The 6 “Rules” of Nutrition

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These are more of recommendations than rules, however, if you follow them consistantly, you will be amazed at the results. I have to give credit to John Berardi for initially coming up with his rules, and I then came up with my own version. Consistency is the key, and the addage that you tell yourself, “Oh I worked out hard today I derserve to eat _____” is completely false. As a society we always expect something in return for hard work. It is true, there is value to hard work, but the best reward comes to those who wait.  If you want to lose weight, and you put in the hard work at the weight room (and in the kitchen) day in and day out for months, I guarantee you will get the results you want. Nothing comes easy, whether your goal is to lose weight, gain weight, develop that relationship, or make that deal. So skip that treat that you think you deserve, and you will get what you really want. Enough talk, here are the 6 “Rules”

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1. Eat 5-6 meals/day

This is a given. There was a study done (which I can get you the reference) that had two similar groups of people. One ate 3 meals a day and another group eat 4 meals a day while keeping the calories fixed in BOTH groups. The group that ate 3 meals were found to be heavier! So it’s not so simple as calories in=calories out

2. Decrease sugar intake

Diabetes is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States, of which, Type I diabetes (genetic) accounts for only 5-10% of those cases according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Type II diabetes which is mostly caused by lifestyle factors is characterized by…high blood sugar.

3. Increase Fruits and Veggetable intake

I am talking about whole fruits and vegetables, not the fruit juices (yes even V8) that say there are 3 servings of fruit in each serving. Juicing takes away the fiber, pulp, and other nutrients and leaves behind the juice which is probably then processed some more and then sugar is added. Which leads us to…

4. Increase Fiber intake

Look for foods with 5 or more grams of fiber and less than 5 grams of sugar and I am sure most all the other rules would eventually fall into place. Fiber acts like the foaming liquid plumber on our intestines and cleans them out. Gross but true.

5. Increase Protein intake

Protein leaves you satisfied longer and actually takes more energy to digest then the other macro nutrients (fat and carbohydrate). That means that you burn more calories trying to digest protein, and it helps maintain muscle mass.

6. Try to Avoid Starchy Carbohydrates except after you workout and in the morning

This is the kicker. Starchy carbs are those carbs that are non vegetable/fruit. For example, cereals, breads, pastas, potatoes, grains, cookies, and crackers. Try to cut back and only have them at the two prescribed times.

You can use these rules as a checklist for every meal you make and see if you are obeying them. As a general rule, you should try to stick to these rules 90% of the time in order for them to work. For perspective, that means if you eat 5 meals a day, it equals 35 meals a week. So you can cheat at only 3 meals for the whole week. Now for some of you this will be extremely hard but write the rules down and see where it takes you. You have to find meals and foods that work for your situation. If your someone that drinks a lot of soda (diet or regular) I would suggest trying to eliminate soda from your diet first and then try working on the other rules. If your someone who only eats twice a day, work on trying to eat more smaller portion meals then work on the other rules. Take it one step at a time and make it habit, and remember sometimes eliminating the “bad” foods trumps trying to eat the “good” foods.