You might be asking yourself, “What is the best diet to prepare for a hip replacement?” Well, there are no secrets to food. Just eat the good stuff. Avoid the marketing and bright colors. Educate yourself. Whole foods. It is not hard, it just takes some quality discipline and consistency.
When you go grocery shopping, think of it like a sport. Good stuff you throw in your cart are all points, hits, touchdowns, whatever. You are winning when the majority of the stuff that you are putting in your cart is mostly fruits and vegetables, some lean meats and fish, maybe some bad ass sourdough bread from Trader Joe’s (whatever bread you eat just try to make it have some nutritional value added like seeds or whole grains…definitely not the cheap wheat bread or white bread that is $2 or less), quinoa, nuts, beans, seeds, coconut oil, cayenne pepper, other spices like turmeric and cinnamon, and maybe some hummus or tzatziki or something like that. Get crazy with a snickers or ice cream cone here and there when you know you have been crushing it in the gym.
In my opinion, the key is to experiment with different stuff, but keep your fundamentals simple and clear. Fruits and vegetables mostly, some meat but try to keep it mostly fish, and thats most of the stuff you should be putting in your body. Stop it with the frozen aisles, stick to the outsides of the grocery store as I learned so well from reading the amazing book, Core Performance by Mark Verstegen. One I would recommend to anyone in the world regardless of fitness level.
So, to wrap up – look up recipes on line with the different vegetables and meats/fish you want to eat. There are a bagillion creative ideas out there that are so tasty and healthy. Just use Google dude. Stop making lame excuses. Start doing what you know you should do right NOW. Like literally go on amazon right this second and buy some meal prep containers. And then use this comprehensive list of go to items that should be going in your cart:
These are not the only foods, but they are pretty much my staples:
FRUITS:
First off, I know that people often say fruit has so much sugar and its not as good. Personally, I don’t care. It works for me and I think it is the best. I usually try to eat fruit as dessert when I can as well.
- Avocado(its classified as a fruit according to Google)
- Mango
- Pineapple
- Oranges
- Pears
- Blueberries
- Blackberries
- Watermelon
- Bananas
- Apples
- Kiwi
- Lemon(put in water)
- Lime(put in beer!)
- Pretty much any other fruit!!! Try them all!!!
VEGETABLES:
- Sweet Potatoes(the best! especially for athletic people…but hey we should all be athletic)
- Brussel Sprouts
- Brocolli
- Asparagus
- Kale
- Spinach
^ These top 6 vegetables ideally should comprise the majority of what you eat…as much as possible. Eat one of these AT LEAST every day. Hopefully like two servings of at least three of them. - Romaine
- Onion
- Tomato
- Carrot
- Pretty much any other vegetable!! Try them all!!!
MEATS/FISH:
- Chicken
- Tilapia
- Tuna
- Salmon
- Lean ground turkey to mix with whole wheat pasta
- Steak here and there
WHOLE GRAINS:
- Quinoa
- Whole Grain Pasta
- Cous cous(I think its a whole grain? Either way I know its bomb and healthy)
NUTS:
- Almonds
- Cashews
- Brazil Nuts
- Peanuts
- Walnuts
- Try other ones too
BEANS:
- Lentil
- Black
- Try other ones too, avoid refried beans for sure. Avoid super salty.
SEEDS:
- Sunflower
- Flaxseeds
- Chia Seeds
- Hemp Seeds
OILS:
- Flaxseed
- coconut
- avocado(pretty expensive)
- DEFINITELY NO CANOLA OR VEGETABLE EVER
OTHER STUFF:
- Greek yogurt
- Marinara sauce for the pasta! (not extremely healthy but I don’t care because its so good!)
- Almond Milk(use for smoothies)
- raw cacao
- cayenne pepper
- chlorella
- spirulina
- green drink(Amazing Grass…love this stuff! Every morning)
- raisins(mix with almonds or peanuts and keep bags in your car for on the go fuel)
- and….of course you must have Ranch dressing. It is not healthy, but it is amazing and it makes me eat more vegetables and salads.
- and beer. Must have beer. Sometimes.
You shouldn’t have sugar in your cupboard. If you want to bake cookies, go buy the stuff for that time. It is not a staple. Its poison that should be taken in moderate doses.
NONE OF THIS IS NEW NEWS!!!
Its all over the internet! There are way more comprehensive lists out there. This is just the list of stuff that I have come to be accustomed to buying. I am not perfect but I would say at least 90-95% I practice exactly what I preach. These are the foods I have trained myself to love. The energy that goes into eating the things you know you should eat emanates positively through out you and empowers you. So do it because it feels good.
START. RIGHT. NOW.
Now is the most important time ever.
Go get it!
-Isaac