How can you eat better without nerding out?

If you've read some of my previous posts, you may have realized that I am a major proponent of the idea of focusing on the smallest, attainable goal with the largest benefit. I've gone into some detail with regards to focusing on strength training and why that should be a major focus of time spent in the gym. Today, let's look at it from the nutrition side of things.

It is pretty much a cliche now that, "You can't out-work a bad diet." In other words, if your standard diet routinely includes pizza, bacon-cheeseburgers, ice cream, donuts, chips and soda, it's very unlikely that you are going to work out enough to overcome all those Calories and stay lean. Not to mention the nutrient deficiency you will have.

The fact is, most people have a pretty good idea of which foods are healthy and which are unhealthy. We all pretty much know that there is more nutritional value in a side of broccoli than a side of French fries. The issue is not so much that we don't know how to eat healthier.

If you could watch a video of yourself over the course of several days that shows every single thing you eat or drink, you might notice something very interesting. If you're like most people, there is almost certainly a lot of "mindless" eating going on. What I mean is, you might have a bowl of chips or popcorn while you watch TV. Maybe you're hanging out with friends and you just keep grabbing bites of various snacks as you chat and visit. Or maybe you keep grabbing something from that candy bowl at work whenever you walk by and don't even think about it.

If you are in that situation, the first (and simplest) step to eating healthier is to merely pay attention to what you are eating. You could take it to the next level by actually recording what you are eating. Apps like MyFitness Pal are available for free and can log all that for you...if you enter the information. But even if you don't take it that far, just paying attention goes a long way to helping you make better choices.

Often, we go out and get a sandwich or something like that and just reflexively order fries or chips to go with it. If we are being more mindful about it, we could choose a side of mixed vegetables, or even nothing as a side. Heresy!!

By watching what we're doing, we avoid the excess daily Calories from the chips and buttered popcorn or ice cream we passively shovel into our mouths while watching a movie. If we put healthy snacks out when we have friends over, we avoid the danger of eating 4,700 Calories of chips and ranch dip that we inhale without even being consciously aware of eating. Instead, put out those little carrots or maybe some shrimp, or a veggie tray. Have a bowl of fruit within arms reach and have an apple instead of a half a pound of pretzels.

We all know what to do. The problem is, we put obstacles in our own way by making these high-Calorie, low nutrient foods all around us. Many of these foods, like Cheetos or Doritos and the like, are purposely engineered to be "hyper-palatable" and non-filling. Basically, what that means is that they are designed to have so much flavor that you want to keep eating them, and light enough that you can eat a LOT of it without feeling like you're getting full.

So if you are looking to make some sort of improvement in your dietary habits, my first piece of advice is to just be aware of what you're eating. Pay attention to it. Avoid the mindless munching by not making that sort of food readily available. This will probably have more positive impact on your diet than you may realize. And if you're already grinding away at the gym four or five days a week, cutting back on garbage foods will help magnify the work you're doing with the weights.

Come back next time and we'll look at more simple things you can do to improve your nutritional lifestyle.