"What Should I Eat?"  By. Megan Nino

    The biggest question people ask me is how they should eat to lose weight or gain muscle. I typically translate it as "How should I eat to be healthier and reach my goals?" Because everyone is different, this isn't a cookie cutter type of "diet." It's all about learning to include variety, eat nutrient filled foods, and learning what portion sizes are right for you and your lifestyle. My goal is to teach people to moderate their eating and to implement healthier foods into their eating habit. Here is an easy breakdown of what a sample meal may look like. 

Daily Calorie Expectation: ~10cal/ lb in body weight and on active days add ~200-300 calories coming from a post workout snack

3 portioned sized meals per day and 2 small snacks
Intermittent fasting: i.e if you eat breakfast at 7am, you cannot eat after 7pm

Breakfast: Protein with fruit or a light carb and your usual coffee with less sugar and cream

Snack: fruit or veggie (You can eat your veggies with a healthy dip such as hummus 2 tbs)

Lunch: Protein, carb (preferably complex carb, but  a grain or flatbread is acceptable), and veggie or salad

Snack: Fruit, veggie, or shake

Dinner: Protein and veggies or full salad. (Be cautious of dressings) You can also add a complex carb like quinoa or sweet potatoes

Post workout: Protein shake or a light portion of protein source and veggies/complex carb

BEWARE of cheat days. Cheat days can contradict any progress made in a given week. Instead have 1 cheat meal of a moderate portion size a week. Also avoid frying your food.

Once you get into the groove of the changes, it'll be easier and you can get more creative. Meal prepping does not have to be boring. Let me know if you have any questions.

Examples:

Good Proteins:
Chicken Breast
Lean Ground Turkey
Lean Ground Beef 
Fish

Good Fats:
Avocados
Olive Oil 
Coconut Oil
Raw Nuts

Good Carbs:
Quinoa
Veggies
Sweet Potatoes
Beans (be mindful of the extra sodium in canned beans)

Portions:

i.e Person A weighs 185lbs. His essential calorie intake is 1850 Cal/day. If he eats 3 meals/ day each of those meals should be around 600 calories/day. On days he exercises, his protein shake should cover the extra nutrients needed. As he builds more muscle, his caloric intake will increase because of a spiked metabolism.

Sample meal: 
1 chicken breast (calories ~282) 
1/5th Avocado (~50 Calories)
1 cup of Quinoa (~222 Calories)
1 cup of Brocolli (~31 Calories)

If he eats 5 meals/day then the meals are just cut in half. So instead of a full breast per meal, he will eat half a breast, and etc.

I hope this helps! If you have any questions, please email me at megananino@gmail.com. 

Here is a quick video of a client of mine made in response to one of my blog posts. She followed this diet rubric and her exercise prescription exactly as it was written and consulted with me regularly. It took her a while to adjust her eating habits and figure out how to cook, but when she did she got great results.