Importance of a Fitness Diet
No matter how intense your fitness training is, if your diet is not in check, the final fitness results may fall short of expectations. To achieve an ideal body shape, it is crucial to ensure that calorie intake is less than calorie consumption. Thus, a proper fitness diet plays a vital role. So, what exactly should one eat for a fitness – oriented diet? Let’s explore the key points.
Food Diversity
Try to make sure that each meal contains staple foods, protein, lipids, and vegetables/fruits. Breakfast should be rich, with protein, carbohydrates, vegetables, and fruits all included. For lunch, consume a moderate amount of protein, choose coarse grains as the main food, and include plenty of vegetables/fruits. Dinner should consist of simple and easily – digestible protein along with a moderate amount of vegetables/fruits.
Small and Frequent Meals for Balanced Calorie Distribution
Eating small and frequent meals can effectively prevent excessive calorie intake due to hunger. It can maintain a long – lasting sense of fullness and keep the body’s energy stable and consumed. Usually, small and frequent meals mean eating every three hours, resulting in a total of six meals a day: three main meals plus three additional meals. For example, if the daily calorie consumption is calculated as 2000 calories. A fat – loss bodybuilder who consumes 1600 calories a day is advised to have 500 calories for breakfast, 400 calories for lunch, 400 calories for dinner, and 100 calories for each of the three extra meals. Muscle gainers, who consume 2400 calories a day, are recommended to have 600 calories for each of the three main meals and 200 calories for each of the three additional meals. These data are for reference only, and you should develop a plan according to your own situation.
Cooking Methods: Less Oil, Less Salt, Less Sugar
When cooking food, choose less – fried and more steamed light methods. Vegetables can be mainly served cold or as salads. If steamed meat seems tasteless, appropriate seasonings can be added, such as salt, black pepper, chili powder, lemon juice, and other spices. Many people find fitness meals unappetizing because they don’t use seasonings well. Here, “less” doesn’t mean complete elimination. As long as it’s in moderation, it won’t have a negative impact on fitness. For instance, ground black pepper not only seasons but also has a unique flavor; lemon juice can effectively remove odors; and adding spices like rosemary or thyme to marinated meat can create a unique taste.
Ingredient Selection
For quality carbohydrates, options include brown rice, oats, whole – wheat bread, whole – wheat pasta/macaroni, corn, potatoes, purple sweet potatoes, beans, millet, yams, etc. High – quality proteins are chicken breast, eggs (boiled), fish (salmon, cod, tuna), shrimp, beef, shellfish, milk, yogurt, etc. High – quality lipids can be found in vegetable oil (olive oil, corn oil, etc.), flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, soybeans, almonds, walnuts, cashews, pistachios, etc. Vegetables like broccoli, celery, asparagus, lettuce, tomatoes, spinach, carrots/white radish, kelp, cauliflower, baby greens, lettuce, mushrooms, etc. are great choices. And for fruits, there are dragon fruit, cherry, banana, apple, blueberry, kiwi, grapefruit, pear, avocado, etc.
