The Basics of Creating a Perfect Fitness Diet
Creating a perfect fitness diet is an art form. It takes a lot of homework, research and trial-and-error. However, details are mostly reserved for professionals and those who want to get the most out of their diet. If you’re a beginner, you can get away with a simple diet plan that will still get you to reach your goals and feel good about your progress. Here are the basics of dieting fit for every individual on a fitness road:
Start with a solid plan
If you want to reach your fitness goals, first you need to identify them in a smart way. Ask yourself the following questions: What do you want to achieve with your new diet? Do you want to lose weight or develop more muscle? Do you want to boost your endurance? Do you want to improve your health (lower blood pressure or cholesterol)? In order to stick to your goals, you need to know what results you’re trying to achieve, and this is done by creating a realistic plan. With SMART goals (an acronym for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound) you will put your diet plan into action much faster.
Determine your diet plan
If you have a workout plan as well, it’s super important to come up with a diet plan that complements it. Today, there are many different diets to consider—plant-based diets, keto, Mediterranean, clean eating, paleo, etc, but whatever you choose, make sure to put special attention to plants. No matter if you’re trying to lose weight or gain muscle, fresh and frozen veggies and fruit will come in handy. Mix them with whole grains and your body will get all the nutrients it needs. Also, strike a good balance with protein, good fats and good carbs.
Create a meal plan
Choosing your diet is too broad to achieve any goals, so you have to create a more specific meal plan. One of the best tips from experts is to prepare appropriate meals in advance to avoid reaching for unhealthy foods. Start by finding recipes that fit your diet plan and workout plan, write down a list of meals for a week, go shopping and prepare your meals when you get home. If you’re not up for full-on meal prep, just cook grains and wash veggies and fruit in advance to save time. If that is too much trouble for you as well, consider contacting a meal delivery service.
Prepare for a workout
If you diet while working out, you need to fuel your body before and after a workout to get the most of your physical activity. Make sure to come up with good pre-workout snacks that will load you with carbs and protein so you feel energized without adding unnecessary sugars and fats to your body. If you don’t want to prepare snacks, you can always buy pre workout drinks that increase workout endurance and blood flow and provide you with many fat-burning benefits. These are easy to prepare so you don’t have to plan your workouts around them—mix them in a minute, take them before a workout and enjoy guilt-free benefits.
Take a cooking class
Here’s an underrated dieting tip: learn to cook. If you don’t want to rely on meal delivery, cooking at home will ensure you stay on track with your diet plan and not reach for calorie-loaded takeout and fast food. And if you only know how to prepare plain chicken and lettuce salad, you will crack very fast. One or two cooking classes will teach you how to get more greens into your diet and prepare many delicious AND healthy meals your entire family can benefit from.
Eat enough calories
If you’re dieting for weight loss, don’t get carried away too much. No diet should leave you tired and ill, so make sure to get enough calories for good fitness and health. According to experts, people will healthily lose weight on a diet that contains 1,200-1,500 calories per day for women and 1,500-1,800 for men.
These are the basics of dieting for good fitness and health. As you get better at managing your diet, you can go into more depth with dietary details, but as long you’re focused on the basics, you will be happy with your results.
