I get some great questions and great feedback in my "Tip of The Day" newsletter, and some of the emails that I respond to end up being tips themselves! In this post, I was asked by a 44 year old, physically active man, what nutrition advice I had. This is very general advice, and what I did was just try to give him one thing to focus on, one big idea. In this Tip Of The Day series we focus a lot on that, and we have some opinions on the subject.
We tend to really be open minded, but the #1 thing to communicate on the nutrition front is that you have to focus on greens each day- spinach, broccoli, brussels sprouts. And you have to eat this stuff in quantity. Most guys (the ones I know) have no problem drinking a ton of beer, eating a huge steak- so they should also have no problem eating a ton of greens.
This can also be easy and cheap. For example- go to the grocery store, buy a one pound bag of frozen spinach. $1.75 approx. Buy 4. Throw them in the freezer. At dinner time fire up a frying pan, sautee them in 5 minutes. Flavor it- maybe with some garlic sauteed in a couple spoonfuls of olive oil. Make it easy, but just do it.
What if you are out at a restaurant? Lets take a real world example- you go to PF Changs at the local mall or some other restaurant. The first thing you do is order a Large side of spinach. It is $5. $3 for the small. Add a side of brown rice and you basically have a meal. Another way to get the greens in is to always order a salad and get in the habit of buying salad bags.
The idea is you start to focus on making this a habit of yours. Black beans are also a great source of protein- they are cheap and easy to make. Get in the habit of buying them in cans- usually less than buck even for the organic ones at Whole Foods. If you do physical work, you probably get what I call "insane man hunger", and maybe after a tough day you grab some beers, some taco bell, Wendy's etc. Go easy on it, but know even here you have options to Always order a salad, and make sure you get your daily greens in.
Nutrition overall is complex and there is much that the experts don't know. But one idea that is rock solid is the idea of "nutrient density" which loosely translated means a PILE of fruits and veggies each day. Study after study shows how fruits and vegetables are very good for you. Again, not to be patronizing, but if you are a guy you know how to go overboard on stuff. Make that work for you.
Go overboard on the fruits and veggies and salads. The health implications are also huge. As you begin to consume massive amounts of greens, you health will likely improve, your energy will likely improve, even your mood perhaps!"
For other guys reading this and who have the same questions, approaches we see working include The Fat Smash Diet, Eat To Live and Skinny Bitch. Basically every new diet approach out there focuses on fruits and vegetables heavily. But the real question is not what to do, it is how!!
And if you find this post helpful in some way, you can have more tips sent to you each day with our "Tip Of The Day" newsletter
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