallon or more per day.

3. Plan your meals. Give much thought to what you eat and do so by planning your meals. Breakfast, lunch and dinner should be pursued, and those meals should be balanced. Healthy proteins, whole grains, vegetables and fruits should be the basis for your meals explains Fitness 19.

4. Don’t punish yourself. If you overeat one day, don’t punish yourself the next day by not eating. Simply return to your regular diet and vow to watch your food consumption from this point forward.

5. Make a food journal. It is important not only to plan what you will eat, but to have food journal on hand. Here, you will track what foods you have eaten and the different types of foods you want to pursue. This may mean making a special trip to a specialty supermarket to find the kiwis, ackees, durian and mangosteen not readily available elsewhere.

6. Look back and forward. Just as important as keeping a food journal is, you should monitor your progress to see where you’ve gone. This is a motivational step that can help you press on when you’re just not feeling it or are tempted to grab a bag of greasy french fries on the way home from work.

7. Just keep moving. Regardless of what you eat, you will be burning off calories provided you keep moving. This means staying with your fitness routine, mixing up your exercises and enjoying the process. If you aren’t sweating, then you are not optimizing your caloric burn rate.

8. Work with a dietitian. If you are having difficulty maintaining your diet, then outside help is warranted. A dietitian or a nutritionist can be most beneficial. Definitely go with one if you have an underlying health condition such as diabetes.

9. Cheat. Every once in a while. Cheating on your diet from time to time is permissible. You just need to control your cheating and limit it to special occasions such as your birthday (eat cake), Christmas (eat candy) and Independence Day (sink your teeth into that juicy steak). When the cheating day is over, immediately resume your course.

Fitness Benefits

A healthy diet will aid your muscles, strengthen your bones and help you keep with your exercise routine. Diet and exercise are both important, providing to you the fitness benefits you desire.