Thursday, August 9, 2018

HEALTH & WELLBEING

By Luke Douglas


Beginner's Guide to Choosing the Right Diet Plan

Photo courtesy of Unsplash



Diet fads and cookie-cutter nutrition programs are a dime a dozen, and they tend to gain a lot of traction in the beginning, before their innate ineffectiveness to offer any meaningful long-term benefits to your health are discovered, and they eventually die out. But a real diet plan is something far different and much more powerful than every fitness aficionado and a health-conscious individual should adopt into their lifestyle.

Let’s assume you’ve already grasped the importance and health benefits of proper water intake, and you’re struggling to find the diet plan that will help you reach your goals and ensure a lifetime of health and happiness. Here are the essential steps to choosing an effective diet plan that will transform your life for good.


What do you strive to achieve?

First things first, you can’t hope to make steady progress if you’re not sure what you want to achieve. Some people eat to get bigger, some eat to tone their physique, and other to lose weight considerably and sculpt a lean body. But that’s not all, you also need to determine why you want to achieve one of these goals.

Is it to prepare for an upcoming competition? Is it to push your fitness routine to the next level? Or is it simply to lead a healthier lifestyle? The answers to these questions will allow you to define the true purpose of your diet plan, and help you build an eating habit that will guide you to your long-term goals.



Photo courtesy of Luke Douglas



Match your diet plan to your training routine

It should go without saying that not all diet plans were created equal, and not all diet plans can be used to support all fitness routines. So much so, that the wrong diet plan can significantly impede your ability to perform at your best, let alone break through plateaus and take your fitness game to the next level.

This is why it’s imperative that your diet corresponds with the intensity, volume, and frequency of your workouts, no matter if you’re doing yoga or training to beat the national powerlifting record. Choosing quality foods rich with proteins, fats, and carbohydrates will be essential in supplying your body with the energy it needs to push through the toughest of challenges, and build a healthier, stronger You.


Tailored to your goals and backed by experts

All of this leads us to the next crucial point: there is no one-size-fits-all diet plan out there, and what might work for your best friend might wreak havoc on your body and mind. This is why finding a tailored diet program that’s backed by nutritionists and experts is crucial for your performance and long-term well-being.

What’s more, you want to distance yourself from the “diet” concept, and instead, adopt a “way of eating” habit such as the ONE3ONE method that teaches you how to adopt healthy eating habits you can enjoy and follow for the rest of your life. Why should you do that, you ask? Because healthy eating is a way of life, not a fad. So, be sure to look for eating regimens that aim to transform your whole life for the better, and not just tone down your waistline.



Photo courtesy of Luke Douglas



Ensuring proper recovery and day-long vibrancy

What good is all that working out if you keep getting injured, or feel constantly tired and fatigued, or unable to break training plateaus and reach new heights? Not much really, and it could end up driving your fitness career straight into the dirt. Remember, you’re in this for the long haul, you want to be healthy, chirpy, and vibrant every day all day, so naturally, you need to eat right to make it happen!

Proper recovery is what most fitness enthusiasts don’t tend to on a daily basis, and diet will play a major part in the way you feel before, during, and after training. To let your muscles, CNS, connective tissue, and joints recuperate and become stronger with every training session, you want to make sure your diet offers plenty of healthy proteins, carbs, and fats all wrapped up in a balanced caloric intake that will help you reach your desired weight.


Nutrition is a journey, so enjoy the experience

Finally, there is a need to embrace a certain type of mindset before settling on a diet plan. The truth is, most people are not planning far enough into the future, and they only concern themselves with short-term gains instead of the potential lifelong benefits. 

Simply put, healthy eating is a journey, a commitment to a healthy life that will allow you to live out your silver years one day with energy, zeal, and unrelenting passion for adventure. So instead of thinking about how to fit into a great pair of jeans tomorrow, think about how a certain diet plan can help you stay healthy in 20, 30, even 40 years’ time.



Photo courtesy of Luke Douglas



In a world of diet fads and overly-restrictive eating regimes, it’s difficult for a beginner looking to build a healthy lifestyle to find the right information and the right nutrition plan for their needs. That said, you can definitely find your way through the noise by following this guide, quickly paving the road to lifelong health and happiness.





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