Let’s be honest: living a healthy life isn’t easy. However, a few nutrition tips could save you on your way to fitness. That’s why, with the help of top athletes, GQ has put together the best tips to help you stick to your new diet.
Start the day with oatmeal
Oatmeal bowls are easy to make and are also a great way to start an active day. Isaac Caldiero, the first American Ninja Warrior champion, ate oatmeal (well, oat bran, to be exact) to get ready for the show: “I make oat bran with almond milk, honey, cinnamon, blueberries, and a tablespoon of chia seeds. “All the good morning nutrients you need,” he says, “and I could go all day without eating.” Alex Honnold, a famous rock climber, eats oatmeal muesli before he climbs cliffs because it keeps him full for longer.
Put everything in the blender
Don’t you think that eating can be a very hard thing to do? You have to collect everything, eat it one at a time, and do nothing else. But if you want nutrition advice, shakes and smoothies are your best bet because you can mix all the nutrients you need into one glass and drink it on the go. Miles Chamley-Watson, a fencer and model, eats shakes that are full of protein, fruit, and other good things. It also helps to have a good blender.
Fish is the perfect proteinÂ
Even though Dean Karnazes, an ultramarathon runner, often eats salmon raw, there are many other fish that are also full of healthy fats. Sumo champion Byambajav Ulambayar likes fried oily fish, while tennis player Stan Wawrinka, who won the French Open in 2015, likes sea bass.
Going vegan isn’t as hard as it used to be
Scott Jurek, an ultramarathon runner, and David Carter, a defensive lineman for the Chicago Bears who eats about 10,000 calories a day, have both seen a big improvement in their performance after giving up animal products. As someone who used to eat a lot of meat, his secret is cashew cheese. Definitely, this is one of the tips for eating that you should follow.
Temporarily stop eating meat
Not all great athletes eat the same things, and not all of them want to give up meat. James Lawrence ran 50 triathlons in 50 days during the summer of 2015. To get ready, he ate as much “normal” food as he could. And JJ Redick of the Los Angeles Clippers chooses to eat vegetarian food sometimes. Redick says, “If I don’t feel like I’ve had red meat in a while, I’ll have a steak.” “If I eat too much of one thing for two weeks, I’ll stop eating it.” Balance is important.
Make sure to indulge your cravings
There are many mental reasons why we don’t reach our fitness goals. Even the best athletes will tell you that it’s hard to be disciplined. It’s very hard. But if you stay healthy most of the time, it’s okay and even good for you in the long run to occasionally give in to a whim.
The best way to stay on track is to let yourself go off track every so often as a reward and give in to your cravings. Even American football player DeAndre Yedlin gives up a strict diet so he can get back on track with his fitness.
