—-In this blog I am going to show you how a healthy day of eating looks for me. But first, let me remind you of the key principles behind the nutrition method I originally introduced in my Body-for-LIFE book 14 years ago — it’s called Eating for Life. Upwards of a million people have used this method along with exercise and, based on the mountains of before to after success stories that have come into my offices over the years, it’s easy to say… this works! I mean it really  works.

Eating for Life is not a diet. It’s not one of those super-low carb approaches. It’s not an ultra-high protein plan either. We don’t eliminate any particular kinds of food (even pizza, ice cream, cookies and french-fries you can have once a week on a ‘Free Day’!) The Eating for Life style is built on a bedrock of common sense, supported by science, and proven effective by real-world results. The key ingredients in the Eating for Life recipe are what I call the ‘Right FACTs.’ Let’s take a look…

The Right FACTs

• Foods — The Right Foods are high in nutrients and calorie compact. My favorite protein foods are eggs, chicken, salmon, lean beef, low-fat cottage cheese and my Right Light Nutrition Shakes. For carbohydrates, I like baked potato, brown rice, oatmeal, apples, oranges, strawberries. And for vegetables, I eat a lot of steamed broccoli, spinach, and green beans. You get the idea.

• Amounts — The next key is to eat the Right Amounts of those healthy foods I mentioned above. I don’t need to count calories — I keep track of portions instead. A portion of protein is an amount that’s about equal to the size of the palm of your hand. For me, that’s about an 8 or 9 ounce steak, chicken breast, or piece of salmon. A portion of healthy carbs is an amount approximately equal to the size of your closed hand. For me, that’s a pretty good-sized baked potato, about 1.25 cups of cooked brown rice or cooked oatmeal. For vegetables the portion rule is how much you can pile into your cupped hand (I can stack it high so I have pretty big servings of steamed broccoli very often with my dinners).

• Combinations — Now we need the Right Combinations of the Right Foods, in the Right Amounts. I combine a portion of protein and a portion of healthy carbs in each meal. For example, oatmeal and egg whites (I like Egg Beaters), chicken breast and brown rice; lean steak and a baked potato; cottage cheese and a sliced, whole apple. It’s very important to get a balance of protein and carbohydrates in every one of our daily meals.

• Times — The Right Time to eat is OFTEN. Feeding the body 6 times a day (once every 2.5 to 3.5 hours) is ideal. Eating often is the key to managing the appetite and making sure our bodies have a constant supply of the healthy nutrients needed to support health and fitness. We also have better digestion and more energy when we eat smaller meals frequently throughout the day.

I Keep My Kitchen Junk-Food Free

My wife Maria and I eat off of side plates instead of the big dinner plates — this helps with portion control and I really suggest you give it a try. In my previous blog called ‘It’s Hard to Eat Right in the Wrong Kitchen’ I ask people to do a ‘Healthy Spaces Makeover’. That means going through the refrigerator, pantry, cupboards and getting rid of any high-sugar, high-fat junk food that may tempt us into slipping up. I know this is especially important for me — I can be super disciplined 23 hours and 50 minutes a day and in just a 10 minute lapse, I can scarf down over 500 calories of low nutrient, high calorie crap. So if I don’t want to wear it (as fat around my belly) I don’t keep it in the house. Once you’ve cleaned out the unhealthy food in your kitchen head for the grocery store and stock up on the Right Foods: fruits, vegetables, healthy carbs, lean protein sources, nutrition shakes, and water.

My guide to cooking nutritious, delicious food that never leaves the kitchen is my book Eating for Life. I’ve been cooking from the recipes in this book for about a decade now — with over 100 fantastic meals to choose from it never gets old. You don’t have to be a chef (I’m sure as heck not) to be able to cook up great tasting, healthy food for yourself and your family — just follow the recipes in this book.

One of the true secrets to success when it comes to consistently following the Eating for Life style is developing the habit of planning your meals in advance. When we make smart decisions ahead of time and write them down (we plan what time we’re going to eat and which foods/meals we’re going to fuel up on) we are taking control of something that for most folks, is as out of control as a bucking bronco in a rodeo. I mean most people don’t plan what they’re going to eat during the day at all.

The main problem with the way we eat in America today is that we just don’t think it through. We wait until noon before we even begin to consider what we’re having for lunch. Dinner is whatever we can pick up on the way home from work and breakfast, who has got time for breakfast!? Basically, we’re eating unintentionally and without much awareness of what we’re doing. That’s a problem. We get out of shape by accident — no one does it intentionally. We have to wake up and really start looking at what we’re eating and how it’s affecting our mind, mood, body and life. We have to consciously and purposely plan and prepare to eat right — that’s what works in the long run!

We’ll continue to talk a lot about nutrition and eating right here in ‘Bill Phillips Fitness News’ because it’s a very, very important part of transforming our health and staying on the right path. For now though, let me finish up this blog by giving you a look at this exciting list of ‘WHAT BILL HAD TO EAT YESTERDAY!’ (Maybe I’m over hyping that… I mean how exciting can it be to take a look at what my 6 meals were? Maybe I should just say it’s important to learn and if you consistently eat like this, the results… now those will be exciting!)

What Bill Had to Eat Yesterday

Breakfast — 8:00 am: Vanilla Right Light Nutrition Shake blended with Strongevity Rx (my new cellular energy supplement)

Mid-meal — 10:30 am: Low-fat cottage cheese mixed with light yogurt; 16 oz. water

Lunch — 1:00 pm: Turkey Sandwich with lettuce, tomato, mustard; 16 oz. water

Workout — 3:15 pm to 3:40 pm (super high-intensity 5-25 spin bike workout)

Mid-meal — 4:00 pm: Vanilla Right Light Shake (blended with 6oz. water, a fresh peach, Strongevity Rx and 4 ice cubes)

Dinner — 7:00 pm: Asian Beef Stir-Fry (delicious, nutritious, fun and easy to make!); 16 oz. water

Dessert — 10:00 pm: Chocolate Right Light Nutrition Shake made as ‘double-chocolate pudding mix recipe.’

++ Including the water I get with my nutrition shakes, I have about 10 – 12 cups of H2O each day.

++ I always have a back-up plan in case my day doesn’t go according to schedule. I carry a couple nutrition bars with me throughout the day and if I run out of time for lunch or one of my mid-meals, I have a bar instead.

++ Sometimes it’s hard at first for people to get use to eating frequently throughout the day. That’s because what we end up doing is eating when we’re not hungry, and that’s good! It seems counterintuitive, especially for people who are trying to lose weight, to eat when you’re not hungry but honestly, this is a very important key to long-term success. If you wait until your hungry to eat, it’s like you’re the tail and the cravings are the dog. They control you, you don’t control them. So be sure to schedule your meals ahead of time and follow that schedule.

++ I follow the Right FACTs and eat clean 6 days a week. But I try to take one day each week for what I call a ‘Free Day’ where we forget all the rules and just eat for fun. Sometimes on a Free Day, Maria and I go over to my Mom’s house for ‘very un-portioned controlled dinners!’ We also have a favorite pizza place (Front Room Pizza) in Lakewood, about 20 minutes from our house. Thanksgiving, birthdays, special nights out… these are all good times for my Free Days.

You Can Do It!

Don’t ever think you don’t have time to eat right frequently throughout the day. The list of my meals from yesterday which you just reviewed takes me less than an hour to prepare and eat. Of course my Nutrition Shakes I can blend up and chug down in just a couple minutes. Lunch takes me about 10 minutes. And dinner is 30-40 minutes. When you plan ahead of time and you prepare in advance, you’ll find you save time and money with the Eating for Life style. And best of all, when you eat this way your body will get stronger, leaner, healthier, more energetic and you’ll feel good! Now give it a try and let me know what you think! =)