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The YB Fit Diet

A Diet For Everyone Home CMB Fitness For Fitness

Snacks

" Wow! YB, snacks! What a great diet ! Tell me more. There's a catch, right? This is too good to be true."

" Not really CMB, good snacks are a reality with this diet. Snacks are used to keep your sugar levels normal to avoid cravings and allow you to function at a high level. They also help you to recover from an early morning workout or fuel you for an afternoon workout. You see, most people fail at dieting because they don't eat enough of the right things. They deprive or starve themselves which defeats your purpose. When the body senses a starvation mode it will not give up the fat, because it thinks it needs those calories to support life and will never see food again. Snack time occurs between 10 - 11 AM and at 3 PM. Make sure the snack is balanced and is not a full meal ( 200 - 250 calories ).

Some snack choices are:

1 cup Yogurt with or without cereal / veggies / fruit
Fruit and Cheese ( no more than 1 oz. be careful of too much fat)
Almond or peanut butter with 2-3 saltines / rice cake / banana
Sports bar
1/2 lean meat ( no processed deli stuff ) sandwich with tomato, lettuce, a little mayo or mustard
1 cup of meat and vegetable soup

Snack times represent your opportunity to take in fruits and vegetables. You need 2 - 5 servings per day and if you're an athlete you need 3 - 8 servings."

Lunch

"Lunch is the meal that bridges the gap until dinner and fuels your activity during the afternoon along with your snack. " " Wow , YB, all I do is eat ! That's my kida diet! " It's all about the choices, CMB. Good choices for lunch include a lean meat (no deli processed meats) sandwich with lettuce, tomato and no more than 1 tsp. light mayo or mustard on whole grain bread, no white or a lean meat and vegetable soup. You want to stay away from processed breads, get the natural stuff, your body will thank you for it. A meal replacement shake will work also, but limit them to replace two meals per day. I would also recommend that you eat cold water fish ( salmon, mackerel, tuna) at least twice per week for lunch or dinner to satisfy the body's need for good fats (omega 3 fatty acids). " Geez, YB why do I have to eat fish? It's not on my top ten list of favorite foods." "Well, CMB, studies have shown that eating cold water fish at least twice per week can help overcome depression and help with weight loss. It really pays to develop a taste for fish. " " I get the drift YB, but this fish choice thing's got me depressed. What can I drink?" Beverages are the same as breakfast. Stay away from soda, beware of the sugar content of many prepared ice teas, don't overdo the coffee; remember only 1-2 cups per day. You may want to go to a store that sells organic products and try a bottled green tea called Honest Tea, it is sweetened with honey (www.honesttea.com)."

Dinner

"Dinner completes the day and provides the fuel you need until breakfast. It will also help your body repair muscle and connective tissue as you sleep. If you do a late afternoon workout, you can add your post workout calories for recovery ( about 200 calories based upon exercise intensity), used to restore your glycogen supplies to this meal. The number of calories you add is determined by the length of your aerobic workout. For example, a runner will burn 100 calories / mile. For cycling, divide your body weight by 2.2 to determine your weight in kilograms, then multiply .15 (easy) - .17 (intense) X duration of workout X weight in kilograms. For swimming multiply .13 (easy) - .16 (intense) X duration of workout X weight in kilograms. You can also add a very small dessert reward to dinner if necessary, as long as you finish eating by 8:30 pm. " "Why?" "Well CMB, you don't want all these calories to lay on your stomach and interfere with sleep. You also have enough time to burn off some of them by doing things around the house. Again, as with every meal and snack, include protein, carbohydrate and good fats. YB, what do you include in this meal? Include three ounces of lean meat, fish or vegetarian equivalent, one serving pasta, potato, rice or beans, vegetables ( the more colorful the better), and salad; use greenleaf, red leaf arugala, radicchio, carrots, cucumbers. The dressing: a vinaigrette is your best bet, try to stay away from the fancy stuff. Beverages remain the same."

A Word About the Math of Dieting

" Oh no!! Not Math, now you are scaring me YB. Do I have to do this????" "CMB, don't sweat it. Do this only if you want to. Some people need it all mapped out on paper. Just bear with me and follow the example. To lose one pound you must burn 3600 calories. Based upon your lifestyle use these calculations to figure out how much of what you should eat. Healthy weight loss hovers between 1-2 pounds per week. First we will determine just how many calories you need to eat each day to lose weight.

Take your current weight and multiply by 10. Lets say I weigh 120 lbs. 120 X 10 = 1200 calories.
Then add 1/2 your current weight to that number. 1200 + 600 = 1800 calories. You have now determined your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) or the calories needed to keep you alive.
Now add the calories you burn every day for exercise. I'd like you to burn a minimum of 400. 1800 + 400 = 2200 calories.
If you've been weight training already add 150 calories. 2200 + 150 = 2350 calories.
To lose weight subtract 200 - 500 calories. I recommend you start at 200 calories less. Yes, the weight will come off slower, but you'll be able to maintain this easier than the faster weight loss of subtracting 500. Putting it simply you'll feel less deprived. 2350 - 200 = 2150 calories every day. You may move up from 200 very slowly to 500, but remember dieting is all about behavior change, the slower the better."

"Ok YB, how much of that 2150 calories needs to be dedicated to protein, carbohydrates and fat? " " Well CMB, that will require a bit more Math. Lets talk carbs first. Carb needs can be divided into three categories: Low: 2.25 - 3.0 grams per pound of body weight, Moderate: 3.0 - 4.5 grams per pound of body weight and High: 4.5 - 5.5 grams per pound of body weight. So the formula to figure out how many carbs you need based upon your lifestyle would be:

weight in pounds X daily carb requirement (low, moderate, high) = total carbs / day (40% of calories)

So for a 125 lb. person with low carb needs, they should consume 280-375 grams, moderate carb needs; 375-562 grams and high carb needs; 563-690 grams."

" Now lets talk protein requirements. The current RDA for protein for the average person is 0.4 grams / pound of body weight. The average person in the USA eats 100 grams of protein. 40% of total calories taken in should be protein. Now lets get specific. Endurance athletes training moderately require .45 grams/pound, training heavily require .5-.7 grams / pound, training very intensely require .8-.9 grams / pound. Strength Training Athletes (experienced) require .5-.7 grams/ pound, novices require .8 grams/pound. A Growing Teenage Athlete requires .8-.9 grams/pound. An Athlete Restricting Calories requires .8-.9 grams/pound."

"20% - 25% of you total caloric intake should be fat. Use the chart below to figure out where you should be."

Daily Caloric Intake 25% calories fro fat upper limit of fat in grams

1400 350 39

1500 375 42

1600 400 44

1800 450 50

2000 500 55

2200 550 61

2400 600 67

2600 650 72

2800 700 78

3000 750 83

3200 800 89

3400 850 94

3600 900 100

3800 950 106

4000 1000 111

4200 1050 117

4400 1100 122

AHA Recommendationof Fat Intake. 1997. American Heart Association.

Weight Loss Tips

Try to burn off 400 calories every day either aerobically or strength training.
Add 2-3 weight training sessions to your workout week.
Increase exercise time to what you are doing already. Add some cross training.
Pick up the pace of your workout 1-2 times per week.
Eat a little more good stuff (fruits and vegetables)
Do some extra activity around the house, climb stairs, do yard work, walk to places within walking distance, walk the dog more, keep the car home...you'll save on gas.
Make sure that your reward calories do not exceed the amount burnt off by exercise that day.
Eat slowly and make sure you are eating 1 serving at one sitting. Serving sizes: 3 oz. meat = a deck of cards, 1/2 cup cooked pasta = the size of a chunky computer mouse, bread = 1 slice, 1 cup mixed entrees = a baseball.

References

Complete Guide To Sports Nutrition, Monique Ryan, 1999, Velo Press ( 800-234-8356 or www.velogear.com).

Eat Smart Play Hard, Liz Applegate, PH.D., 2001, Rodale Press (800-8484735 or www.rodalesportsandfitness.com).

In Fitness and In Health, Dr. Phillip Maffetone, 1997, David Barmore Productions. (1-877-264-2200).