Refresh your dietary software so you’ve got full access to the 2017 data that’ll optimise muscle storage and health processing, plus un-friend body fat.
The diet improvements you’ve been subscribed to for years mean well, but these days you can do better. See if these 2017 upgrades fit better.
Embracing Mr-Tea
Initial upgrade
Switching from coffee to green tea
It’s hard to escape the green tea publicity carousel. Numerous studies have praised unparalleled prowess for beating everything from Cancer to belly fat.
2.17 Upgrade
Add a slice of lemon
Research in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that adding vitamin C to your brew protects the tea’s antioxidants and makes green tea’s effects more powerful. You won’t even taste the difference and can suck on the lemon afterwards to spritz up your breath.
Loners Lunch
Initial upgrade
You leave the office to enjoy your lunch break
There’s no way your boss should make you fat. Research at the University of Bristol found that eating at your desk, or place of work, can make you eat more calories later in the day.
2.17 Upgrade
Eat alone if you’re trying to lose weight
It may seem a little anti-social but you’ll eat up to 44% more calories if you eat with someone else and up to 76% more if you join your entire office for a restaurant lunch, found research in Nutrition. People breed distraction and diversions make you forget how much you’re shoving into your pie hole.
In a nut spell
Initial upgrade
You eat mixed nuts as snacks between meals
Nuts are full of healthy unsaturated fats, protein and fibre that drip-feeds your muscles with all kinds of minerals and vitamins.
2.17 Upgrade
Make nuts your post-meal ritual
Next time you hit the buffet, pack some walnuts. Eating a handful after a high-fat meal protects your heart and does an even better job than olive oil by keeping your arteries supple, found research. Think of it as an internal Pilates class minus the tights.
Fish out of water
Initial upgrade
You eat more omega-3 rich fish than plain white fish
Fitness fanatics in particular have wised up to the benefits of omega-3s because research at the University of Georgia found that omega-3 properties can reduce post-exercise muscle pain by as much as 25%. However, if you thought you were crafty for having a salmon dinner after a hectic bout of iron mongering, you can go one better.
2.17 Upgrade
Up the potency of salmon steak with sliced ginger
When ginger is combined with protein, more of the protein gets digested faster, found research in the European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. So it mainlines this muscle fuel to the places you need it most.
Cheat codes
Initial upgrade
You have a cheat day or meal at least once a week
Relentlessly following your diet can make you fall off the wagon, so a cheat meal may help you stick to it and ignite your metabolism when you return to your usual routine. In this way, cheat meals can actually help you stick to your diet, found research at the University of Illinois.
2.17 Upgrade
Think outside the box
When attacking your cheat meal set yourself this one rule: never eat food out the box it came from. Once you’ve started binging on fatty or sugary goodness, it can be just as addictive as nicotine or cocaine, making it near impossible to stop, found a study Nature Neuroscience. And staring at the bottom of an ice-cream tub is a pretty big comedown. Solution? Serve yourself in a small bowl.
Cast a berry long shadow
Initial upgrade
You switch from apples to eating more blueberries and acai.
Superfoods reportedly fight disease and help you live to a ripe old age, but what the ‘Mad Men’ fail to tell you is that antioxidants have a dirty little secret that could be making you chunkier than a jar of peanut butter.
2.17 Upgrade
Improve your sweet tooth timing
If you’re trying get leaner then antioxidant timing is crucial. When antioxidant-rich foods are eaten on an empty stomach they may further increase appetite beyond normal levels, found research in the journal Nature. So a bowl of berries might actually stoke your appetite even further. Rather eat them after a high-protein meal.
Staying chilled
Initial upgrade
You drink lukewarm water to hydrate faster
Straight ole tap water used to be thought of as the best source of hydration because your body doesn’t have to heat it up to absorb it. However, this needs to be put on ice.
2.17 Upgrade
Cold water with salt will boost your performance
Research in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition found that when people drank cold water during a workout their core temperature stayed lower and they could actually do slightly more reps on the bench press. Adding a sprinkle of Himalayan rock salt will help you retain more water so it’s not ejected every 10 minutes, keeping you hydrated for longer.
For more articles on nutrition and training, get TRAIN magazine direct into your inbox every month for free by signing up to our newsletter
