The importance of nutrition and what motivates me to eat clean and stay in shape??

[MONIKAPL]

I believe that your diet is one of the most important factors of getting in shape. Often you will hear that nutrition is about 75-80% of what you look like, working out 10-15%, and genetics about 10%. This is so absolutely true. Diet is the KEY! There are people out there that eat junk all the time and look like they are in a great shape, but do not let them fool you. It will catch up with them sooner or later. Rather it will be gaining weight later in life or getting heart diseases, diabetes, high cholesterol, etc. it will catch up! You can do all the cardio you want or lift weights all day long but if you do not supply your body with the proper nutrition/clean diet, you are simply wasting your time.

Eating clean can seem very difficult for a lot of people; many do not understand what it takes to eat clean. They think it is some kind of mystery and it is too difficult to understand, so they just give up before they even start. Well, good news: eating clean is very simple. If you want to lose weight, get in shape, put on muscle, you have to eat at least 5-6 meals per day, and you should not go longer than 3 hrs without eating. If you only have 3 large meals per day, your metabolism slows down significantly, and you tend you eat more because you are so hungry by the time your next meal comes. Each meal should include source of lean protein (chicken, fish, tofu, steak, whey protein, etc.), veggies (broccoli, asparagus, spinach, green leafy lettuce, cauliflower, etc.) and complex carbohydrates (brown rice, sweet potatoes, oat meal, whole grain bread, etc). Good fats such as nuts, flaxseed, fish oil, olive oil should also be part of your daily intake. Good fats are vital for your cellular functions and development, such as preventing inflammation, lubricating your joints, proper insulin functioning in your body, and several other important roles. And last but not least, do not forget to drink lots of water. I drink about a gallon of water a day.

Eating clean is simple. Start today, read about it, educate yourself about things that you do not understand, do not just give up and say ?it is too hard?. It will be hard at the beginning to get used to eating clean, but when you start seeing the changes in your body, you will not want to go back to eating junk and feeling like a pile of junk.

Preparation is the key when it comes to eating clean. I always prepare my foods for the week on Sunday. I usually cook few chicken breasts, fresh veggies, rice or sweet potatoes and if I know it will be a very busy week for me, I even arrange individual meals in plastic containers so I can just grab them and throw them in my lunch box in the morning. I always have my lunch box somewhere with me, in my car or at work. We are inseparable. This way, I never have to worry about what I am going to eat or if I will have enough time to run home and eat. If you have it right there, you are less likely to grab junk when you are hungry.

Give up junk! You will not miss it after you see how your body feels when you feed it quality foods. When you get in a habit of eating clean and seeing the difference it does to your body, you will not want to cheat or eat junk. Stay away from people that push junk food on you. I know people that will offer me crap to eat, and when I politely refuse, they keep pushing it at me: ?Come one, one little piece of chocolate won?t kill you?. Why do people do that? They feel guilty about eating crappy & they want you to eat crappy too, so they do not feel as bad about it. Misery loves company. Do not let them make you feel guilty, be strong and say NO. When you are eating clean, explain to your family and friends how important this is to you and how much you would appreciate if they respected that and helped you out during your progress. You never know, you might inspire them too. Remember, you only have one body, take good care of it. Do this for YOU and not for others.

Patience is another important part when it comes to losing weight or getting in shape. Everyone?s body reacts differently to changes; for some, it will take longer to see the results, and for others not as long. Do not get discouraged when you do not see changes right away. Stick with it and the changes will come.


When rough times come and I get discouraged, I remember one of my favorite quotes by Lance Armstrong and I remind myself that nothing worthwhile comes easily. It takes hard work and dedication to get somewhere that is worth going:

"This is MY body. And I can do whatever I want to it. I can push it. Study it. Tweak it. Listen to it. Everybody wants to know what I'm on.
What am I on?
I'm on my bike busting my ass 3 hrs a day.
What are YOU on?" ? by Lance Armstrong.

[beginner84]

this is a nice post and i basically agree, still, a piece of chocolate here and there is nothing to worry about at all,
if you start to worry to much your just risk pushing youself in an eating disorder.
there actually is one where people will just eat "clear food" as we say on the boards and nothing else anymore at all.

[MONIKAPL]

Thank you. And YES, I absolutely agree. Allowing yourself a cheat meal is very important & sometimes the only thing that can get you through the hard times of training/dieting. Moderation is the KEY. Eating the whole cheescake pie probably wouldn't be a very smart thing if you are training for a show

Thanks for the feedback.

[chris07119]

respect

a couple weeks ago i started taking my nutrition seriously and it has made the world of difference.

[soxcc10]

I know people that will offer me crap to eat, and when I politely refuse, they keep pushing it at me: ?Come one, one little piece of chocolate won?t kill you?. Why do people do that?

This aggravates me so much. It really gets hard to say no, especially when people look at you funny, almost dissaprovingly. With the holiday season apporaching I do not look forward to going through this over and over. Trust me, I will not refuse all "dirty" foods, but only once in a while and during the holiday season you can find yourself at a party or event with food like this almost every day. I guess what I'm getting at is I wish people who were not into fitness/bodybuilding/moderation in eating even would read a post like this to understand where we come from.

Repped.

[BananaBoy]

Very good post (and even better body! ) and well deserved reps.

[borcic0]

Whats the hardest part about dieting is that people don't put in the effort. I remember when I started out and I would diet for maybe two days and I wouldn't see any results, than I'd just eat junk again. And i agree with the OP diet is HUGE for bodybuilding, I know tons of people who have a decent stomach and are just eating very clean, but dont expect to get far if your not exercising. What motivates me though is that everyday you look at people who are bigger/more jacked than you are and you say "man i wish i was like that" meanwhile it takes weeks/months to be in great shape. Be strict with yourself, or even try to start is better than sitting around and eating junk food. Moderation also is key for junk food. You cant go forever without eating junk, its in our human nature. You cant say that all the famous stars/bodybuilders never ate chocolate cake right?

[MONIKAPL]

Yes, I totally agree. Hopefully, some of these people will read this and realize that being a "crap pusher" is a miserable job & maybe one day they will quit and join our team

Thanks for reading. Keep up the good work and say NO to crap pushers

[beginner84]

Allowing yourself a cheat meal is very important & sometimes the only thing that can get you through the hard times of training/dieting. Moderation is the KEY. Eating the whole cheescake pie probably wouldn't be a very smart thing

i absolutely agree with you on this point and i really did feel bad as i devoured pizzas for the last two days in a row.

a couple of years ago i wouldnt have given a **** about it, but as i got way more serious about my nutrition i started to do so.
well, those pizzas will send me on the running tracks for some time

oh and your a sexy woman, respect !