5 Practical Nutrition Tips to Make Dieting Easier
Embarking on a fitness journey is the best decision you’ll ever make, but it isn't just about hitting the gym or sticking to a workout routine. Proper nutrition is crucial in supporting and enhancing your efforts, but like most people, you’ve probably tried a lot of different ways and none of them seemed to work. Well, here are some practical nutrition tips that can make the whole process a lot easier.
Think Protein First
When you’re making a meal think about where the protein source is coming from and then build your meal around it, whether that’s meat, fish, dairy, beans or tofu. By putting protein first you’re ensuring that you’re getting an adequate serving of protein with every meal. Why is this important? Protein will keep you fuller for longer which helps massively when dieting but here’s an even better reason; Protein has the highest Thermic Effect Of Feeding (TEF) which is the amount of calories used to digest a macronutrient. So if you’re consuming 700 calories of protein per day, 1/3 of these calories are used in digestion, making your calorie deficit even bigger and fat loss easier.
2. Plan & Prep
Planning meals and snacks ensures that you have nutritious options readily available, however, this doesn’t have to mean spending 4 hours on a Sunday preparing all your meals for the week. It could be as easy as making a double portion of dinner and taking that to work with you or I’ll sometimes have clients make 4 portions of every meal for a week, eat 1 and then freeze the other 3 and then by the end of a week they have 21 meals ready and prepared for them.
3. Processed Foods
You’ll hear a lot of people demonise processed foods and you shouldn’t ever eat them, I don't see it this way, don’t get me wrong they should be limited and the majority of our food should come from whole nutrient-dense foods however, including your favourite foods into your day is a fantastic way of satisfying the craving/need. Depriving someone of chocolate or jelly sweets is a one-way ticket to an eventual binge. Including these foods in moderation will mean you can stick to your diet longer and you might just enjoy the process for a change.
4. Leave Snacks To The End of Day
Think about when you typically crave chocolate or crisps, it’s usually at the end of the day, isn’t it? Let’s assume that you’ve got 2000 calories per day and you’ve had a 450-calorie breakfast, 500-calorie lunch and a 650-calorie dinner and these meals consisted of lean sources of protein, fat and carbohydrates mainly coming from whole nutrient-dense sources and your plate was loaded with veg. What’s the harm in using the remaining 400 calories on snacks you enjoy? By leaving snacks until the end of the day you can have them when you get the most enjoyment from them and trust me, it makes the whole process far easier to stick to.
5. Prioritise Sleep
Sleep isn’t just important for recovery but it can literally be the secret to diet success, have you ever tried going to a supermarket tired? Without even thinking you’ll have your trolley full of cakes and bad decisions. It’s because when we’re tired we seek comfort in whatever form we can get it, so getting to bed a bit earlier or giving up an hour of zombie scrolling will help you be far more consistent with your diet.
Conclusion
Consistency is the key to any diet, by applying some of these practical tips you’ll find the process much easier to remain consistent and without feeling completely deprived of all enjoyment when it comes to food.
If you’re feeling a bit stuck and don’t know where to start get in touch and book your free consultation today. I’ve helped 100’s people achieve dieting success using strategies like these.