I've posted about healthy eating in various threads in this section, but I'm feeling chatty at the moment, so I'll take an updated swing at it:
1. Cut out the crap. No more dessert. No more junk food like chips and candy. No more fast food like McDonalds and Taco Bell. Cut all of this crap out of your regular diet.
2. Since I don't expect you to live in hell for the rest of your life, rule #2 is that you're allowed one day a week (and only one) where you can indulge in some of the stuff I just mentioned. The idea is that if you go six days a week without it and then have some fries and a little ice cream on day seven, you've still drastically improved the way you eat. Also, if you allow yourself to cheat once a week, you're more likely to stay strict the rest of the time. Your cheat day can be different every week, and choose wisely: If you're going to your grandma's house, or to a friend's birthday party, you're going to want to eat some dessert or junk food, so make that your cheat day and STICK TO THE PLAN.
3. Learn about what you're putting in your body. Read labels. Look for the # of calories, the fat content, the amount of sugar, etc. Pay particular attention to the presence of "high fructose corn syrup", because it's in a lot of baked goods, breakfast cereals, junk food, etc. It's super dense with sugar, and it's one of the leading causes of obesity in the western world.
4. Read up on
The Glycemic Index. In a nutshell, foods can be categorized by the amount of insulin they generate in your body. Excess insulin is converted to fat stores, and that leads to you needing bigger pants. The only time you
want an insulin spike is after an intense workout, because your body is desperate to replenish its energy and if you don't eat something to feed that, it'll canibalize itself by breaking down your muscle tissue, and you'll find your energy levels won't spring back in time for your next workout. The rest of the time, stay away from the foods in the "high GI" category.
5. You'll notice on the GI index that stuff like white sugar, white flour, white rice, and regular potatoes are in the "high category". You need whole grains in your diet, so eat WHOLE GRAINS: A cereal made from whole grains with no added sugar or salt will be great for you, and if you're going to eat any bread or pasta, go for the whole multi-grain kind. The regular white bread and pasta that we grew up on is crap.
6. Eat TONS of fruits and vegetables in a wide variety, particularly the dark green ones like spinach, kale, broccoli, asparagus, and green beans. They're loaded with vitamins and body-strengthening nutrients, they're high in fiber, and if you fill up on great stuff like this, you'll be less likely to eat crappy stuff later.
7. Get a lot of lean protein, like fish, egg whites, and skinless chicken breasts. Red meat is often high in fat, but a lean cut of steak once a week will be good still.
8. Eat small, healthy meals that combine the food groups five times a day. The average person skips breakfast, eats a donut or junk food mid-morning, has a lunch high in starch and fat, goes hungry for the next few hours, and then pigs out at dinner. Wrong, wrong, wrong. When you don't eat, your body goes into survival mode and your metabolism slows way down, so you stop burning calories, and then when you eat a big meal, it holds onto as many of those calories as possible. If you keep eating (light, healthy meals) throughout the day, your metabolism keeps revving and you burn more calories. Note that by "meal", it can mean as little as an apple, some yogurt, and a handful of almonds.
9. Drink more water. Water flushes the crap out of your system, it helps keep your metabolism up, and helps you feel full. The average person doesn't drink enough water, and when you're dehydrated you feel fatigued. That person then assumes what they need is coffee and a cookie, which only makes things worse (coffee makes you pee, which only dehydrates you further so you need even more water).
There you go. All this information applies to everyone, but you'll find that fighters in training stick to similar plans. If you're working out a lot, don't worry about carbs, because you need them for fuel. Just worry about fat and sugar and not enough protein and fruits and vegetables.
Diet!!
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