Nutrition Guidelines for Vegetarians

Prateek Barbora

Follow this system and you can enjoy the benefits of extreme body fat loss in all the right areas, increase in lean muscle mass, detoxification, improved sleep, increased energy, hormonal balancing, decreased stress levels, a decrease in general health problems and stronger immune system. Changing the rules means changing your habits and it’s not going to be easy. Not only does it take a desire to change but it also takes a strategy.

You will need to be motivated and willing to get outside of your comfort zone if you are going to change the way your body looks and feels. If you are ever struggling to find motivation, look for WHY you are doing this and keep it in the forefront of your mind throughout. If you follow this diet system to the letter you will be successful. The clients who achieve the best results are the clients who stay consistently organised and comply with their diet. Proper fat loss is gradual, so after the first 14 days you should expect to lose 1–2 lbs every 1–2 weeks and similarly body fat. Any more weight loss than that and you will mostly be burning vital muscle mass.

HABITS FOR GOOD EATING

Your lifestyle habits thus far are what have got you to this point and your body is a picture of that. I’m sure you can understand if you want to change your body you are going to have to change the dietary decisions you make throughout your day, and the way you live your life.

People who live healthy lives do so effortlessly because they make habitual choices throughout the day, which results in keeping them lean and healthy year round. These next 5 habits are an awesome place for you to start and will get you well on the way to getting the results you want.

The dietary process is complicated and can be difficult to adhere to, especially with the media on the constant prowl to entice you into eating all foods that have caused you harm in the past. Below are the five habits you should consider when making choices for each individual meal.

HABIT ONE: Don't stay hungry too long during the day. This is vital in maintaining blood sugar levels and preventing depletion of the amino acid pool, not only is the preservation of muscle tissue vital but hormonal balance is also bettered with constant food intake. Cortisol (a stress hormone) is heightened when your blood sugar levels are drastically depleted, so make sure you are always prepared with your meals.

HABIT TWO: Eat protein with each feeding opportunity; this is important for immune function and homeostasis management of hormones.

HABIT THREE: Eat vegetables with each feeding opportunity. The density of phytonutrients in vegetables far surpasses that of any supplement; therefore it is vital to include vegetables into your diet to aid detoxification and suppression of inflammatory markers.

HABIT FOUR: For fat loss eat your carbohydrates only just before and immediately after exercise. The need for anabolism is heightened when muscle tissue breakdown is present, therefore your body will benefit from insulin during this time (only this time) when on a fat loss program.

HABIT FIVE: Eat healthy fats daily, especially at breakfast. Fats are essential for androgen production, brain function, anti-inflammatory properties and many more physiological functions. We will aim to get a daily split of fat consists of 33% saturates, 33% monounsaturated, 33% polyunsaturated. (Coconut oil is a saturated fat, Olive oil is monounsaturated fat, Fish oil is a polyunsaturated fat)

LOW-CARB DIET TIP: EAT YOUR VEGGIES!

Although vegetables are a carbohydrate source, you shouldn't leave them out of your diet. Many vegetables have almost no starch or sugar, and are full of fibre. If you're not eating oatmeal, bread, or other starches, you're going to need some fibre in your diet, trust me. Vegetables also contain the vitamins and minerals you'll need to stay healthy and recover from your workouts.

Good food sources for Protein, Fat & Carbs

Fats (Nuts): Cashew, Brazil, Pine, Almond, Pistachio walnuts, peanut and peanut butter, cream, Olive oil, Coconut oil, Coconut milk, Organic butter, ghee, Avocado, Olives.

Carbs (Vegetable sources): Broccoli, Watercress, spinach, peppers, cauliflower, green Beans, Mushrooms, Kale, Cabbage Red/white, onions, Celery, Lettuce, Brussels sprouts, Asparagus.

Proteins: Paneer, tofu, soya, broccoli (also good source of protein), whey.

How to Start your Day

There are almost always (no carbs) with meal 1 in this program. This is for multiple reasons; first thing in the morning your body is running primarily on fat for fuel, so you want to keep it that way to burn fat throughout the day, ingesting carbs will slow the breakdown of fat as your body will turn to the sugar for an energy source and leave the fat where it is.

Secondly a high fat, high protein breakfast has been shown to improve focus and mental drive. Any fat loss program is way harder mentally than it is physically. The first thing you eat in the morning also determines what your body craves for the rest of the day, so eating sugary carbs will only leave you with a bigger uphill battle for the rest of the day than need be.

The ideal breakfast for you is protein and nuts. If you do nothing else but switch to this, you will feel more energised throughout the day, have fewer food cravings, less mid-afternoon slumps and get leaner. The protein allows for a slow and steady rise in blood sugar. Nuts provide a great source of healthy, smart fats that allow the blood sugar to remain stable for an extended period of time. This may seem a little strange and take some time to get used to, but once the habit is created, it becomes second nature and the benefits are out of this world.