This week we took a step back from shadowing to talk about nutrition. Joe says of all the different services he provides, nutrition coaching is hands down the most important one. Nothing will decide more whether you reach any physical goal as much as whether you are eating a healthy diet or an unhealthy diet.
When he was first starting out he says he didn't know the importance of nutrition as far as a client achieving their goals. He remembers working with a lot of weight loss clients and telling them all they have to do is show up and work really hard and they would lose weight. He learned very quickly that training alone wouldn't do much for weight loss.
He credits an older trainer with teaching him that he needed to learn a whole lot more about nutrition and that you should always be honest with clients and tell them that what they eat will play the biggest part in whether they reach their goals or not.
Below I share a list of basic nutrition tips that he shares with all of his clients no matter what their individual needs are.
Trainer Joe's Nutrition 101:
- Drink water with every meal and snack
- Reduce the consumption of sugar in all forms almost to the point of elimination
- Eat protein at every meal
- Eat healthy fat at every meal
- Eat fiber at every meal
- 80/20 RULE: 80% OF YOUR MEALS WHAT YOU NEED, 20% WHAT YOU WANT
- Reduce portions or even better stop eating when you're full