If you’re trying to achieve more in your fitness but haven’t seen much progress, it could be that your nutrition could benefit from a little bit of a tune up. With all of the fad diets and also our busy lifestyles, it’s easy to make nutrition mistakes that are sabotaging your fitness goals. Here are some things to consider:
Think about your protein intake
If you want to be confident about your efforts in the gym, don’t skip your protein. A problem that people have when starting to work out more is that they don’t change their diet accordingly. Some people think that less is more in the gym and while a calorie deficit is important for weight loss, a lack of protein isn’t helpful.
Whether you get protein from lean meats or you get some pre-workout gel with protein to fuel your workouts, know that protein is a must for your nutrition and will boost your efforts at the gym.
Hydration is powerful
Dehydration can impact you negatively, so if you’re looking to get the most from your gym time, make sure you’re hydrating as much as possible. This may mean going beyond your Hydroflask full of water. You may want to consider incorporating electrolytes into your daily hydration to boost your hydration and help you avoid dehydration.
Not only can this show up in water weight and make you feel sick during the warmer months, but proper hydration is also good for your overall appearance—so if you’re working at the gym and eating well for your health but also your looks, hydration should be as important as your diet.
Food subscriptions aren’t that great
While there are a lot of food subscriptions out there that promise healthy food, they aren’t as good for you as fresh meals, due to processed food being a staple in these subscriptions.
The best diet there is for you includes healthy and fresh ingredients that don’t have any extra preservatives or processed ingredients, so as you start to look into nutrition for your workout goals, make sure you’re planning for healthier options made with fresh ingredients. One option that you can consider if you find it hard to prepare your own meals is to find a local meal prep service that offers fresh ingredients.
Mealtime inconsistency
Along the same lines, mealtime inconsistency isn’t doing you any favors. Making your body believe that it won’t get food when it needs it can actually cause you to store more fat. It may take discipline to plan your meals and make sure you’re eating but it will go far in helping you to reach goals in the gym.
Maybe you work with a nutritionist to plan your meals, or you use a meal planning app. Either way, start planning your meals for better results at the gym and more energy for your workouts. You’ll be glad that you did.
Skipping healthy carbs and fats
If you want to get the most out of your mealtimes, it’s important to think about how healthy carbs and fats should have a place in your overall diet. While those who want to lose weight don’t need to go overboard, it’s wise to incorporate some healthy foods like avocado and sweet potatoes, so you can be confident that you’re getting enough balance for energy levels and brain function. If you’re nervous about how much you should be eating healthy fats, a dietitian could help you to figure it all out.
In Conclusion
Do you want to lose weight or build more muscle? Start working on your nutrition today. You’ll be glad that you did when you see your hard work paying off at the gym. A better diet means better gains.