PERSONAL TRAINING: NUTRITION 301: The 4-Day Rotation Diet, Part I: Protein
Once you have healed the gut in the short term, you must follow a program of preventive maintenance to reduce stress to the digestive system. The best way to accomplish this end is with a rotational diet.
To follow a rotational diet, you need to learn to eat a wide range of foods. A four-day rotation is ideal, meaning that you do not repeat foods for four days – i.e., if you eat salmon on a Monday, you should not eat it again until Saturday.
Rotational diets demand a different thought process than what most people are accustomed to, and this change in thinking is often challenging. Breakfast, for example, is not some special meal where the only appropriate foods to eat are eggs, toast and cereal. It is just the first meal of the day, and meat or fish is just as good in the morning as it is in the afternoon or evening. After you understand the concepts, the nutritional secrets to getting the most out of your personal training – body fat loss, bodybuilding, strength training – are in your hands.
Understanding Protein: The Fuel for Growth and Repair
For the purposes of this discussion, a protein source is a food whose major macronutrient is protein. That eliminates most foods except animal proteins. Beans, peas, and legumes are not protein sources, unless they form the basis of a good protein powder, like Ultra Protein Plus from Douglas Laboratories.
It bears repeating again: as whole foods, legumes and nuts are not protein sources. Black beans, for example, have the highest protein content of any of the legumes, yet they are over 60% carbohydrate. In the world of maximum personal training and strength coaching results, the discussion needs to be black and white. Foods are either sources of protein, sources of fat, or sources of carbohydrate.
