Good nutrition is the foundation of good health. Water, carbohydrates, proteins and fats are essential for a good diet. Water is an essential nutrient that is involved in every function of the body. It helps transport nutrients and waste products in and out of cells. Water is essential for all digestive, absorption, circulatory and excretory functions. By drinking adequate amounts of water, you can ensure that your body has all it needs to maintain good health.

Carbohydrates supply the body with the energy it needs to function. Carbohydrates are found in plant foods such as fruit, vegetables and beans.

Protein is essential for growth and development. It provides the body with energy and is needed for the manufacture of hormones, antibodies, enzymes and tissues.

Fats are essential to provide energy and support growth. Fat is the most concentrated source of energy available to the body.

We believe that proper nutrition is 80% of success when following a diet. Proper nutrition is imperative for good health and well-being. Exercise is very important but we believe that all cosmetic and performance changes are made through food. If you have been training for years in a gym, you probably have noticed that the majority of people in any gym have good work ethics, consistently performing cardio and weight training, yet obtain very little or no change in weight or appearance. Yet they are still looking for the magical weight training program. Chances are, their nutritional program is lacking or nonexistent. The program they need to seek is a nutritional one not a new workout regime. This nutritional program would vary on personal needs, whether it is loss/gain or athletic high-performance.

Keeping a food diary of what is consumed throughout the day helps to document whether you are eating too much, too little or just not healthy. For those of you who think that this is too much work, we feel that keeping track of your health is more important than keeping track of your finances. Would you let someone make your financial investments without showing you where your money was invested? Remember without good health, you have nothing. The scale is another important tool. To avoid weighing yourself will not help you succeed. The scale is only a number to help you adjust calories to keep your weight goals progressing. You weigh the same standing on the scale or beside the scale. It is just a number.

We prefer to eat complex carbohydrates such as vegetables, grains and beans instead of simple carbohydrates and refined carbohydrates such as bread, pasta and sugars. Refined carbohydrates offer few vitamins and minerals that are important for your health. They also play havoc with insulin levels. If you don’t notice this happening, just remember the last time you consumed a bowl of pasta and felt like having a nap right afterwards. They can lead to a number of disorders including diabetes and hypoglycemia. Usually refined foods are high in sugars as well as fats. Limiting fats and sugars, we feel, is the key to weight loss and high performance. We would prefer to eat more vegetables than fruit.

Rice, potatoes, yams, peas and corns are a few of the high quality starches that we use. Remember, potatoes don’t make you fat, it is what you put on them that does!

Carbohydrates are essential for putting on muscle. The new trend of avoiding carbohydrates is detrimental to overall well-being. Most weight loss when avoiding carbohydrates comes from water loss, which is not healthy. If you have tried no-carbohydrate dieting, you have probably noticed that you were plagued with headaches. Dehydration would be the cause of headaches and is a high probability on this type of program.

Fats are the most concentrated source of energy to the body. With nine calories per gram, fats are over two times as dense as carbohydrates and proteins, each having only 4 calories per gram. There are good fats and bad fats. Excessive fat intake is a major factor in today’s obesity and weight problems. Weight problems contribute to many health issues such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart problems and cancer. From our observations, the average person consumes 60 – 65% from fats which is obviously too high. Almost all foods contain some fat. Even if a person set out to consume zero calories from fat, he would end up consuming between 15 – 20 % fat. Most are shocked to find that foods like chicken breast still contain 20% fat and products like oatmeal and corn contain some fat content. The fats of choice would be found in tuna, chicken, turkey, eye of round steak or roast, halibut, sole, cod, shrimp, lobster, supplementing with essential fatty acids.

Your body needs protein to build muscle. Muscle is the metabolic tissue, the more muscle that you carry the better your metabolism is. Muscle is important to stay smaller, leaner and healthier. Building muscle aids in the prevention of osteoporosis.

Healthy proteins are high in essential amino acids. These proteins are found in meat, fish, poultry eggs and milk. We believe that you should consume protein low in fat to maintain a healthy body fat percentage. Whey protein is a food derived from milk and a byproduct of cheese production. It contains the highest biological value of all foods and provides the body with all the essential amino acids. Because it requires no cooking it is a fast and efficient food that tastes good.

Sometimes it is difficult to eat a snack during our hectic work schedules, a great tasting shake is convenient. We have tried many products over the years and have found that Whey Gourmet by PVL is the best product we have used. They have 14 delicious flavors to choose from and quality cannot be beaten. A brand new whey product has just been developed by PVL; Natural Whey Gourmet is available for those who prefer to not use artificial flavors, sweeteners or colors in their products. Natural Whey Gourmet is sweetened with stevia and fructose and is available in Strawberry Banana, Vanilla and Chocolate.

Meals should be consumed 5-6 times over the course of the day. An example would be 3000 calories eaten 6 times per day at 500 calories per meal, versus 3000 calories eaten 3 times per day at 1000 calories per meal, will give you a higher probability of speeding up your metabolism. Small meals should be consumed during the day to maintain constant blood sugar levels. Restricting types of calories is more important than restricting the calories themselves. Not all calories are created equal.

Over the years we have had the opportunity to work with many thousands of individuals. Success is dictated by desire. Those who succeed are those who strive for their goals.

Yours in Strength,

IFBB Pro Bodybuilder Donna Logue and Brian Logue

Donna@bodyby24-7.com