- 11th July 2017
- By Matthew Fever
Do you have any rules in your house when it comes to food? If you find eating a healthy diet difficult or you are battling to manage your weight you may want to consider setting some food boundaries or house rules.
It’s quite common to occasionally find yourself out of control with food, but by setting some simple and realistic boundaries you can ensure you establish a balanced diet that contains a variety of all foods.
I love food! All types of food. Anyone that knows me will tell you – I love to eat! It’s for this reason that I aim to be as practical as possible with the advice that I provide to my clients. I have seen many people that work to be so healthy that they actually become unhealthy because they develop an unhealthy relationship with food.
I believe very much in the power of daily/weekly routines. I like to form habits that make living a healthy life simple. By having these routines in place I can ensure that I make good food choices and that being healthy isn’t an effort, it’s just what I do.
Are you suffering from decision making fatigue?
American Psychologist Roy Baumeister suggests that we all have a limited amount of will power that can be expend throughout the day. Our mental energy is gradually depleted with every decision we have to make however big or small.
Take a moment to think about it, from the moment you wake up you have to decide what to eat for breakfast, what to wear, how to organise your day etc. By the end of the day your will power will be running low resulting in an increased likelihood of you making poor decisions. You will no doubt find yourself taking the path of least resistance – this is the frozen pizza that only takes 10 minutes in the oven after a busy day at work or the bar of Dairy Milk that you really didn’t want to eat but somehow you find yourself not really caring anymore.
Do you leave your workout to the end of the day?
This can potentially be a problem because it’s yet another decision made when you are tired, it’s easy to talk yourself out of it. Shall I go to the gym or catch up on housework and the latest box set? You’ll quite possibly find yourself taking the easy option.
It’s therefore essential to learn how to manage your mental energy more effectively throughout the day and this can be made easier by setting some simple rules and establishing a daily routine. This way you will no longer have to think about it, it’s set to autopilot and all you have to do is execute your plan.
The less you have to think about doing something the more you will actually do it, check out more practical tips on planning in one of my previous posts http://mattfever.com/30-day-weight-loss-challenge/
Set yourself up for success with some simple rules – you will need to find what works for you but I thought I would share mine.
- Rule 1: Eat every two hours
For me, keeping my body fuelled is essential for my job and my training. Eating every couple of hours ensures that I have a constant supply of energy throughout the day and it keeps my metabolism high. It may only be something small like a handful of nuts or a piece of fruit between appointments, but it bridges the gap between meals and it means that I don’t get so hungry that I make poor food choices. If you get to the point where you are really hungry, it’s too late and usually you will find yourself eating whatever you can get your hands on. Eat little and often.
- Rule 2: Eat protein with every meal
Good quality sources of protein in your diet are essential for growth and repair. My protein requirements are high due to my training schedule. I prefer to eat real food rather than relying on supplements so my daily meals look something like this.
Breakfast – Omelette (3-4 eggs)
Lunch: Grilled chicken breast served with mixed salad
Dinner: Fresh fish served with vegetables
By taking the time to eat proper meals I find there is less temptation to go off track.
- Rule 3: Eat vegetables 3 times per day
It is widely accepted that the bulk of the human diet should be plant based. That’s why I eat as many different vegetables each week as I can. When shopping at the supermarket I find myself spending most of the time in the fruit and vegetable aisles. Each week I look for interesting ways to put these ingredients together. As I have said in previous posts, fit people cook. I aim for one new recipe each week to keep my diet varied and exciting.
So to use the above as an example, the omelette I cook for breakfast is packed with spinach, tomatoes, peppers and onions. My lunch time salad is a combiantion of 6-7 different raw vegetables all fresh and carefully seasoned and the evening meal is ususally cooked vegetables such as kale, carrots, broccoli etc.
Like your parents used to say – eat your greens!
- Rule 4: The 5/7 Rule
It’s what you eat most of the time that’s important, not some of the time. Like most people, I love to eat ice cream, chocolate, and pizza but I limit this type of food to the weekend. Some might say this is binge eating, I guess you could say ‘yes’, but for me there is only so much of this type of food that I can eat. By limiting it to just two days, it keeps consumption to a minimum and it means I’m not completely deprived of these foods. Staying disciplined throughout the week ensures I enjoy the weekend treats that little bit more. Bodybuilders call this ‘cheat days’ but for me it’s just about balance and enjoying a healthy life with my family. My weekly shop is Mon-Fri, you can only eat what you buy so not having it in the house during the week works well. The Fever’s have been known to eat their way through a bag or two of Twirl Bites without too much trouble!
If you are really looking to reduce your weight you may even have to be careful with this to avoid a blow out at the weekend. It really all depends on circumstances.
- Rule 5; Drink a minimum of 3 litres of water per day
I have a litre bottle with me at work and I aim to get through at least two of these during a working day. This in addition to a tall glass in the morning and one with dinner keeps me hydrated and is great for the skin. Active people need to drink more to replace fluid lost when sweating.
Of course life is for living! Breaking the rules occasionally is ok. We tend to celebrate life and special occasions with food, but if you stop to take a look you’ll find that almost every other week there will be something that challenges your ability to eat healthy. A birthday, a wedding, a night out, cakes at work because someone is leaving or got promoted – the challenges are all around us.
Find your own daily routine and rules to live by, be disciplined and recognise the difference between being flexible and just being slack.
If you feel you could use a little support or some additional weight management advice, please get in touch.