5 nutrition tips to keep fit

The most powerful thing you can do to lose weight is to eat better. The principle behind losing weight through changing what you eat is still cutting calories, but this doesn`t have to involve drastic portion control or a whole lot of calorie counting.

The trick is to cut down on foods that have a lot of calories while giving your body little in return.

Drink more water
Water is the medium in which most cellular activities take place, including the transport and burning of fat.

In addition, drinking plenty of calorie-free water makes you feel full and eat less. Drink at least 1 ounce of water per 2 pounds of bodyweight a day (that’s 100 ounces for a 200-pound person).

Keep a 20-ounce water bottle at your desk, fill it five times a day, and you`re set.

Eat a full, balanced breakfast
‘Your body has been starving all night long, and it needs nutrients to rebuild itself,’ says Matarazzo.

‘If you just catch something quick on the run instead of eating a full meal, it negatively impacts your workout, and everything else you do during the day.’

Eat sufficient protein (30-40 grams), a complex carbohydrate, like oatmeal, and a piece of fruit to start your day off right.

Limit sugar consumption.
Taking in simple carbs (sugars) right after weight training replenishes muscle and liver glycogen stores, but excess sugar consumed at other times will be stored as fat. Satisfy your sweet tooth occasionally, but try limiting your intake of sugar to fresh fruit.

Replace sugary beverages like soft drinks and juice with water, coffee, tea or diet soda.

Rotate your carbs
Nutrition expert and former bodybuilder Chris Aceto recommends eating about one gram of carbs per pound of bodyweight for 3-5 days—these being low-carb days—and doubling that for the next 1-2 days, then repeating that cycle.

If you weigh 200 pounds, eat 200 grams on low-carb days and 400 grams on other days.

Avoid drastic calorie reductions
‘Any competitor who drastically cuts calories to try to get leaner for a show learns that that`s not the best way to diet,’ says IFBB fitness competitor Laurie Vaniman.

‘You end up looking flat and depleted.’ The same holds true for no competitors; aim for a modest decrease in calories instead.

Smaller bodybuilders shouldn`t cut more than 200-300 calories per day, and larger bodybuilders shouldn`t cut more than 500, says Aceto.