Your fitness goals might not include getting ripped like Sylvester Stallone in Rocky IV — seriously? What the hell is wrong with you? — but no guy wants to go shirtless and have a blubbery mass covering his abs, either. The saying is lame but it’s true — abs are made in the kitchen. And that’s because you can’t out-train a bad diet. Eat garbage, look like garbage. Simple as that.
To help you shed that excess poundage by making minor tweaks to your diet, we asked Jeffry Life, M.D., Ph.D (@DrJLife), author of The Life Plan Diet, for a handful of tips you can start implementing today. As in your next meal. Ahem … we mean put those goddamn Funyons down!
#1. DITCH PROCESSED FOODS
Dr. Life suggests eliminating processed carbs like bread and white rice. (Sugary sodas fall into that mix, too.) They contain refined sugars that have little nutritional value. Eating too many processed carbs can lead to blood sugar spikes and, eventually, not-so-pleasant things like type 2 diabetes. “All processed foods spike blood sugars and [can] lead to heart disease — the number one killer of Americans,” he says.
#2. EAT A SMALL BREAKFAST
The debate over whether eating a healthy breakfast leads to weight loss is ongoing (and full of contradicting or misinterpreted studies). However, a small breakfast can become one of your four to five modest-sized meals throughout the day and might help reduce hunger cravings. In other words, no more eating elephant-sized portions. “Small meals of about 300-400 calories each will minimize the production of body fat and accelerate the metabolism,” explains Dr. Life.
