Your tips have helped me so much with getting results from my exercises. I especially feel the difference when I lower weight super slowly during strength training. In addition to toning up, I am also interested in shaping up my diet! I would love to hear your thoughts about nutrition and weight loss. Thank you so much for your help.
— Marie in Hanalei
Aloha Marie,
Congrats on doing what it takes to tone up and shape up in the new year. Along with strength, stamina, and stretching, incorporating proper principles for sustenance is also crucial. I have three primary dietary tenets, which work miraculously for nearly everybody and every body. My system for “Super Sustenance” is:
Smart … because its structure is scientifically sound.
Simple … because it’s based on general dietary principles, not one specific dietary protocol.
Speedy … because its design supports snacking versus meals, and natural foods requiring minimal preparation.
Safe … because it’s focused on nourishment and quality of nutrients, rather than constraints and quantity of calories.
My Super 7 System of Sustenance adopts the perspective of eating to live, not living to eat.
Since most of us either want to lose weight or keep our already-controlled weight in check, I think this is a great time for a broad overview. People are always amazed at how quickly they shape up and slim down by following only three simple, yet semi-strict, secrets to sustenance. I consider this to be one of the healthiest and realistic methods to lose weight rapidly and burn fat permanently.
My system for sustenance should not be viewed as a diet, per say. I do not purport it to be. But, this system of eating works to burn body fat for anyone willing to work it. By “work it,” I mean give it your absolute best effort. Super Sustenance “selectivity” probably won’t cut the mustard. In other words, you can’t choose to adhere to only the parts you like.
I’m certainly not perfect in my eating habits, and I don’t often have a 100 percent perfect day. Each morning I begin anew, doing my best to follow these three simple guidelines for the duration. This should hopefully encourage you by the fact that, even at a level that is less than optimal, this program still works … for me, for countless others, and hopefully now for you too.
Please keep in mind that proper nutrition can be quite specific to each individual. As always, if you have any specific medical, dietary, allergy, or metabolic conditions which necessitate monitoring, check with your doctor or health care professional before making any significant changes to your diet or exercise program.
My No. 1 super simple secret solution to Super Sustenance is fruit first!! Eating fresh, raw fruit in its most natural form is the best way to start each day. Let’s take a quick look at why fruit, and why first?
• Fruit makes the perfect prepackaged meal. It is convenient and easy to carry anywhere.
w Fruit first, in effect, guarantees that you will include it as part of your regular daily consumption.
• Fruit is abundant in sustenance … packed full of energy, enzymes, nutrients, fiber, and healthy hydration.
• Fruit first, as the initial meal at the beginning of each day, works in tandem with your body’s natural elimination cycles.
• Fruit is basically predigested, allowing appropriate absorption and assimilation of both macronutrients and micronutrients.
• Fruit first is easy on your system, so that your body is not overwhelmed with the task of energy-draining digestion early in the day.
• Fruit is the most natural source of simple carbohydrates available, moderated by fiber and diluted in water, essentially the single-most perfectly packaged energy food.
I always suggest eating fruit in its whole, raw, and most natural form — one piece or type at a time. You can essentially have as much as you want, as often as you want, for the first few hours of each day. I prefer to have a specific type each hour or two, depending on my cravings at the time.
For most people, even having three different pieces of fruit each morning (such as berries at 7, melons at 9, and citrus at 11) will completely overhaul their entire daily dietary patterns for the better.
Eating fruit will make you feel absolutely incredible in just a few days. Eating fruit first will help keep you on the straight and narrow throughout the remainder of each day.
Because fruit does not mix well with other foods (which take much longer to digest), I suggest always eating fruit separately to help avoid fermentation and putrification. I never eat fruit with other foods and I never ever eat it on top of other foods, as a dessert.
Fruit first gets you off to a great start. I’ll be back in two weeks with The No. 2 Super Secret to Sustenance — veggies.
Doug
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Doug Jones earned his Master’s Degree in Exercise Physiology from the University of Maryland and has served professionals and personalities as a concierge fitness trainer for decades. As a resident of Kaua`i and Connecticut, he has helped millions of people learn the secrets of fitness and fat loss, both online and in person. To submit your questions, or for more information, call (808) 652-6453 or visit www.DougJonesFitness.com
