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Nutrition Tips with Kansas City Personal Trainer David Oquendo 05-19-16

One of the things that I get the most is: how to not eat so much and kind of curb the cravings. Like what can they do to do that? Because in a calorie deficit you are eating fewer calories, so a lot of times you can be hungry…a little more than normal.If you’re hungry more than normal…it’s going to probably happen for most people. It’s just how it goes. You’re eating less than normal where you’re restricting yourself on something. So if you restrict yourself you’re going to kind of want more of it.

So as we go through this, again, remember this is all tips on ways to kind of help you from overeating, feeling hungry all the time, and ways to get around feeling hungry whether it’s two hours before dinner time or two hours after dinner time. Or just really any time you’re just getting a little too hungry, I guess you’d say.

#1: The biggest thing that people have issues with is usually dinner time. And the weekends.

Those are two common areas that people always have problems keeping themselves in check and not eating too much.

For everybody who works: it happens for me, and it happens for a lot of my clients. So don’t feel bad. You know we all go through it. It’s hard. It sucks sometimes, but you know if you’ve got a goal we’ve got to reach it!

So we’ve got to find ways to manipulate what you’re doing that way you’re not overeating.

Again, the biggest thing is usually at dinner time. If you go out to eat…not overeating. Or on the weekends when you have no schedule, and the majority of people go out to eat on the weekends.

The big, big, big thing is if you pre-eat you’re not going to go into whatever meal it is starving.

So let’s say it’s your dinner time…it’s 7:00 pm.  You get home at 5:30 pm and you’re starving and you’re really, really hungry.  You know you’re about to start cooking your meal and guess what?

You get your meal cooking and it smells phenomenal, right? So the meal smells phenomenal, and you’re trying your best not to nitpick. You’re trying not to snack. You know you’ve got chips in the cupboard, or you’ve got some pita chips. You know hummus or something like that.

But your goal is again restrictive calories. So how do we keep from overeating those snacks between the time you start cooking and you’re actually eating?

Or when you sit down at that dinner table at Jose Peppers, and they’ve got all the salsa and chips… your whole goal is to not eat more than what you’re supposed to eat.

So let’s say… on the weekend you go out to Jose Peppers. You know that your meal is going to be 900 calories because you already picked it out. And so you’re thinking to yourself, “okay, I’ve got 900 calories in this meal so the rest of the day I can only do an additional 1,000 calories.” (as an example)

THEN… you get there and there are chips and salsa on the table, and then someone orders queso dip.

NOW you’re salivating and you’re really hungry.

So…pre-eating or maybe a protein shake or a protein bar will help kill those cravings.

So when you’re going there and you’re not “starving” you’re more likely to resist the chips and salsa and the extra appetizers that your friends are buying.

Pre-eating also helps when you get home, or you’re on your way home to cook dinner.  If you eat a little bit of a protein bar, a protein shake, or an apple. Anything that gets in your stomach will help subside the cravings from going little nuts during that hour and thirty minutes or however long that prep time of that food is going to take…

Unless you have your meals prepped, which is advised. But you’re not always going to meal prep for you and your family. It’s usually going to be for you and some days you might not which is fine.

You still need to you know work on ways to keep yourself from overeating during that time, and again whether it’s a protein shake or a protein bar, or an apple or for me I, personally, do this every night before I go to bed because I do have temptations at the place I’m staying at. So, therefore, I have a protein shake with some spinach and a banana.

Now, remember this is all calculated into my calories so it’s exactly what I need overall to get my weight loss or my cutting season. If it’s summertime everybody’s usually cutting. So I calculate the shake every night into my calories that way when I have it I’m full when I get home, or I’m at least not very hungry.

So when I’m eating dinner I’m just really eating to eat a little bit, more to fill up a little bit, but I’m not starving. And that’s the biggest issue when you let yourself get to the point of being really hungry you’re more likely to indulge in whatever you have around whether it’s a piece of brownie or…whether it’s chips and salsa. I’m a chips and salsa guy. I love chips and salsa. I go nuts for it!

But, again, if I’m already pretty full when I get home just from drinking a protein shake with my mixture of spinach and bananas then I’m not going to overeat by any means. If anything, I’m going to have trouble finishing my dinner.

A good way to look at this is whatever fits your lifestyle, go with that. Don’t do what I do because it may not work for you. That spinach shake isn’t the best tasting, but for me, it works because I don’t really care. I’m just going to drink it because I know if I get home and I’m hungry I’m going to overeat.

So for you, maybe you make yourself a blend of vanilla protein, strawberries, blueberries… a little spinach. Maybe that’s your flavor…vanilla and berries. And that’s fine.

Go with that. Maybe you don’t have time to blend, or maybe you can’t blend on the way home. That’s alright. Just have a little bit of protein shake in general, and that will help subside those cravings to snack and overeat before dinner.

Make sure your stomach is not empty as you head into making dinner or when you’re going out to eat so that you can avoid overeating in general or snacking beforehand.

The weekends are huge. You’re going to usually eat out on the weekends, and that’s okay. But again I don’t discourage it, and I don’t tell you can’t do it. I just say make sure it fits in your calories.

So make sure you plan ahead. Plan out what you’re going to have and then account for that protein shake or protein bar that you’re going to take with you, and eat it before you get there so that you don’t overindulge on the tons of appetizer that are making you salivate.

So to sum up…pre-eating is a great way to control the calories that you take in. It’s huge.

Now the next part is a question from you guys…

“What are your suggestions if you go over your calories for the day? Should you cut back on calories the next day or work out more?”

I personally would do a little extra exercise, makes it a little bit easier for me. I’d rather the exercise than actually cut back my calories on the next day. That sounds terrible. If I’m already cutting calories I don’t want to cut back anymore. I’m not going to do it. That’s me, but try to you know be really, really on point the rest of the week.

But again, the goal is to not ever get to that point at dinner time where you’re overeating. That’s planning it out. That’s taking time to make sure you’re not allowing yourself any chance to screw up.

So just start planning better, and don’t allow yourself to get in that situation.

But let’s say you’re a hungry person at dinner. That’s exactly how I am. I love dinner. It’s my favorite meal.  I consume the majority of my calories at night so it allows me to be satisfied at night when I eat. So not only do I do a drink before, but I also save a lot of my calories for the night. So if I’m at home and I’m having trouble finishing my dinner I’d rather feel full and stuffed than feel hungry an hour later. I mean it’s just terrible. Being hungry is not fun.

So start thinking about that. Are you a person that gets hungry at night? That’s fine.

What you need to do is consume more calories at night and cut back at breakfast. Maybe cut back at lunch a little bit. Usually, at work you’re moving. You’re not really thinking about food so a lot of times around the work time you’re not as focused on your hunger so you don’t worry about it. Cut back a little on the calories and focus them in the evening.

I have some clients that don’t really like dinner. That’s absolutely fine. They’re more of a big breakfast person. Well, have your calories in the morning.

And that’s fine because at night time if you can’t eat enough that’s also not good. You don’t want to get your calories low, and then your metabolism drops because you can’t eat enough calories to match what your lifestyle is.

And if you’re working out you need calories. You have to have them. Your body uses them to build and recover. so don’t ever kid yourself out of those calories. It’s not always good to eat less because there is a certain amount that’s too low.

So, again, if you’re a breakfast person and you don’t like dinner, fine. Eat more calories in the morning. 100 percent… keep it like that. That’s great. Just maneuver them to where you need them the most.

The next part is forcing yourself to eat your veggies first, then your protein, and then the higher calories like sweets and fats and things like that.

I guarantee if you fill up on a little bit of salad, you fill up on your protein, and then when you get to those carbs you’re not going to have as big of an issue saying no to them or overeating them.

So think about it that way… get the bland stuff out of the way. Get the stuff that’s going to fill you up out of the way (i.e. fibrous veggies). Either way, it’s going to sit heavy in your stomach and then go to the lighter stuff that won’t add too many calories at the end if you overate.

Sure, you can overeat on anything, but the idea is that you’re probably not going to overeat on greens.

And by the time you get to your protein you’re probably going to be done. You’re not going to feel as hungry when you get to the potatoes, or rice, or fries or whatever you’re having for the carbs and the fats. But think about it that way. Go bland first in a sense, and then ill in stuff, the less calorie stuff, then the more dense, thick, you know proteins, that sit heavy. And then go to the lighter fluff. Stuff that’s a little easier to eat but a lot of people crave a lot more.

The next topic is HUGE.

I tell people all the time.  It seems like a bodybuilder thing, but drinking a lot of water will help curb your hunger.

One of the telltale signs you’re thirsty actually and your body needs water is it will create a sense of hunger.

If you’re constantly drinking water you are going to be hungry less. That is proven. It happens all the time. Drink a lot of water. Always have a cup of water in your hand. If you’re a person that likes to carry a gallon of water, carry a gallon of water.  If you’re a person that wants to just have a glass or like a small twenty-ounce container of water around you, do it all the time. Because if you always have water and you’re always sipping on it the hunger levels will be way, way lower.

One hundred percent.

So that’s why you see people start drinking gallons of water because of the fact that they’re always filled with water, they’re never going to be as hungry. So HUGE, HUGE, HUGE.

I guarantee you if try to get a gallon of water a day, and you will see how much your hunger is going to curb because you’re always going to have something your stomach.

Your body is never going to respond to you by saying “hey, I’m thirsty, and I’m going to make you feel hungry just so I can get something in my system”.

So it’s two things that will really help out in curbing that appetite.

And again you’re in the game of calorie restriction. That’s what it’s all about if you’re in weight loss mode.

The majority of people who work with us are here for weight loss. That’s kind of why I’m talking mostly on weight loss. Eating more is usually not a problem. Although, when you’re really bulking it can be a problem for some people if they have you too much.

But the majority of people are here for weight loss so that’s why I’m touching base on ways to keep the calorie restriction where it’s at without overdoing it, but not feeling hungry all the time.

So let’s recap one more time really quick…

First, you want to pre-eat before you’re going out to eat or before dinner time if you’re always starving or hungry always. Do it…a protein shake, a protein bar, an apple. Something to sit in your stomach that keeps you from being hungry.

The second thing is consuming most of your calories around the time that you’re hungry.

So if you’re a big hunger person at dinner time like I am, eat the majority of your calories then. You’d rather be stuffed at night time than hungry an hour later.

And going to bed on a hungry stomach is terrible, and no one wants to do it. So just kind of plan accordingly that way.

Thirdly, force yourself to the veggies first, then protein, and then carbs.  I guarantee that’ll help you subside some of your hunger.  You’re not going to overeat as much on the carbs or the fatties.

Let’s say…You’ve got ice cream planned into your calories at night. So if you eat your veggies, your protein, and then your carbs it’s going to be a lot easier for you not to eat and overeat the amount of ice cream that you have. If you’re really full when you get to your ice cream, just a couple bites will do it for you, and you’ll be done.

Just don’t allow yourself to start with the carbs. They are much easier to overeat. Much, much easier.  Therefore, when you get to your protein and the veggies that are maybe a little bit lower calories not as dense in calories…It will be a lot easier to over the eat carbs first than if you go in this order: veggies, protein, and carbs. One hundred percent. An easy way to do it.

Last little bit…

Drink lots of water. Again, the more water you drink the better, as it will keep you filled if you’re always sipping on water. You’ll feel better. You’ll feel fuller. You won’t feel near as hungry because you’ll always have something in your stomach.

And you never have that body kick on that signal, “hey I’m thirsty. I’m going to make you feel hungry and you feel like you need to eat even you really don’t. You just need some water”.

That’s it for now.

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