When I meet with personal training clients who want to lose weight/fat the first thing we discuss is nutrition. After all, nutrition is the foundation of any sound fitness program. Almost all of my clients tell me they have managed to lose weight only to eventually gain it back. Invariably, the reason is that their nutrition program was unrealistic or not sustainable. If weight loss is your goal, take a look at what you are eating and ask yourself: Is it realistic to eat this way and be healthy for the rest of my life? When we choose the foods that we eat on a regular basis - our diet - it's best to think in terms of the long haul. Sustainable nutrition is a marathon not a sprint. This is especially true when it comes to weight/fat loss.

Any diet that significantly restricts caloric intake is usually counterproductive and in some cases dangerous. You cannot live on a seven-hundred calorie a day diet, but I meet people all the time who tell me they are doing just that - or trying to. They are setting themselves up for failure. I'm also amazed to discover how many people are juicing for extended periods of time too. Juicing as a supplement to whole foods or for a short time as a cleanse is fine. But over a prolonged period, more than three days, juicing can raise stress hormones and has the potential to disrupt blood sugar. The lack of fiber in juicing as opposed to whole foods can send blood sugar levels soaring or crashing. Well known weight loss programs can have pitfalls too. My wife once had a client tell her that based on the point system of the weight loss program she was using, she could eat a chocolate cupcake for breakfast every day. In my opinion there is something fundamentally wrong with any nutrition program where that is possible.

The good news is that there are plenty of foods that taste good, and are good for you. So where do you begin? The majority of my personal training clients who have lost a substantial amount of weight, and have kept it off, ate a diet of mainly meats and vegetables. Meat - beef, chicken, fish, elk, bison, etc. - contains protein and fat, two of your three essential macronutrients. Protein helps build and repair muscle tissue. Fat supports brain function, heart health, and promotes satiety as well. Fat is good for you! Vegetables are your best source of your third essential macro nutrient, carbohydrates. Vegetables are usually high in fiber and nutrient dense. Fruit is good too, but eat it in moderation, since it is high in sugar by comparison to meat and vegetables. Avoid anything with added sugar and minimize or eliminate grain based and processed foods. Some folks can tolerate grain based foods better than others, but for the most part they have little nutritional value. I have a lot of people tell me they cannot imagine not eating bread or pasta on a regular basis. Most find that after a week or two they really don't miss it.

Putting together a healthy, sustainable nutrition program usually results in a better quality of life. Avoid short term extremes and over complicating matters. Choose nutritious, whole foods over the long term. When in doubt a good rule of thumb is to follow the advice of the late fitness guru Jack LaLanne: "If man made it, don't eat it."