The Sunday News
Simon Gama
It’s possible to stay on a diet if you don’t have food period, so here is a list of foods you can choose from to stock your fridge and cupboard. I purposely chose everything that’s easy to find, simple to prepare, convenient to store and tasty.
Everything for energy
Top ten simple carbohydrates
Apples, bananas, berries, cantaloupe, cherries, grapefruit, oranges, pineapples, plums and watermelons.
Top ten Starchy complex carbohydrates
Barley, oatmeal, rice, squash, sweet potatoes, white grain bread or bagels, whole grain cereal non-fat, whole grain pancakes, whole grain pasta (no egg yolks), yams
Top ten legume carbohydrates
Black beans, black eyed peas, great northern beans, kidney beans, lentils, lima beans, navy beans, peas, pinto beans, red beans
A rough way to estimate portions would be to have the amount equal to two handfuls. Limit yourself to 2-3 portions of carbs and have them only between 6am and noon.
Everything to build
Top ten proteins
Albacore, chicken breasts skinless, cod, egg whites, orange, protein powder, shrimp, tuna, turkey breast skinless or ground, yoghurt, milk, cottage cheese non-fat, cottage cheese non-fat
You should average roughly one gram of protein for every pound of body weight per day. The packaged items will list the protein content. Protein should be taken from 6am to 6pm.
Note you should always have a protein supplement following your workout, no matter what time it is. This golden hour is when your body needs a protein source that is light, tasty and easily assailable.
Everything else
Top 20 high fibre vegetables
Alfalfa sprouts, asparagus, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, eggplant, endive, green beans, lettuce, mushrooms, onions, peppers, radishes, spinach, zucchini
Top ten sweet things all must be sugar free/ fat free
Cinnamon, cocoa, gum, jello, nutra sweet, popsicles, pudding, slushies, vanilla extract
Top ten beverages all must be sugar free/ fat free
Low sodium bouillon, club soda, coffee, diet soda, flavoured water, herbal teas, flavoured iced teas, lemon and water, seltzers,
V8 vegetable juice
Top ten condiments
All spices salt free, fat free mayonnaise, fat free salad dressing, garlic, herbs, lemon juice, low sodium soy sauce, mustard, pepper, vinegar.
It’s probably hard to believe but you can have just about as much of this stuff as you want at a sitting any time of the day.
However, you should make a point of always having plenty of high fibre vegetables with all your other meals.
Sample daily menu
For all you engineering types hers how a typical daily menu might look on paper.
Daily portions of foods
7am: whole grain pancakes/ vegetables omelette small baked potato; 10am: two strawberry yoghurts, large salad with wheat germ; 1145am: large salad with tuna/ rice baked potato or yam; 3pm: one protein supplement/vegetables; 5pm: one chicken breast steamed broccoli (6pm work out); 7pm: protein supplement; 8pm: vegetable salad; 9pm: popsicles; 10pm: hot cocoa. — Online sources.
The writer, Simon Gama is a fitness coach at Body Works Gym in Bulawayo.
