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Eating healthy has never been easier. It's gotten easier than ever to live the lifestyle that you want - with the healthier food options you want.
When I started exercising and meal prepping back in 2010, it was so difficult to find healthy food options. Since I was obsessed with eating well, dates and events were so difficult to eat at... and when I did eat, I felt like I failed my plan.
Today, I find it ridiculous to even think like that, as a diet is not ruined from minor indulgences or desserts.
In this post, we are going to give you 10 healthy nutrition tips you can utilize if you like to travel. These tips will allow you to make better eating habits, thereby improving your mind and body health.
Let's dive in!
One size does not fit all in nutrition.
In the 10 years of frequent "bulking" and "cutting" phases, one diet system I followed has always been the best.
Flexible Dieting.
Flexible dieting is a system that revolves around YOUR personal preferences - making it the most individualistic diet of them all. It involves macronutrient tracking, portion control, and calories. This allows you to prioritize eating healthy based on your calorie or macronutrient goals.
Quick tip: Macronutrients are proteins, carbs, and fats. Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals.
To start, flexible dieting is dependent on your goals. While we know that "calories in vs. calories out" (CICO) is the determinant between weight gain and weight loss... there's more to it.
We need to ensure we are getting proper nutrition by tracking macronutrients and calories.So with that, flexible dieters start by finding their calorie goal and then turning them into macronutrients.
For efficiency, we like to view macronutrient tracking as a budgeting system - you have a daily budget of nutrients that you can spend. To make this as nutritious as possible, we typically follow these guidelines for macronutrients, micronutrients, fiber, and more:
To calculate your calories dependent on your goals, visit our flexible nutrition article here.
Once you get the hang of these guidelines, you will be able to manage this simple dieting system. It has allowed us to explore new foods, go out to eat frequently, and just enjoy life.
We no longer meal prep. we flexibly diet.
One of the best tips we can recommend is understanding what kind of foods consist of proteins, carbs, fats, and their respective serving sizes. This can be understood by reading nutrition fact labels, tracking apps like MyFitnessPal, and restaurant menus.
When you are able to understand the macronutrient compositions of food, you can develop a "sixth sense" to what foods are nutritious and provide you the proper nutrients you need.
Understanding what foods are high in saturated fats or transfats, or super high in sugars allows you to steer clear of too much of these things.
Keeping protein and fruit with you when traveling is probably one of the more simple tips we can give you. When traveling, always opt for these because we will always give into junk food if it's in our eyesight.
If you're purchasing snacks from an airport, always purchase a high-protein bar and some fruits. These options are usually available for you - don't resist them.
Quick tip: carry them with you and leave them in an eye's view when you're traveling.
As our environments play a big part in our habits, remind ourselves that if we want to make better food choices, they're in our face.
When I travel, I have protein bars or a small protein powder canister in my bag. Sometimes I will carry a banana, an apple, or orange with me as well. I can never resist an orange.
As I mentioned prior: when I started fitness in 2010, there were very little healthy food alternatives when I would go out to eat.
Today, just about every restaurant has a healthier food menu - with low calorie, vegan, or gluten-free options galore.
Chances are if you're going out to eat at a popular food place, most foods are on MyFitnessPal that you can track.
If they aren't, "guesstimate" your macronutrients or calories and go from there. Find comparables on a food tracker app and replicate the calories or macros.
Simple behavioral psychology says: if I eliminate something completely from my life, chances are I'm going to want it constantly. Same goes for dieting, which is why we never eliminate food groups... we LIMIT the worst ones.
Moderation allows us to flip the switch and make us realize that it's ok to treat ourselves from time to time.
To start, we do this by rewarding ourselves with one "free meal" per week. It can be untracked or an estimation. If you can't get to this point yet, do something like the "habit sandwich" technique we mentioned in a previous post.
I am a foodie at heart. There are times where I can never resist junk food. My solution is typically adding it into my calorie or macronutrient count.
If we do happen to overshoot my calories, we choose not to ruminate on the food options I make. Even if we mess up, tomorrow is another day.
If you've been following our posts often, you know this has to be in here.
Stay hydrated.
Staying hydrated provides us with many benefits:
On average, we should drink about 1 gallon of water per day.
We recommend starting your day off with water and then keeping a hydro flask or a stainless steel flask on you at all times. If you keep this flask within eyesight, it will be a reminder to consistently drink water throughout your day.
Back in 2018, I managed 4 branches at a rental car agency. At times, I didn't move from a branch for hours at a time.
A 64 oz Hydro Flask kept me well hydrated throughout the day. This helped me tremendously.
When we diet, sometimes we will use artificial sweeteners with zero calories to help provide some flavor into our lives. In fact, I'll carry a water flavor enhancer like MIO on me at times.
While there are mixed thoughts on artificial sweeteners and their safety, reading this should give you some comfort.
It's ok to drink artificial sweeteners and diet sodas in moderation. We just recommend not drinking too many because some artificially-sweetened contain B-Vitamins or caffeine.
If consuming diet sodas or drinks with artificial sweeteners, we typically recommend two at maximum. We don't want you to get too bloated or gassy.
If you're ordering at a restaurant and are choosing your sides, always opt for fruits or veggies. This will allow you to cover some nutritional gaps (vitamins, minerals, and fiber), and provide you with fullness with your meals.
We recommend adding diversity to your veggies and fruits so that you can obtain various vitamins and minerals. Some restaurants have nice fruit bowls or excellent salad options... just make sure you don't go too hard on the dressing.
If you don't have access to proper food in the current area you're in, or can't go out and get it... Doordash-it. Today, we have a huge opportunity to order from healthy food places today - for just a few extra bucks.
Although 2020 has been kind of tough with the lockdowns, it has forced many restaurants to open up food pick-up and delivery. This has allowed restaurants to grow, which also provided more options on these food delivery apps as well. In addition to this, we can now order snacks and groceries from various apps now too.
Eating healthy has never been easier than it is today.
When you can't get enough nutrients or fiber in, supplement to fill in the nutritional gaps.
Today, most supplement brands have grown to introduce lifestyle and foundational products like fish oil and greens... which are necessities today (which we will eventually work towards).
Some brands have made it incredibly easy to carry around these products in their bottles or packets, providing you with "on-the-go" alternatives.
I wanted to give you all a bonus one that I hold dear to my heart.
I hate vegetables. You probably do too. Yet we eat them because they are absolutely necessary for our health.
This is why I add things like popcorn seasoning to spice up my vegetables. They're pretty low-calorie and flavorful, which is why I am a huge fan of them. If you're "on-the-go", carry some with you!
Now that you have these tips, you should realize that having systematic guidelines towards nutrition allows you to build flexibility in your diet.
We dislike rigidity in our diets (unless we pay for a meal prep service) because sometimes life challenges us in unexpected ways.
To optimize our nutrition, we would follow these guidelines:
If you have any other nutrition tips that have helped you and you would like to share, throw them in the comments below or email me at tony@reforgedperformance.com.
Thank you for reading, Reforged Warriors!
Until next time!
I have been reading quite a few articles surrounding depression and its connection to lifestyle habits.
In recent years, scientists have started to discover that depression is not just a "chemical imbalance".
It's much more complex than that, and a lot of evidence is pointing towards positive habits helping to alleviate or reduce the risk of depression.
Insomnia is a common sleep disorder that affects millions of people worldwide.
It is characterized by difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or both, despite the opportunity for adequate sleep.
This can lead to decreased energy levels, mood disturbances, decreased performance at work or school, and can negatively impact overall health and quality of life.
If you're tossing and turning at night, you're not alone.
In this post, we are going to go over the 5 natural ways to ease insomnia.
Let's dive in!
Magnesium is an essential mineral that plays a vital role in many bodily functions, including muscle and nerve function, blood sugar regulation, and bone health.
Despite its importance, many people do not get enough magnesium from their diets alone.
This is where supplements like magnesium glycinate can be helpful.
Magnesium glycinate is a highly bioavailable form of magnesium that is easily absorbed by the body and has several potential health benefits.
In this post, we'll explore the benefits of magnesium glycinate and why it may be a valuable addition to your overall health and wellness plan.
Let's dive in!