Summer Ready: Nutrition Kickoff!

Fatty Fatty, two by four, couldn't fit through the bathroom door! No more!

With the weather flirting with gorgeous, and even the rain being less chilly, I'm starting to feel the last minute crunch to be ready for summer. Aren't you?

Some call Memorial Day the unofficial start of summer, but I've got a far less arbitrary day: My birthday! Which, ahem, is on memorial day weekend this year...

For what its worth, last year I went out and decided I wanted a new career path for my birthday. And you know what? I got it!

That, at the time, seemed daunting and improbably difficult. A move to the ashram, the constant hustle required to get all those teaching gigs... but, time and effort bore fruit. Success, as they say, breeds success. This year I'm interested in something else: my dream body. 

I rededicated myself to lifting at the start of the new year, and also cut out the majority of the hooch. Now its crunch time. If I'm going to slut it all over town with my guns and abs out, I've got to really kick it up a notch. 

Here's how its all going to go down, and here's how you can play along:

If you want to play along, make sure you have a kitchen scale. Old school or digital, it doesn't matter. Just get one. We're going to ignore nutrition info (mostly) and just stick with physical weights. It makes keeping tabs on what you're eating a ton easier, and is a heckuva lot more reliable than cups and tablespoons (can you eyeball a cup of carrots?).

This is what I'll be eating. I'm 195lbs and 6'3, so remember you may need to modify this a bit. I've got a resting metabolic rate of about 2500, so I have to eat enough not to hit starvation mode, but also not so much that I'm plateauing. This can be easily modified, but I'd only take it smaller, not bigger.

For nutrition, daily:

• 500 grams veggies
  
• 310 grams fruit
  
• 310 grams carbies (potato, bread, rice)
  
• 200 grams meat (fish and shrimp only)
  
• 2 eggs (no yolk!)
  

In order to keep tabs, go get a cheap little notebook and divide the page into 6 columns.  

Veggies	Fruit	Carbies	Meat	Shake	Eggs
100	45	75	100	1	1
220	24	156	75	1	1

Keep it handy in the kitchen, and start filling it in! Focus on all the stuff you can eat!  Just remember that this is all pre-cooked. 

• I'm keeping dairy to a minimum, occasionally having fage 0% yogurt or skyr to up my protein and to dress up a salad or fruit.  Pretty much one serving of dairy a day.
  
• Vinegars, oils, sugar, and condiments are used with discretion (keeping sugar to an absolute minimum), but not eschewed entirely.
  
• If you are going to lift, feel free to work a protein shake (or two!) into the diet. This will allow for an extra banana or apple a day not to be included in the main daily totals.

My daily caloric intake should be right around 1600-1800. Opt for whole grains over potatoes or rice (opt for brown). Opt for mashed cauliflower or pimped out brussel sprouts instead of a potato. Eating in this manner will help keep your blood sugar from spiking, crucially getting rid of the mid-day sleepies and famines.

Speaking of famines, try to eat smaller meals more frequently. 150 grams of leafy greens with some homemade dressing goes a long way. Wait a bit. Eat half an apple, wait a bit. If the hunger doesn't subside, then eat the other half. 

Keep good food on you at all times! Weigh it before you leave the house, and write it down. Expect to finish all your yummy food, after all, its been accounted for!

Limit your bananas. They spike blood sugar a bit. 

If you're stuck going out to eat, opt for Asian. Nigri sushi is an excellent way to kind of eye-ball your nutrition. Maki sushi isn't bad either, but be mindful that the rice is hard to gauge. Seafood skewers and salads at a Mediterranean joint can be very helpful, too!

If you find that you're getting hungry, and I sure did at first, make some peppermint tea. What a godsend! It aids in digestion (hurray!) and has that extra menthol-y kick which helps to make it seem quite rich. Add in some agave, stevia or splenda to make it nice and sweet.

Lastly, keep tabs on *everything*. Don't be afraid of a little olive oil or toasted sesame seed oil, either. A serving or two of nuts a day is fine as well. There are almost no fat grams coming in as is, so there is a little wiggle room for these guys. 

Don't lie! Enjoy!