Hi Guys & Girls,
I get asked a lot about my nutrition so I thought I would dedicate
this post to it.
No matter what your goals are, nutrition is key. I love the saying:
‘You are what you eat'
It is absolutely true.
Every cell in your body is made from the food that you put into it. If you want to change that body, develop it,
tweak it, improve it. Then you have to
look at the building blocks that you are giving it.
Now the first thing I want to make clear is that nutrition
is very subjective, an ‘ideal’ nutritional intake will vary, often quite
considerably, from person to person.
There are factors such as:
What are your goals? – Losing fat? Adding bulk? Strength?
Endurance? General Health?
What is your level of activity? – Do you exercise regularly? Is your job active?
Personal Preference – What foods do you like? Do you have
allergies?
What kind of budget do you have?
Do you access to a proper kitchen to regularly prepare
meals?
Do you know how to cook?
Are you willing to learn?
Each of these factors is going to have an effect on both;
what your ‘ideal’ nutritional intake should be and what it is.
That said, I generally work from a few nutritional ‘Rules’,
things that I think are good for everyone’s health and goals regardless of
varying factors.
1 – A regular intake of high quality protein from a variety
of sources
Quality sources
include: Lean meats, Poultry, Eggs, Fish, Nuts, Seeds & Dairy
It is also
possible to obtain complete proteins by combining various veg,
grains & pulses.
The body can
only absorb a set amount of protein in one go so it is best to have it in at
regular intervals throughout the
day.
Now, the amount of protein each person needs
will vary and there are a myriad of recommendations. I don’t want to get into
that debate here (but I’m happy to discuss it in the comments box below).
2 – A minimum of 5 portions of Fruit and Veg per day (with
the emphasis on Vegetables)
This is where
you should get most of your vitamins and minerals, they are essential if you
want to digest and absorb all your
other food effectively.
Without these
the body simply can’t take in all the other great things you are putting into
it.
Vegetables are
generally preferable to fruit as they are normally less sugary.
Again variety is
desirable, with dark green vegetables being King (Spinach, Broccoli, Kale).
A portion is roughly a handful.
3 – Keep well hydrated (plenty of water)
Without water your body slows down, works
less efficiently and eventually stops.
Proper hydration
improves concentration, athletic performance,
aids fat loss, recovery and
muscle development.
Like protein, your body can only absorb so much at a time so sip regularly
throughout the day.
The best way to
check your hydration level is to look at your Urine, it should be clear or
light yellow.
Water is best,
avoid sugary drinks (including fruit juices), caffeine and alcohol.
4 – You need to eat Fat.
Your body needs
fat just as much as any other nutrient.
A low fat diet
will not necessarily help you lose fat and a zero fat diet will kill you!
Again, aim for
good quality sources, taken regularly and in portions appropriate to you & your goals.
Quality sources
include: Good cuts of Red meat, Olive (oil), Flax seed, Oily fish (fish oils),
Avocados, Butter from organic
grass-fed cows, Coconut oil, Nuts & Seeds, Organic Eggs, Greek yogurt (full
fat varieties), Acai. There are more
but these are some of the most well known and easily available.
5 - Always try and buy food in its purest form
Processed food,
ready meals and fast food are never going to be as good for you as a home
cooked meal made from pure, whole
foods. Now obviously this will depend on
how much time you have to prepare food, your budget and your
ability to prepare that food but with the right amount of planning and a few
basic skills you can easily make some
fantastic and nutritionally sound meals.
Outside of the nutritional ‘Rules’ outlined above the rest
of what I’m going to run through are guidelines, and as such will vary quite
substantially between individuals. For
your interest I will let you know what I personally aim for with each guideline
but keep in mind that this is just for me, with my goals (currently, trying to
build and maintaining strength while staying as lean as possible). There are a huge number of factors that
contribute to my personal nutritional intake, these will vary over time as my
goals, body and knowledge change and progress.
The most important thing is to get to know your own body,
know what works for you.
But remember, if you aren’t seeing the changes you want,
then doing what you are currently doing isn’t working.
That doesn't mean that you scrap everything and adopt a
totally new approach (I see way to many people on ridiculous, fad diets due to
this thought process), just experiment with varying one or two things at a time
and see what happens.
Guidelines:
1 - Frozen Vegetables are your friend
Easy to store,
prepare and cook. You can keep them for
ages without them going off and they often have more of their
nutritional value intact than when you buy ‘fresh’ veg which has been shipped
half way around the world and sprayed
with preservatives to keep it looking nice.
If you are buying fresh, try and get locally sourced products
(less travel time and therefore less deterioration).
2 – Eat quality Carbohydrates in portions suitable for your
goals.
Always try and
have complex carbs over simple (sugary) ones.
Great sources
include: Sweet potatoes, Oats, Brown rice, Quinoa, Pulses (beans/lentils) &
Wholemeal pasta. I try to limit
my intake of wheat in favour of the other options listed above.
The amount of
carbs you have will vary massively depending on your goals and body type, if
you are unsure as to what amount
you need then start with a low amount and increase if you start to notice that
you are experiencing
lethargy, fatigue and/or delayed recovery from exercise.
You will also
need different amounts of carbs at different times of the day depending on your
activity levels.
3 - Supplements are supplements, not replacements.
Your primary
source of nutrients should always be actual, whole foods. Supplements are there to fill in little gaps in your
diet, not provide the building blocks.
Also, be wary of claims (especially from sports
supplements), many are unsubstantiated.
Personally I
take: Cod liver oil capsules, A simple
Multi-vitamin tablet, Glucosamine Sulphate (with added Chondroitin
& MSM), Whey Protein shakes after exercise and sometimes Creatine.
4 – Eat small, regular meals.
There is a lot
of evidence to suggest that small, regular meals throughout the day help to
raise metabolism, burn fat and prevent
unhealthy snacking or binge eating. I have
found this to be true for myself.
I aim to eat
something roughly every 3 hours while I am awake. Generally I opt for a good source of protein, at least one
portion of fruit or veg, a small amount of quality fats and possibly some
complex carbohydrates.
I could probably go on and on with guidelines and tips but I
won’t. If you have any specific
questions then just drop a comment in the box.
Below is an example of an average day of meals for me.
I can’t stress enough that I am including this to show what
all the above ‘Rules’ and guidelines look like when put into practice.
This is not a perfect day of eating and it
shouldn’t be used as the basis for everyone.
It is specific to my diet, for my body and my goals at this particular
juncture in my life.
If you find some
bits useful, great, but it shouldn’t stand as the basis for your entire diet.
Meal 1 (Breakfast) – Porridge. Made with: About 80-100g of whole oats, and
semi-skimmed milk.
A portion of
fruit (usually blueberries – fresh or frozen)
A handful of
nuts (brazils
and hazelnuts) or 1-2 tablespoons of peanut better
1 teaspoon or
ground flaxseed (or oil)
Meal 2 (Snack) – Chicken wrap. 90-100g of chicken meat in a wholemeal or mixed grain wrap.
With half a large avocado, chopped and a drizzle of olive oil.
Meal 3 (Lunch) – A couple of smoked mackerel fillets with an
medium sized, oven (or microwave)
cooked sweet potato (skin on) and a portion of Spinach, about 100g.
Meal 4 (Post-workout shake) – 1 Banana
1 Scoop of chocolate Whey protein powder mixed with water or milk
If possible I blend the above with 1 sachet of frozen Acai
puree,
1 teaspoon of Flaxseed oil and 50-100g of Waxy maise starch
(and maybe a squeeze of
honey)
Meal 5 (Dinner) – Beef stir fry. 90-120g of quality beef steak, 100g of
Broccoli,
1 chopped red pepper, Low sugar/salt sauce or spices for taste.
Served with rice (ideally brown but I have a
weakness for white rice!)
Meal 6 (Snack) – If I am hungry between dinner and going to
bed.
200-300g Greek Yogurt + 1 teaspoon ground flaxseed & possibly a
small apple.
Also during the course of the day I will generally drink 1-2
cups of Green Tea and enough water to keep my urine clear or light yellow.
Apologises for the long post. The subject of nutrition is massive and I
still feel that there is a lot I have left out but hopefully this will serve as
a starting point for thought, discussion and change.
If you have any questions or comments then please write them
below and I will answer.
Train hard, live happy
Bradbury
MMA is considered the world's fastest growing sport and while other, smaller organisations, have hosted female bouts, until last night the UFC never had and I have to admit that until then I had never watched one.
This wasn't presented as a cute exhibition, but a serious competition and I hope that it is the start of many more such changes in sport in general. In my opinion female divisions being included in the UFC and MMA in general, is long overdue.
