Eat to live or live to eat?

i adore food...can spend hours looking at recipes, cooking and experimenting in the kitchen, and going out to eat is probably my favorite past time...well, it's tied with bodybuilding :)

however, as much as i *live to eat* i also take a somewhat pragmatic *eat to live* approach towards food. i definitely see food as fuel and as tom venuto (my effing hero) put it, everything you eat either propels you forward towards your goals or sets you back.


tom venuto - yeeeup perfection

i have previously tried to explain to people who didn't know much about nutrition how to fuel their body properly. a lot of these principles are in sync with what john berardi preaches, so he is definitely an excellent starting point if you want to learn more about eating *right*. in a nutshell, here are his guidelines:

1. eat every 2-3 hours.

2. eat complete, lean protein each time you eat.

3. eat vegetables every time you eat.

4. eat carbs only when you deserve to (after workouts).

5. learn to love healthy fats.

6. ditch the calorie containing drinks (including fruit juice).

7. focus on whole foods.

8. have 10% foods (you can eat junk 10% of the time).

9. develop food preparation strategies.

10. balance daily food choices with healthy variety.

i disagree with the carb thing (rule #4), but that is only because i know my body well and know that it needs carbs at every meal. also, i would never eat *10% junk* (i abhor junk food) but i also do indulge fairly regularly in crazy decadent dishes...but they are not garbage...they are real food!


not.effing.food.don't.get.me.started.

i applied his rules to make a table. i hope it makes things easier. click on it and it gets bigger/easier to read weeeeeeee.

basically for each feeding (yes, feeding...get into that mindset) you pick a food for each component (macronutrient - i.e., protein). for example, a pre-workout snack could be a protein shake, a bowl of cereal, and a banana.

certain times of the day you want to emphasize some components (i.e. carbs in the morning when you're insulin receptors are at their peak) and deemphasize others (i.e. carbs at night). you will see these items grayed out.

after a while this way of eating becomes second nature and you won't need an effing table.



am i a nutritionist? no
a personal trainer? no
do i know what works? yes...at least for me and it can maybe serve as a rough guideline/place to start for you :)

also, while i am looking down from my ivory tower haha, i would like to add that this is a lifestyle...as in *for life*. i'm sorry, but i never understood dieting or fasting (ohhh i see...you want to attack your lean muscle mass and slow your metabolism down, then go back to eating like shit with your newly lowered metabolic rate and consume even more shit than before because you starved yourself? b-r-i-l-l-i-a-n-t...way to get fatter that is).

i'm sorry, but folks (girls in particular) need to stop having such a creepy and unhealthy view of food. eat to live and live to eat...listen to your body...respect it...it's the only one you get!