These 6 rules will put you on the rigth path for good nutrition to support your new exercise routine

If you are deciding to start on journey to healthier, fitter you, here is something you have to consider: a good nutrition plan.
The thing is - you may drag yourself through your life feeling tired because you don’t eat good food, enough of it and often enough, but you won’t be able to add exercise on top of it!

Here’s the conversation I find myself having over and over with someone close to me:

Her: I am starting to go to the gym.
Me: Excellent! Are you making sure you eating a balanced diet?
Her: No, not yet.

In a little while:

Me: Are you still going to the gym?
Her: I have no energy to go to the gym. I am discouraged and don’t have motivation. Exercise is not for me…
Me: Are you making sure you eating a balanced diet?
Her: No.

People who start a physical program without a sound nutrition plan fail to see results, and a lot of people make a conclusion that exercise is not for them and lose motivation! That is unfortunate, but can be prevented.
Here’s what you need to do when you plan to start an exercise routine:

- Figure out how much you are planning to exercise
For example – if you are planning to run on a treadmill for 30 minutes 3 times a week, and do a toning class 2 a week, try to establish how many calories you burn while doing each type of exercise. Heart rate monitors could be helpful in that respect, or use online to do approximate calories.

- Add 1200 to the calories you burn during the exercise– that is the minimum you need to consume.
1200 calories is how much you body burns while maintaining all normal functions, so going under 1200 is no recommended under any circumstances! The resulting calories is you starting point. This is an approximation, so if you feel that it is too low, adjust accordingly by adding more, mostly in form of protein.

- If you are just starting exercising after years of sedentary life, chances are you won’t be able to sustain high intensity workouts at first. As you get stronger and increase intensity of your workouts (and correspondingly, calories burned) you need to retest yourself and increase the calories you consume in order to sustain the new levels of physical activity. Not eating enough while you metabolism is revving up may lead to food cravings and overeating.

- Make sure you eating quality food. Eating Twinkies won’t nurture you body and won’t get you the results you want. Clean diet is the way to go: incorporate lean meats, Omega-3 rich fish, whole grain cereals, breads and pasta; fresh vegetable and fruits.

- Avoid food that contain artificial additives, preservative, refined flour, sugar and high fructose corn syrup. These slow down metabolism and prevent weight loss.

- Drink lots of water, and avoid sugary drinks. Even sports drinks can be high in sugar, so check labels carefully!

Good nutrition and good exercise go hand in hand. By consistently improving both, you will be able to achieve the best shape of your life!