Monday, August 04, 2008

5 Diet Secrets of a Busy Trainer

I know one former trainer that has 9 kids, and he's younger than I am...I guess we know what he did for cardio. Anyways...But that trainer is still not the busiest dad I know. That title belongs to Chris Lopez, a trainer I met in downtown Toronto several years.

Chris has 4 beautiful girls under the age of 10, trains clients all over the city, and does fast fat loss workouts that sometimes even include a mini-van. Long story. But how is Chris able to eat well with that schedule? What tips does he have for other busy parents (and dog owners!)?

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5 Nutrition Secrets of Busy Families
By World's Busiest Dad, Chris Lopez 
 
My schedule is as hectic as they come, so it's important for me to be prepared. 

Sunday is our family's ritual grocery shopping day. 

We plan our meals for the week on Sunday morning and then head out to the organic food market after breakfast. Then, I spend a couple of hours prepping in the afternoon while the kids are napping and my wife is watching football (she's a Packers fan...for the moment). 

I always try to keep emergency food handy - I have some apples, a bag of walnuts and a block of raw milk organic cheese as well as some lactose free chocolate milk (for post-workout) in the fridge of the studio where I train. 

My bags are packed with organic beef jerky and peperettes and wild salmon jerky as well. 

I also refill my water bottle every time I go to a client's house. 

Here are some of my favourite tips for dads w/busy days:

1. Stay hydrated. 

I try to drink 1/2 my bodyweight in ounces of water everyday (and that doesn't include the water consumed while I'm doing my own workouts).

2. Brown bag it. 

Pack your own food and snacks for the office and stick to a "feeding schedule" as much as possible. That way, you know what
you're eating and when you're eating it. If you have to go out for lunch, stick to (leafy green, cruciferous veggies, peppers) and lean proteins and pay attention to the way things are prepared (sauces on the side and nothing deep fried).

3.  Stock your desk drawer

Nuts, jerky and protein powder are some of the healthy "convenience" foods that won't perish in your desk.

4.  Eat breakfast

This is a must. It'll keep you energized at the beginning of the day. Try to prepare something the night before if you're one of
those "on-the-go" dads that always seem to be running a few minutes behind. I usually do a cup of cottage cheese, frozen blueberries and walnuts with a big glass of water and 3 fish oil caps.

5.   Feed often to stave off hunger and the 4 o'clock binge

I think it's universal in North America that around 4pm to go right to the vending machine and punch in the code for a Snickers bar or run down to the coffee shop for a cup of joe and a donut. But you can avoid that if you plan ahead.

If you feed yourself every 2 to 3 hours, you're less likely to have those cravings. And if you do have those cravings, follow tip
number #2 and/or #3 above and you should have a something handy to fight off the 4 o'clock vending machine munchies.

Here are some tips to avoid blowing your diet...

Avoiding the "snack" foods that the kids usually have is the first step. Put down the fries and onion rings. 

That unfinished bag of gummy bears? Throw it out. 

Get the soda out of the fridge. Don't eat the kids leftovers.

For me, the thing that clicked the most was my mindset towards food. 

I stopped looking at food as a way to find happiness or as a reward and tried to solely use it as a means to "fuel" my life.

When you approach feeding with that mindset - food for fuel and not satisfaction, then things start to become clearer and you'll start making better decisions about what you put in your mouth. I still eat the occasional slice of cheesecake (I love that stuff) and I'll have the Penne a la Vodka once a month. But, I'm happy with eating a homemade Greek Burger with a side of arugula salad and avocado because I know how good it is for my body. 

I'll get my "satisfaction" from the time I spend with my family or the time I spend once a week playing basketball with my buddies.

Grab a FREE COPY of Chris's 20-Minute Dumbell and Bodyweight Fat Blasters here:

=> Click Here for the Fat Blasting Workout

20-minute workouts without the leg warmers,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS

PS - Chris has another FREE REPORT on...

"The 9 Life Secrets to STOP Wasting Your Time".

Grab it here:

=> Click Here to Save Time

2 comments:

billy said...

A lot of smart tips there, sounds a lot like what I do myself.

I don't really agree with his stance on denying the satisfaction we get from food.

Food is a part of our lives, a big part. All of our cultures have centered around food as a way of socializing, celebrating, and satisfying our desires for it.

Granted, people take this to an extreme and use food as a reward, or use it to alleviate pain or loneliness or boredom or whatever.

But I feel that food must be enjoyed. I personally have found many foods that are both healthy and very enjoyable, and when eaten in moderation and with an eye toward nutrition, can be the foundation of a healthy lifestyle.

Dr. Andrew Weil in his book "Eating well for Optimum Health" goes into this a lot. I think many people lose sight of this aspect of food in pursuit of the perfect body.

FitAndBusyDad said...

Hey Billy, that's a great point. I did this interview with CB a few months ago and like many opinions, mine towards food have changed...or evolved depending on how you look at it.

Raising 4 daughters in today's society where "only the slim survive"; where every magazine cover, commercial and advertisement tells you that you have to live up to a certain body standard; where socially only the thin and/or fit kids are usually the most accepted; our attitudes towards food has to be "healthy"...an attitude that promotes deprivation IS NOT healthy.

So instead of focusing on eating for "fuel", we focus on eating QUALITY, PURE and WHOLESOME foods - locally grown, organic and ethically raised whenever available. We don't count calories, we don't deprive ourselves of "good" things.

I think the biggest difference is that our view of what is "GOOD" has completely changed.

Chris Lopez