[Infographic]: The Handful Diet - How To Create YOUR Own Meal Plans

We shared the 10 Principles of Results Based Nutrition in the last blog post that sets the foundation for lifestyle-based changes.(You can check it out HERE)How you look, feel and perform is not about what you do, it’s about who you become. “What does that even mean Luka?”You may do something for 6-8 weeks and see changes but it’s not enough to make it part of your every day lifestyle, a habit that is ingrained regardless if your day is good, bad, stressful, challenging or perfect.When you can act in a certain way regardless of when things become tough that is when you will see lasting change.You see, during duress we fall to the lowest level of our training and habits. Those days will come whether we like it or not and so you have to be prepared for them and create a foundation that is sturdy and will allow you to succeed through challenges (rather than wishing for the absence of them).To see and feel changes that are permanent we have to become that person (this is change that happens in the brain and takes longer than just weeks – even though you’ll see and feel your body changing before that).Make sure you go and check out the phase #1 foundational principles blog and infographic here.These will build a strong foundation and get you some serious results!The next step is understanding how your meals should look like and helping you develop the simple foundation for what to eat without making you overwhelmed with calories, macronutrient breakdowns, etc.We created this infographic to help you out:

FOR A PRINTABLE VERSION, CLICK HERE.Now we’re starting to build a great feeling, great looking, great performing and confident body & mind. We covered...#1. Nutrition Based Principles for Results #2. Handful Diet Principles to Make Your Own Meals I love this picture from our friends at Precision Nutrition when it comes to explaining how your plate should look like whether it’s an Anytime Meal or a Post-Workout meal.

I’m a visual learner so this is very helpful as it doesn’t ask you to count calories.

The two pictures are really good guides for how your plate should look like although current research shows that nutrient timing is far down the list of importance when it comes to successful habits and principles of a body transformation, health and performance. It comes into play more with advanced dieting (keep reading as I’ll show you the hierarchy of importance).You may be asking why we haven’t started with calorie counting.Here’s the problem with calorie counting...To find out the “calories in” side of things you need to figure out how many calories are in the foods that you eat. This takes charts, apps, websites, scans, databases and math. It’s becoming easier but its still extra work and planning your lunch becomes extra math work.Getting excited?Exactly. Most people get frustrated before they start and they are already fearful about the change it will take to change their life.Add having to start counting calories on top of meal preparation, habit change, training, family, kids, etc…and the overwhelm is through the roof before you even start.Does this sound like something that has happened to you in the past?Not to mention, research shows that most labeling and sites are 25% off when it comes to the precision of the calories stated.Then when we get to “calories out” there is also around a 25% measurement error of devices, treadmills, apps, etc.So 25% there is a possible error on the “in” side and on the “out” side.Hmm, that’s quite a bit to take it religiously based on the studies and research that most people are overwhelmed with the habits of change as is.And if you’ve attempted this before you know some of these things will happen that can not only get somewhat annoying, but can also create discomfort in your social life...==> Inviting friends over only to seem them having you weigh your food out during the super-bowl and getting scorned for it==> Getting frustrated because you forgot your measuring cups coming in to work and your co-workers taunting you==> Having a great conversation with friends during dinner only to have to stop it so you can input your calories in your app for 10 minutes

Thing is if you’re committed to your goal that shouldn’t derail you BUT if it’s another hardship on top of overwhelming change then it won’t help you achieve your goal.We need to have an idea of how much and what we’re eating to get results, which is why we give the simple solution of being able to count to two and use your hands.That’s why we’re keeping the infographic SIMPLE and you can see a recap of the “counting” rules:==> Your palm determines your protein portions==> Your fist determines your veggie portions==> Your cupped hand determines your carb portions==> Your thumb determines your fat portionsYou can check out our FREE gift to you – The Handful Diet eBook which breaks all this down for you with the instructions, a grocery store list, sample meals plans and step-by-step transformation steps. Check it out HERE.

This is a real world strategy that you can use and it won’t take you long to get used to and make a staple of your lifestyle without sacrificing sanity. Once you can do this you can also take the next steps if you’re looking to improve your body composition even more.**Although I’d have you consider that these simple habit changes and strategies done consistently will transform you more than any “complex” “quick fix” promise that has failed you in the last yearsNow...A quick bit on nutrient timing, which just means when do we eat certain meals.In the infographic you see that at Vigor Ground Fitness and Performance we really like the AT (Anytime Meals) and PW (Post Workout Meals) framework because its so simple to remember and stick to.Over the years we found (through following research and real world results) that nutrient timing makes more of a difference the more elite a person gets in relationship to their body composition goals.Basically, for someone that is trying to improve lifestyle, lose weight, feel better, it’s more important to focus on a number of other things before they even get too worked up about what they should eat and when.If we’re talking about an athlete, a fitness competitor or someone getting ready for a photo shoot looking to be the leanest possible then nutrient timing becomes more of a discussion.Our friends at Precision Nutrition have done a great job with outlining a hierarchy of what you should pay most attention to when it comes to nutrition.

THE NUTRITIONAL HIERARCHY OF IMPORTANCE1. How much are you eating?Eat until satisfied, instead of stuffed2. How are you eating?Eat slowly, without distraction and mindfully3. Why are you eating?Following peer pressure from friends/family, stress, boredom, social cues, trigger foods, etc.4. What are you eating?Minimally processed proteins, veggies, fruits, healthy starches, and healthy fats)5. Are you doing #1 to #4 properly, consistently?Shoot for 85-90% consistency before moving on.And only then consider...6. When are you eating?Now you can think about eating at breakfast/fasting, post-workout, at night, etc.)Only once you can say you truly have a grasp of #1-#5 with at least 80% consistency, will it make sense to focus a ton on nutrient timing.Many people go straight to #6 without ever addressing the others, which then leads to frustration in not understanding why their body composition is not changing. You keep putting air into a tire that has a hole so you ride around for some time and it’s flat again.Build the foundation for the best results that will also stick!The key to getting results beyond these foundational steps is...AccountabilityAccessAssociation Having a knowledgeable coach that keeps you accountable, cares for you and is ruthlessly committed to your results and building a relationship that will help you transform not only short term but long term; without projecting other people’s goals on you bur rather listening to YOUR goals – this is key!If you’re looking for a coach like that and you’d like to have a Discovery Call to find out how we can help you (and get actual value from the call with no risk), while also seeing if we’re a great fit, then fill out the application form below or click HERE.