As discussed earlier this week, there are many different diets out there and many different people telling you what to do when it comes to "eating right" to obtain the body that you want (be it healthy, lean, fast, efficient, muscular, etc.).  There are good reasons that they tell you these things but it really does get confusing.  So "KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID" and do the one thing that we know works… EAT OFTEN, about every 3 to 3 1/2 hours, or you’ll look like this at work and in your workouts…

Travis’s Dog, Laila, after going too long without food!

(Have you ever felt like this???)

Try to include in each meal a mix of natural complex carbohydrates, fiber, protein, and essential fats.  This means a starchy complex carbohydrate (like rice or fruit), a fibrous carbohydrate (vegetable), and a lean protein (fish, chicken, Turkey, Tofu).  Frequent fueling maintains a high metabolism and it decreases the amount of food you actually eat during a day or week or month.  Give it a try!

Now for some strategy:

Frequent fueling is a simple and effective way to be lean and healthy, but you’ll have to do a little planning ahead, that’s all…

First, be sure you have fresh food available at all times.

• Stock the fridge at home and/or work with chopped veggies (that you chop fresh every Sunday and put into baggies) and some humus for a dip (you can buy good humus at Trader Joe’s)
• Keep a jar of unsalted almonds and dried fruit beneath your desk
• Every week stock a desk drawer with a couple bananas, apples and/or seedless grapes
• And, though it’s not fresh, a good whey protein powder from Athlon Elite mixes in well with a piece of fruit as an excellent and very simple mid-afternoon meal

Use your Sundays to do a little food prepping (it will ultimately save a ton of time during the week, and it’s fun to do a little fresh cooking on Sunday’s with the family):

• Barbeque a bunch of chicken and/or turkey breasts, lean steak or pork fillets and bag-up  into multiple zip-loc baggies
• Make a big pot of soup or chili (you can use left over meat from the barbeque) and pour into multiple Tupperware dishes
• Make a big pot of brown rice and scoop some into your chili bowls or store separately in Tupperware containers
• Boil a dozen eggs and store them in a bowl in your fridge to pick at all week long (they make great mid-afternoon snacks with a piece of fruit)

When you do cook in the evenings during the week make a little extra and prep yourself lunches and mid-afternoon meals with that food:

• Buy some Tupperware containers that have separate compartments so you can keep your "entrees" separate
• When you clean-up after making dinner divide the left-overs up into these Tupperware lunch containers and stack in the fridge ready to use

 Finally, there are many "fairly healthy" frozen foods that you can buy and use for meals, take a trip to Costco or your local Supermarket and buy:

• Frozen teriyaki chicken bowls
• Lean Cuisine dinners
• Frozen "healthy" burritos (try to get ones that are not stuffed with cheese and refried beans)
• (Costco is great for this, they have pretty good frozen foods and you can buy a box of 12 or more!)

Once you’ve prepped using some of the strategies from above all you have to do now is… EAT!

Eat regularly every 3 to 3 1/2 hours.  Set an alarm if you have to, JUST EAT!

As mentioned above, try to include in each meal a mix of natural complex carbohydrates, fiber, protein, and essential fats, avoid or minimize simple sugars and hydrogenated fats, and get your meals from a variety of sources all found in the perimeter of the supermarket (not down the isles).