The following questions have been asked by others just like you. Read, Learn, and contact Nadine if you have a question that is not addressed within these pages.
Will you cure me?
Nadine is a Naturopath and Holistic Nutrition Specialist, as such, can not and will not diagnose a disease, claim to cure a disease or prescribe medications. Dr Nadine provides knowledge; making it
possible to take greater personal responsibility and ownership of your overall health and well-being. Making new eating and lifestyle choices along the way will allow improvement in quality of life and allows for greater self-awareness, self-discovery, internal balance and self-healing. Informed Consent
What is my metabolism?
If you get right down to the basics, you can think of your metabolism as your body’s internal furnace or bonfire. The quantity of fuel (logs) and quality of fuel (oak, pine etc) added to the fire will determine the amount of heat generated. Your body works much the same way. FOOD is FUEL! By eating the right kinds of food and the right quantity of food you can turn your metabolism on. More heat is generated when more logs are added to the fire. Thus, when the metabolism is spinning in high gear, the body burns food as fuel rather than storing it as fat. Read more in the article Are You TURNED ON
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What does it mean to starve my body?
A pound of muscle takes approximately fifty calories a day to maintain, whereas a pound of fat takes two. In starvation mode, muscle becomes a luxury the body can no longer afford to maintain. Your body reduces the caloric needs by getting rid of it. If you cut your calories so much that your body has a starvation response, it is now doing just the opposite of what you intended – it holds on to fat and gets rid of the muscle that would normally burn more calories. Read more in the article Understanding Your Metabolism
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What do you mean by a fat burning machine?
Just as your body becomes a fat storing machine as a result of a reduced calorie diet, you can just as easily instruct it to become a fat burning machine by adding more calories each day. While you are in the Stabilizing phase of this program we will be taking your food up slowly, reteaching your metabolism to spin faster and faster. This sets the foundation for the BURN Fat phase that follows.
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Won’t I lose more weight if I eat fewer calories?
When you cut your calories, specifically your carbs, to below a certain point, your body will go into starvation/survival mode. This is a disaster for your metabolism! In starvation mode, you have just told your body not to burn stored fat until it is absolutely necessary. Instead it burns your lean muscle tissue, which requires more calories to support it! Many people yo-yo between a low-fat/high-carb diet to bingeing on carbs and sugar. If you truly want to heal your body, if you truly want to make shifts in your body composition (fat) you MUST FUEL the body. As we work together, you will learn a healthy, balanced approach for YOU with your Protein, healthy Fats, Veggies and Carbs. As your body heals, it will find its own optimal body fat composition. You will lose inches and feel amazing in the process.
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Why can’t I have sugar during my program?
Sugars, and foods containing sugar, are not your friend. Not only does sugar kill your immune system thus creating disease in your body, it is also one of the caveats to making the body FATTER. Foods like: sugar, donuts, candy, fruit; soft drinks, etc are called SIMPLE Carbs, they provide an intense burn and quickly die out. While these give an intense burn, they are not a good source for fuel and make it difficult to stabilize the blood sugar levels. You experience extreme highs then lows while the body stores these guys as fat. Another way of looking at sugar, it enables your fat to get FATTER.
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Can I take diet pills the ones that promise to burn more fat?
There IS a time and place for thermogenics. It is usually at the very end of your program when we have bottomed out your food and have topped out your cardio. THEN and only then would I recommend bringing a thermogenic into play. If your FOOD and EXERCISE program have not built your foundation, taking a fat burner will do nothing more than waste your money. Learn to shed your fat with food. Follow the program as written and leave the ‘short cuts’ to those who want to drop water rather than fat.
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How much effort is involved in this program?
The first three weeks have a learning curve due to all the new information I am teaching you. During this time frame you are learning about hitting your protein, health fats and carbohydrate numbers. You are learning how to balance the food counts out, as well as learning to track your food. Once you have that accomplished, the only effort involved is Pre-Planning your day so that you set yourself up for success. Once we enter the Burn Fat phase of the program, your effort is basically, planning, cooking and eating. Yipppeee.
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What does it mean to Hit your numbers??
All throughout your program I will be telling you how many proteins, healthy fats, veggies, carbohydrates, fats, sugars, sodium and water to intake on a daily basis. YOUR job is to meet those numbers. That is what is meant by HIT your numbers. As an example, if you are assigned to hit up to 40g of sugars a day and you eat 75g you did not make the goal. That amount of sugar in the body will create havoc. Another example, if you are assigned 150g of protein and you eat 145g you did not hit the goal, but you did hit the goal if you ate 155g of protein. This might confuse you. ALL of this is part of the Education process you enjoy while working with me as your coach. Once you understand the ‘rules of play’, it is pretty easy to follow.
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When will I have to eliminate sugars in my program?
Your education of sugar and its overall affects to your physique and immune system will begin during the Stabilizing phase of the program. Gradually your sugars will be limited 20 percent of your carbohydrate intake. Foods like: sugar, donuts, candy, fruit; soft drinks, etc are called SIMPLE Carbs, they provide an intense burn and quickly die out. While these give an intense burn, they are not a good source for fuel and make it difficult to stabilize the blood sugar levels. You experience extreme highs then lows while the body stores these guys as fat. Another way of looking at sugar, it enables your fat to get FATTER. During the BURN Fat phase of your program your sugar intake will be dramatically reduced so that we can force the body to release its supply of stored fat. Inform Yourself under the Nutrition tab contains more information on sugar. The following is a listing of some of sugar’s metabolic consequences from a variety of medical journals and other scientific publications.
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Can I do additional things to make the weight go faster??
Do you mean that if you stand on your left foot with your right arm over your head, or only lie on your left side, or pee in the wind? I know I am being a little silly. Basically what you CAN do to make your program go faster is to DO YOUR PROGRAM. Follow what I write. Keep your head in the game. I was once told “the slower you go, the faster you get there”. It has proven to be a very valuable message to me. Keep putting one foot in front of the other. Take One Day, One Meal, One Pound at a time. When you do that, suddenly you have achieved some amazing goals and are looking and feeling sweet.
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What affect does non-dairy creamer have on my fat loss efforts?
Sugar comes in many forms, such as Lactose, which is sometimes known as milk sugar (lact means “milk” ose means “sugar”). Non-dairy would fall under the category of non-milk or non-sugar. While a food may be listed as sugar free, it may contain one or more of the other forms of sugar. Corn sweeteners, corn syrup solids, and high-fructose corn syrup, are just a few of the many ‘hidden’ forms of sugar. You can find a more comprehensive listing of hidden sweeteners in the Sugar section on the Inform Yourself page. If you look at the top 3 ingredients listed on the non-dairy creamer nutrition label, I believe you will find high-fructose corn syrup solids. While sugar substitutes do not contain calories, they still spike the sugar insulin and make the body store fat. If one of my clients is experiencing a fat loss plateau, one of the first places I look is to see if they have ANY hidden forms of sugar in their daily food intake. If they do, those foods are removed. On a personal note, I have not been successful in dropping fat when I have high fructose corn syrup solids in my program in any form.
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Does dieting mean I have to eat cardboard flavored food?
Ugh! Just the thought of your question leaves my stomach twisted. NO! You do not have to eat flavorless food. I have discovered some awesome sodium free spices from Spice Hunter. You can purchase them from most stores. I also recommend low sodium salsas like 505 and La Victoria green salsa. I have created a Spice Ideas listing (hyper link to the list OR send them to the section in the Nutrition Tab) of some great flavor additives that are low sugar and low sodium. Please let me know if you discover others. By the way, I have had a lot of folks ask me what I am eating because it looks, and smells wonderful. Have you tried any of my recipes available on the site? This is a sampling of the recipe book we are putting together.
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I like drinking beer, will that affect my diet??
Absolutely. First, your body is going to stop what it was doing and join efforts with your liver to figure out what to do with the new poison coming into the body. After that has happened (usually a 4 day process) the body will then go back to what it was doing before the toxins were introduced. Second, alcohol is processed in the body, as a sugar, so if you are tracking your food counts, the beer, or wine should be counted as a sugar and a carb. Third, if your body cannot tolerate wheat and you are drinking wheat based beer all you are doing is adding to the damage already done in the body. Something to consider, is WHY are you in ‘diet mode’ and what do you want to accomplish while IN that mode. If your goal is to drop FAT not weight, you might consider removing alcohol from your intake for the entire duration of your FAT loss program.
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How often should I have a bowel movement?
I recommend 2-3 bowel movements a day. If your body is extremely clean you will actually move the processed food after each meal. If you are NOT passing excrement at least 2-3 times a day it is wise to increase the fiber. in your program. On another note, if you eat red meat (beef, buffalo, elk, deer, etc) this will take 4 days to process and move through the bowels. You might also experience very pasty poop. Orange Roughy, on the other hand, will add ‘good’ fats to your program. Too much Orange Roughy will allow you to experience the fat coming through in your bowels.
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Will you tell me what to eat every day?
I would not dream of insulting you in such a manner as to tell you what to eat each day. I find that non-empowering. The more YOU learn about food and take Ownership of what is going in your mouth, the more Empowered you become, which is one of our goals. Remember, we are out to Create Lifestyle Changes to Last a Lifetime, and who wants a lifestyle of someone else dictating what he or she should eat. Another reason why I don’t tell you what to eat is basically you and I like different foods. I may really enjoy a porridge made of oatmeal and egg whites and you may like cold cereal with goat’s milk. We will however discuss a ton of food choices, options, parameters etc within which you can Play to your hearts content.
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How will I know what foods to eat each day?
I will educate you on the great foods you can start eating, and will set your daily protein, healthy fats, veggies, fruit and carbohydrate gram numbers. I can also provide a few examples of how to make your numbers work. Please know this is a part of your education. It takes a few days to get the hang of making all of your counts work, however I am confident that you will be an old pro at this in no time. After you are doing well with the initial suggested foods list, we then begin to break down what you need to eat for your particular blood type.
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Will you write down all of the food I am supposed to eat today?
I will TEACH you how to track your daily intake of Protein, healthy Fats, Carbohydrates, and Water using paper and pencil. That way no matter where you are, you can track your food. Once you have mastered tracking those items, we will expand to tracking your Sugar, Sodium and in some cases Fiber. If you would enjoy tracking your food on a computer, the Tracking form I designed includes a very simple sheet for your use. There are also many free food-tracking programs available on the Internet. You are welcome to track your food in any manner that serves you; the point is You MUST Track your food to be successful. You will be amazed at how fast you learn and the knowledge you GAIN by tracking your own food. In my book Knowledge = Empowerment = Freedom with food choices.
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How do I know what kind of fat to eat?
There are three kinds of fats, Unsaturated fat (bad fat which should be avoided at all costs, also known as Trans-fats), Mono-Unsaturated fats (olive oil, Mac nut oil, good fat) and Poly-Unsaturated fats (good fats, omega-3, Omega-6, etc). Another name for poly-unsaturated fats is Essential Fatty Acids or EFA’s. I have more information on EFA’s on the Inform Yourself page. When making choices of what to purchase, I advise my clients to pick the foods loaded with Mono and Poly-Unsaturated fats. In Fats the Heal Fats that Kill, Dr Udo Erasmus states “If it has an H in it, get the H out of there”. If it has any form of hydrogenated fat (trans-fats) do not eat it, do not buy it, put it back on the shelf. According to the research done by Dr Erasmus, when we push our poly-unsat levels to above 12-15% of our daily fat intake, the body will metabolize stored fat as energy. Thus I have all of my clients eating a minimum of 14g of Udo’s Blend EFA’s or similar per day. When we are in the Burn Fat phase of your program we are actually pushing the EFA’s so that you metabolize more fat. To reiterate, Poly’s are GOOD… eat them… Unsat’s are BAD… avoid them at every opportunity. Be aware also of the hidden fats in the label, like sweeteners, fats come in many names. Just because the label says fat free, there might be hidden fat substitutes. Look for the overall picture of very low or zero unsats and moderate to high poly-unsats.
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Can I eat the No Carb candies?
Our goal is to teach your body to burn the food coming in as FUEL rather than storing it as FAT. Carbohydrates are one of your fuel sources and contain 4 calories per gram. No Carb candies, as well as Net Carb foods have very misleading labels. Sugar Alcohols contain anywhere from one to three calories per gram and still have the potential to add fat onto your body. Net Impact Carbs mislead the reader because manufacturers are not required to list the sugar alcohols or fibers within the carbohydrate content of the label. Does that mean these foods do not contain calories or carbohydrates? NO! They most definitely contain what I would term ‘empty’ calories. My recommendation is to count ALL calories coming in. Put your total carbohydrates in that portion of your tracking form AND put ALL sugar alcohols in the sugar portion of your tracking form. Take some time to educate yourself about the many forms sugars and fats come in.
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Do I have to give up eating out?
I will need to break this response down into phases. If you are in the Stabilizing phase phase of the program I highly recommend you eat in a few restaurants. It will be a part of your education. As we get closer to the start of your BURN Fat phase we will discuss the advantages/disadvantages of eating in a restaurant. When you are IN the BURN Fat phase, there will be times when eating out is part of your life and we will create an action plan to set you up for a win. However, understand this; you will not create the Fat loss results you are looking for by eating in restaurants. The majority of restaurant food is loaded with sodium, saturated fats and sugars. During the BURN Fat phase it is possible to slow your progress by 2 weeks and even halt your progress by eating in restaurants. When making a choice to eat in a restaurant, you might want to consider what value it will create for you in your overall goals.
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Can I eat protein shakes and bars on this program?
Protein shakes and protein bars are considered Supplements. I will teach you how to hit your protein, carbohydrate and fat numbers with real food. Once in a while you may have a day that is very difficult for you to hit your numbers. THAT is when you can bring in a supplement. An example of this is when flying. Drinking a high quality protein shake might be the very thing you need to do to get your meal in. If you do bring supplements into your program I recommend that no more than 25% of your overall food counts be comprised from supplements. On another note, the majority of bars on the market today are nothing more than glorified candy bars. You are looking for a food source rather than a sugar source. Read your labels carefully and make wise choices. If you have the desire to drop FAT, I would highly recommend that you eliminate any form of shake or bar from your program.
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How much salt can I eat each day?
I recommend 2400 mg of sodium each day for the ‘normal’ individual. If you are in the Stabilizing phase (link to this info) of the program look for foods that have less than 500 mg per serving. If you are in the BURN Fat phase I bring that number down to 200 mg per serving. I have a few clients eating much more than 2400 mg of sodium each day due to their individual training schedules. If you are working with me directly, we will assess your body and make adjustments where needed.
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Do I get a day off where I can eat anything I want?
Bill Phillips in his Body for Life program first introduced this concept. My experience with clients who have used this concept when first coming to me, is they ‘pig out’ or eat a lot of ‘bad’ foods on the ‘anything goes’ day. Their bodies revolt at all the toxins re-introduced into their system and they usually spend the rest of the day in the bathroom. The day after the ‘pig out’, they complain of feeling sluggish, bloated, fatigued etc. It takes approximately four days for the body to get back on track after all the damage caused by that one ‘pig out’ day.
During the Stabilizing phase of my program, your calories will be increased weekly. You will be EATING a LOT of food. During this time, you will be Educated on WISE food choices to make. YOU will always be the one who chooses what goes IN your mouth. At the end of each day, I suggest asking this question, “What flavor or texture am I craving right now? Then build THAT flavor, texture or food item INTO your food plan for tomorrow. PLAN IT IN. That way, not only will you never feel deprived, you actually ASK yourself “What is it that I want” and give yourself Permission to have it. Trust me, you will be eating so much food during the Stabilizing phase that I doubt you will even conceive of the idea of a ‘pig out’ day. There may be times, during your program, that I assign you a ‘cheat’ MEAL. It will be ONE MEAL, then right back on your program.
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Do I get a ‘day off’ when I am burning fat??
During the BURN Fat phase our goal is to get rid of your fat. There is no such thing as a ‘pig out’ day. There will, however be days where we push your carbohydrates to a higher level to replenish your glycogen stores. We call these ‘cheat’ MEAL. It is ONE MEAL. Then we are right back on track. Once you have dropped your desired amount of body fat, AND you have learned HOW to Maintain your fat loss, you are once again at Choice. If you choose to eat the foods that made you fat in the first place, expect to get fat again. If you continue to make the Lifestyle Changing Choices you have been practicing throughout your program you will enjoy the benefits of KEEPING YOUR FAT OFF.
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I love running on my treadmill for an hour each day. I just read some information on cutting back on cardio. What do you recommend?
This answer depends on WHICH PHASE of the program you are in. During the Stabilizing phase, I typically eliminate cardio from your program to teach your body to burn fat as fuel with the FOOD you are eating. Some people require some cardio. We will make a decision for you based upon your overall goals and end results we desire to create. As we move down the path to striping your physique of excess body fat, cardio will come into the game plan. We will do what is needed and no more.
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I don’t like fish, what else can I eat?
There are MANY great sources of Proteins. Some can be found on the Suggested Foods List. This list is simply a starting place. Once you are working with me on a weekly basis you will discover the foods that work with your body and those that work against you. It is common to start with the foods you like, and then expand into new foods as we transition your program to the foods that act a medicine in your body. I totally believe in Eating for your Blood Type. When you are ready, we will head down that path. You will be amazed at how incredible you feel with the right food in your body.
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I really like the hamburgers and Carls Jr, will this work for my protein sources?
It depends. If you are a Blood Type O or B, your body will love the red meat but not the wheat in the bun or the cheese/sauces on top. If you are a Blood Type A or AB this baby is deadly in your system. If you can handle the red meat, having a hamburger for a ‘cheat’ meal might be fun; having one every day or every week will definitely create a body that is predominately fat. What do you want to create?? If, you really have a desire to educate yourself about what works WITH your body, this might be a food source you choose to release from your life while you hone your physique to that of your dreams.
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How can I respond to my friends and family when they ask me if they can do anything for me?
WOW, how Wonderful that you have friends and family who desire to SUPPORT your efforts to live in Harmony and Balance. What a gift. Knowing they are on your side, EDUCATE Them. Tell them you are taking OWNERSHIP of your Health, your Well-Being, and your Body. Teach them how you eat. Let them know the types of foods that work FOR and WITH your program. Things like sauces on the side, lots of steamed veggies, grilled fish, chicken, turkey, NO DESERTS, no sugars. Educate them on the foods you LOVE and want to eat. Teach them how to talk to you and around you. Teach them how to ‘treat’ you with Non-food related items. Good examples of this are flowers, bath stuffs, a good movie, a massage, manicure, and pedicure, anything to pamper you while you are creating your lifestyle changes. I am excited for YOU that you have a support team willing to do FOR you what you need. Bravo. And keep up the good work. (this is me doing a dancing jig)
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How can I eat in a restaurant or someone’s home on this program?
This is a great question. I will say this ultimately depends on which phase of the program you are in. As an example… if you are in the Stabilizing Phase of the program you can contact the restaurant before you go, find out what they have on the menu and build your day around the meal out. I really love going to a pasta house because I know I can order grilled chicken and pasta and request 1 T of Olive Oil on the side. The restaurant will also steam the veggies for you. DO NOT eat the bread while out. Ask for all sauces on the side. I wrote a great article on this very thing. . When you are eating at someone’s home, be honest with him or her; asking them what is on the menu. Volunteer to bring something. Let them know you are eating foods that are in Balance and Harmony with YOUR body. Trust me, they will want to enjoy your company and will welcome the suggestions you bring to the table. Grilled Salmon with grilled Asparagus is a wonderful treat for all to enjoy. Again, request there be no deserts, OR if you like, volunteer to bring something that YOU can have. Try “Nadine’s Apple Pie” which is wonderful, as is “Nadine’s Killer Tofu Pudding”. . Bottom line, VOICE YOUR WISHES… You are in control. You are in command. Put it out there. If you are in the Burn Fat phase of the program, I will recommend that you take your own food with you. Trust me the time it takes to get back into the groove of things after ‘eating’ out is not worth it in that phase of the program.
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How long will it take me to lose my fat?
How long it takes to drop fat depends on how much fat you have on your physique and how long it has been there. Meaning, if you have 70lbs. of excess body fat and it has been on the body for 5 years, the body will drop the initial 30-50 pounds relatively quickly @ a max of 2 pounds a week. The final pounds, the ones that have been on the body the longest; will be the hardest to shed. If you have not done so, please take the time to read about the Stabilizing Phase as well as the BURN Fat phase of the program. Dropping FAT is a process. It takes time to prepare the body to drop fat, and then time to actually shed the fat. Sometimes, if a person has only 10-15 ponds of fat to shed it takes a bit longer because we have to really make the fat miserable. Overall, I suggest taking 12 weeks to Stabilize the body in preparation for shedding FAT, then shooting for 2 pounds of fat loss each week. When I shed my initial 64 pounds, I was in the Stabilizing phase for 3 months. Understand that each time you challenge your physique you will do better. The question is WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE FOR YOU??? How long are YOU willing to dedicate to yourself so that YOUR dreams come true? What are you willing to Give?
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How hard will I have to work at this?
Remember one of the main goals of my program is to Create Lifestyle Changes to Last a Lifetime. Is that HARD? No. It does mean that how you Think about things will change or how you Approach new foods or situations will change. Not all changes happen naturally, they take time, energy, effort and practice. They take Changing your way of Thinking so that the things you think about change. The first 3 weeks of this program may have a huge learning curve because everything is new, after that, the process if fairly easy. The only thing ‘hard’ afterwards is your own personal commitment to yourself to complete your program.
What if this program doesn’t work?
I can honestly say… THIS PROGRAM WORKS FOR ALL WHO DO THE PROGRAM… Bar none. If you actually DO what I write out for you and stick to your program you WILL DROP FAT. Please read everything I have written about setting goals . Set yourself up for a WIN by setting realistic goals with a realistic timeline. Be willing for change to occur in your life. Be willing to Do WHATEVER it takes to see YOUR goal through to completion. Again… if YOU are Committed to YOU this program WILL work for you.
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Is this the last time I will have to ‘fight’ with my weight?
Why are you ‘fighting’ with your weight right now? Your body is doing exactly what you are asking it to. If you want to change the relationship you have with your fat, start loving your body for what it is providing you with. Love your body for keeping you alive regardless of all the crap you have been doing to it. Love your body for doing exactly what you have asked. When you change your relationship with your body and fat, then you can see the results. Now to answer your question, will this be the very last time you are confronted with challenging choices? NO. If I am placed in a room with a bowl full of apples, I want one. I have to then have a talk with my self and ask myself, “Self, is that apple on your program right now?” And if it is not, I have a choice to make. I personally choose to not have chips or cookies or chocolate in my home. Why? Because they are trigger foods for me. Why would I consider having something around me that will trigger a 3-4 week sabotage journey? I personally choose to have foods around me that support my life goals. There are also times I need to have a talk with myself when I think the scale, Mr. Metal, has the answer. During those times, I go look in the mirror, or put on my clothing to ensure that I am on target. Bottom line, during this program you will get many opportunities to learn new methods of self talk and build your self-esteem. If you desire, you can make them permanent changes in your life. I have included a great poem in the Inspirational Corner called My Life in 5 Short Chapters. Take a minute to go read that poem. It is amazing and assists me in knowing if I am recreating an OLD choice or creating a NEW choice.
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What makes a complete meal? I have a tendency to eat just one thing, a protein or a carb by itself.
I consider all foods eaten separately as snacks because they have the least amount of thermogenic burn. Think of the thermogenic burn as the level of fat burning potential you would like the body to operate at. Foods with a low thermogenic burn will burn fat at a slower rate than foods with a high thermogenic burn. A Meal is one that has the potential of turning your metabolism on. A Meal, then is the combination of a Protein + a health Fat + a serving of Carbohydrate. If you want to eat a meal that will MAXIMIZE the thermogenic burn, you will want to create a Meal consisting of a Protein, Complex carb and Fibrous carb. There will be specific times and reasons when you will have your Meal as a Protein and Fibrous carb only. Having a Meal as opposed to a Snack will maximize your fat burning efforts.
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How much food makes a meal?
Interesting question. I take all the food I have planned for my day, split it into six containers and count each container as a meal. If this is not your question, is there another way you can ask this to receive the information you are wanting? Another approach is to divide your total daily protein/carbohydrate/fat counts into 6 meal number portions before preparing your food. That way you are creating evenly distributed food counts for your meals.
My doctor says to eat smaller meals more often what does he/she mean?
The typical American diet consists of three squares a day. When your doctor says eat smaller meals more often, he/she is referring to breaking your daily caloric intake requirements into 5-6 smaller portions. I teach my clients to eat a meal every 2-3 hours with the first feeding within 30 minutes of getting out of bed.
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Sometimes I eat continuously over a 2-hour period rather than every 2-½ hours. Is that ok? Is there a better way to handle eating at my job?
My co-workers used to say that I continuously grazed rather than ate meals. That may be due to the fact they always saw me with food or water in my hand. It also may be that they only ate 3 squares a day (we won’t mention all the trips to the animal cracker jug or the fact that they never seem to drop any fat or inches). Constantly eating over a 2-hour period is fine if you eat all of the food planned and are conscious that you are feeding your body. Every once in a while, it is a great change up to eat a bit every 30 minutes or so. You may find that you need all the food at one time to replenish your glycogen stores. My suggestion for eating at work is to PLAN the times of day you are going to eat. Then Stop working, and eat your food. You will actually accomplish more work in a shorter time frame when your body has been fed. If you do not eat, you will throw your body into starvation mode which will kill your metabolic rate and begin the process of storing fat.
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What foods give you the biggest kick to achieve your food numbers? Meaning grains, yams etc. Conversely which are the cheap ones?
I can tell you have been working your program. To best answer this question, you need to first ask yourself if you are a BULK eater or not. If you like a lot of quantity, the response to the question is going to be different compared to a person who wants less quantity to eat. If you are looking for quantity look for the foods that have less carbs for more quantity. An example is Kashi cereal where you get 15 carbs per 1 cup of cereal. You could have 3 cups of Kashi for 45 carbs compared to 1 serving of rice (about ¾ cup) for approximately the same carb count. Other great bulk foods are shredded potatoes, fresh green veggies like string beans, romaine, spinach, kale, collard greens, etc. If you want less food to eat, select foods that have densely packed carbs such as yams, rice, quinoa, spelt, kamut, pasta, beans and surprisingly broccoli.
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I am a bulk eater, how do I select foods so I have plenty to eat? If you are looking for quantity look for the foods that have less carbs for more quantity. An example is Kashi cereal where you get 15 carbs per 1 cup of cereal. You could have 3 cups of Kashi for 45 carbs compared to 1 serving of rice (about ¾ cup) for approximately the same carb count. Other great bulk foods are shredded potatoes, fresh green veggies like string beans, romaine, spinach, kale, collard greens, etc.
Is there a particular time to take supplements? With a meal? before/after a meal? What about the timing of exercise??
All Nutritional products come with instructions. Without knowing specifically what you are referring to, my suggestion is to follow the instructions on the label. If you would like more information, please contact me. As far as the timing of exercise, what time of day are you committed to doing your exercise? If person X says the best time to exercise is o-dark thirty AM, and you are sleeping during that time, the chances of you getting out of bed consistently are pretty slim. Pick a time of day you are Willing AND Committed to exercising then stick to it.
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What is the best book source for food counts?
There are so many food count sources to choose from. I suggest looking for a book that provides the counts for protein, carbs, fats, fiber, sodium, and if you can find one, sugar. Here are two books that I use; the first one listed is my favorite and most used.
Book of FOOD COUNTS by Dr. Art Ulene ISBN 0-89529-667-5
The Complete Book of FOOD COUNTS by Corinne T. Netzer ISBN 0-440-22564-7
If you do not have a book handy, but are on your computer, visit the links page for a few data base sources. Use the same book/source, no matter which one you choose, throughout your program.
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What can I do with my food when everything starts to taste the same?
I may be reading too much into your question; however, what I am hearing you say is that you are eating the same foods day in and day out and BOREDOM has set in. Your taste buds have adjusted to your foods so everything tastes the same. My response to that is Variety, Variety, Variety… did I mention Variety. The body will adjust to anything in 3 days. I suggest eating 2-3 different sources of protein and 3-5 different sources of carbs each day. In addition, I highly recommend changing the combinations of foods daily. As an example, if I ate egg whites, chicken and tuna for my protein sources today, then tomorrow I might have egg whites, turkey and cod. Another example is if I chose kale, broccoli and squash today, maybe tomorrow I add rice to the mix, or exchange brown rice for a nice wild rice blend. I think you get the idea about Variety in your program. Another suggestion is to change the SIGHT and TEXTURE of your foods. It is such a small thing; however I swear my turkey tastes differently when I cut it into cubes rather than slicing it or eating it in a huge chunk. Some days I will slice my yams with my turkey strips, another day I might decide to mash the yams, cube the turkey and mix them both together. The more Variety, in any form, that I can give my eyes, mouth, etc, keeps my taste buds alive. I love flavor, so I add salt free spices to my foods to liven them up. Some of my favorites are listed in the Spices document found on the Nutrition page . Use your Imagination, be Creative, and add some Variety to your food.
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