Nutrition 

Nutrition is the key element of any fitness program. In order to achieve long term life time results you need to perhaps make some permanent changes in your diet and approach to food. You have to devise a plan and develop a strategy, because without a structured approach your goal is no more but just a phantasy. Long term success is all about small attainable and sustainable changes.

As with everything in life the right balance is the most important. You need to develop a well balanced nutritional plan that is tailored to your life style, specific body type (gender, weight, height, etc.), your fitness goals and food preferences. It is not about completely depriving yourself of eating certain things, maybe things you love. It is more about creating a proper caloric balance throughout the day. Matthew (2019) proposes a strategy called flexible dieting and identifies four crucial elements necessary for success:

      1. How much you eat is more important than what you eat.

      2. You should eat foods that you like.

      3 The majority of your calories should be nutritious.

      4. You should eat on a schedule that works for you (Matthew, 2019).

Similarly, Eric Helms (2018) defines 5 clear steps that needs to be followed in order to design an effective and nutritious eating plan:

1. Calories (in order to lose, maintain or gain weight you need to reach a specific caloric balance, the number of calories you need will be estimated accordingly to your current and target body weight, your activity level and age).
2. Macronutrients (you need to eat a specific amount of protein, carbohydrates and fats, depending on your fitness and health goals).
3. Micronutrients (it is important to eat nourishing meals that provide all range of vitamins and minerals in order to avoid any dangerous micronutrients deficiencies that my lead to severe health problems and may cause lack of energy that will defeat your purpose).
4. Meal timing (it is important to eat regular meals, however the timing and frequency should be adjusted to your specific life style and health goals, it is of utmost importance to stay within your specific daily calorie range, the timing is secondary).
5. Supplements (all types of supplements should be used cautiously).

Together we can design a specific diet/meal strategy accustomed to your life style, fitness goals and eating preferences. We can go over those 5 specific steps together, so that you know exactly what you need to do. Always remember, eating is a vital element of your health and fitness program.

Literature

1. Matthews, Michael. Thinner Leaner Stronger: The Simple Science of Building the Ultimate Female Body: oculus, 2018.
2. Helms, Eric. The Muscle & Strength Pyramid: Nutrition. Eric Helms, 2018.
3. Rosenthal, Joshua. Integrative Nutrition A Whole-Life Approach to Health and Happiness: Integrative Nutrition LLC, 2019.