How to Fix the Standard American Diet
Improve your body composition
Increase your energy levels
Reduce the risk of chronic disease
In this article, we provide simple dietary changes that will radically enhance the quality of your life.
The Current Situation
Breakfast?
Let me know if this sounds familiar.
Your alarm goes off at 6 a.m. but you hit the snooze button repeatedly, you're still tired.
At 6:30 you muster up the willpower to crawl out of bed and head into the kitchen to start the coffee.
Now it's time to shower, shave, pick out your outfit, do your hair, and put on makeup.
The clock now reads 7:15, you have a half-hour commute and are supposed to be in the office by 8.
There's no time for breakfast, so you grab your cup of coffee and head out the door. Besides, you're not even hungry.
You arrive at the office and get started on your work, but before you know it it's lunchtime and you haven't eaten a thing.
Lunch - I'll grab something quick
You have just enough time to go out and grab something quick before that 1 o'clock meeting.
You choose between fast food, a sandwich shop, or a pizza place, those should be quick right?
You pull up to the restaurant and it seems like everyone else had the same idea. The line is longer than you thought, so you grab your food and race back to the office.
There's no time to eat before the meeting, so you'll just have to eat after.
During the meeting, you notice that you're feeling pretty tired, it's difficult to stay awake let alone concentrate on what's being said.
By the time the meeting ends, it's after 2 p.m. and you're finally able to head back to your desk to eat your first meal of the day.
You rush to wolf down the now-cold food so you can finish your work and actually leave on time.
Dinner - I'm starving
You leave the office just after 5 p.m.
You were supposed to hit the gym after work, but you just don't have the energy today, maybe tomorrow.
When you walk in the door you realize how hungry you are. You head to the pantry and reach for some easy calories, out come the cookies and chips.
You sit down on the couch to snack while watching your favorite Netflix show.
It's now around 7 p.m. and you head to the fridge, only to realize there's nothing in there to make a meal.
You decide to order in instead of cooking. You decide on your favorite place and everything is so good there that you decide to order a few things off the menu.
By the time it's delivered, it's around 8 p.m. and you're starving. You eat everything you ordered, consuming the majority of your daily calories right before bed. Just when you need them the most!
You're tired and want to get into bed, but you just ate. So, you watch a few more shows to let your food digest.
It's now almost 11 p.m. and you finally head to bed, ready to do it all again tomorrow.
I know that this example may sound extreme. However, for many individuals, I think this scenario happens more often than we want to admit.
I also know that for anyone with kids, the day described above would be a dream scenario. What about waking up even earlier to make lunch for the kids, dropping them off at school, picking them up for sports practice, and still coordinating dinner?
How are we supposed to make it all work?
The Problems
Our lives are all extremely busy and more times than not, it's our health and well-being that suffer the consequences.
We wake up tired, feeling rushed, and often don't have time to make breakfast.
Besides, many of us aren't even hungry in the morning. This is likely because our dinner was our largest meal of the day, which we ate right before bed.
We have low energy and trouble focusing at work because we haven't provided our body with the calories it needs.
We don't have energy for the gym, so we move less. We may gain weight and our cardiovascular health suffers.
We're starving by the time we get home because we haven't eaten all day, so we snack on calorie-dense, not nutrient-dense foods.
We then eat our largest meal of the day right before bed which will impact the quality of our sleep. It may take us longer to fall asleep and prevent us from achieving a deeper level of sleep.
This cycle continues and continues and is a major reason why we wake up lethargic day after day.
The Solutions
After working with dozens of nutrition clients, I have found the best way to enhance their lives and help them achieve their health and fitness goals is to flip this modern dietary structure completely on its head.
Here are the rules for success:
Consume 25 grams of protein within 1 hour of waking up and spread your protein consumption fairly evenly throughout the day.
Breakfast needs to be a priority and should be the largest meal of the day.
If you think about this logically, doesn't it make sense that you would consume the majority of calories early in the day, so you actually have energy throughout your day?
Lunch should be the second-largest meal of the day, should also be protein-rich, and contain micronutrient-rich foods such as whole grains, fruits, and/or vegetables.
This will give you the energy you need to stay focused at work and improve your chances of going to the gym.
Dinner should be the smallest meal of the day.
You don't need a ton of energy right before bed, this will also improve the quality of your sleep.
Workout at least 3-4 times per week
This can be anything from walking around your neighborhood to strength training at a gym. Movement is important to improve cardiovascular health, build lean muscle mass, and burn calories.
Example 2000-calorie diet:
Morning (40% daily calories)
7 a.m. - Wake up Protein Shake ~ 300 calories (25 g Protein, 10 g Carbs, 5-10 g Fat)
1 scoop protein powder, 1/2 cup berries, 2 tbsp. chia/flax seeds
9 a.m. - Breakfast ~ 550 calories (30 g Protein, 70 g Carbs, 20 g Fat)
2 hardboiled eggs, 1 cup of old-fashioned oats, 1/2 cup berries, 2 tbsp. chia/flax seeds
Afternoon (30% daily calories)
12 p.m. - Lunch ~ 450 calories (30 g Protein, 50 g Carbs, 15 g Fat)
Quinoa & Black Bean Bowl - 1/2 cup black beans, 1/2 cup quinoa, 1/2 avocado, 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
Salmon & Sweet Potato Bowl - 4 oz. grilled salmon, 1 large sweet potato, 1/2 cup quinoa, 1 cup spinach
Snack (10% daily calories)
3 p.m. - Snack ~ 200 calories (micronutrient-rich)
Veggie Tupperware container - baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, bell pepper strips, broccoli, etc. with 1/2 cup guacamole, hummus or 2 tbsp. peanut butter
Dinner (20% daily calories)
7 p.m. - Dinner ~ 350 calories (30 g Protein, 30 g Carbs, 15 g Fat)
Grilled Chicken Breast & Roasted Veggies - 6 oz. grilled chicken breast, 2 cups of vegetable medley of sweet potato, zucchini, bell peppers and onions
Lentil Pasta with Meat Sauce - 3/4 cup cooked lentil pasta, 4 oz. lean ground turkey, 1 cup tomato sauce, 1 cup spinach
Greek Salad with Chicken - 6 oz. chicken, 2 cups mixed salad greens, 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, 1/8 cup sliced cucumbers, 1/8 cup feta cheese crumbles, dressing of olive oil and lemon juice
Challenge
I challenge anyone reading this to adopt this style of eating for 1 month to see how you will feel. Yes, this does require some upfront work but you can do it in a way that will fit your lifestyle.
If you lead a busy lifestyle you will need to have your breakfast ready to go in the morning or keep supplies at the office. Easy options to consider include, hard-boiled eggs, Greek yogurt or Cottage cheese, fruits like apples, bananas, and oranges, nuts and seeds, yogurt, and protein powder.
You should also have your lunch packed and ready to go the night before. The best way to do this is to make enough extra dinner so that it becomes tomorrow's lunch.
I hope you've found this article helpful. If you would like additional information about what it might look like to work with a nutrition coach, then you can schedule a free consultation with me here.
Also, if you would like protein powder supplement recommendations, I would consider:
Momentous' selection of protein powders (Use code NASTASI15 for a 15% discount)
Live OWYN ready-to-drink shakes (Use code N2NUTRITION20 for a 20% discount)
