Practice good mealtime habits. Eat meals at the table in a relaxed fashion. Do not allow distractions like TV, phone, or email while you are eating. Chew slowly and thoroughly, don’t gulp. Take the time to enjoy the delicious, healthy food you have prepared!
Eat three meals a day, starting with a good breakfast. Base each meal around 1 to 2 palm-sized protein sources. Fill the rest of your plate with vegetables. Occasionally add a serving of fruit. Add fat in the following recommended amounts per meal:
Make each meal large enough to satisfy you until the next meal—don’t snack, if you can help it. Stop eating a few hours before bed.
Eat 15 to 75 minutes pre-workout, as a signal to prepare your body for activity. If you train first thing in the morning, something is better than nothing. Choose foods that are easily digestible and palatable. This is the most variable factor in our template, so experiment with different foods, quantities, and timing.
Include a small amount of protein (half a meal size or smaller), and (optionally) a small amount of fat (half a meal size or smaller). Do not add fruit or carb-dense vegetables to your pre-workout snack.
Eat immediately following exercise (15 to 30 minutes). Eat a meal-sized easily digestible protein, plus the appropriate amount of carb-dense vegetables based on the Carb Curve in It Starts With Food. Do not use fruit as your primary post-workout carb, and add little to no fat. Examples of carb-dense vegetables appropriate for post-workout include sweet potatoes/yams, taro/poi, butternut squash, acorn squash, pumpkin, or beets.
Note, your PWO meal is a special bonus meal—not meant to replace breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Think of it as a necessary source of additional calories and nutrients, designed to help you recover faster and more efficiently from high intensity exercise.