Let me share some information with you. A close friend of mine attends the Dr. Bernstein Diet Clinics. He said two of the key thing he learned at Dr. Bernstein's clinics were:

1. Know what you will each each day. No plan = failure. A very simple and highly stressed truth.
2. Make your daily diet plans sustainable. Use available foods, not some expensive "pre-packaged" meal plan solution.

Diet Plans and Fitness

By the way, it's easy to know how many calories you are burning with the right running gear. I wear a Polar heart rate monitor when I run, and the Polar calculates caloric burn based on heart rate and other factors.

Low Fat Diet Plans

Foods that are more processed and more marketed are the foods left out of a healthy diet plan. For instance, why buy granola bars when you can have oatmeal?

The convenience that comes with a pre-packaged cereal bar also comes with the extra "nutritional" baggage like more sugars and usually more fats.

Just about any food store other than a straight convenience store / gas bar sells a healthy variety of unprocessed, raw food. I mean raw in terms of processing, not cooking.

Bananas, apples, grapes and other fruits. Grains and legumes, low fat meats like chicken, turkey and fish. These are the ingredients of a low fat , high protein diet plan.

Proteins and Carbohydrates

Proteins

Protein and the Runner's Low Fat Diet Plan

Low fat diet plans feature high quality proteins as an essential part of a athlete diet plan.

High quality proteins come from animal sources (chicken, turkey, fish, egg whites) and also from a surprising variety of other foods: Tofu, beans and rice, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and others. My favorite non-animal proteins are Brussels sprouts and tofu!

When we run we use many large muscle groups: legs, feet, abdominals, core muscles and so on. When muscles are used, especially as part of a training routine, they get "broken down" and rebuilt. This tearing down and rebuilding of muscle tissue is the essence of an athletic training plan.

This tearing down and rebuilding process takes lots of protein, and we need to find foods with the 20 Amino Acids that are the building blocks of protein.

Just the same as carbohydrates there are good ways to get protein and poor ways to obtain protein. A runner's diet plan should contain low fat protein. Hey, this is easy to do! I've been sandwiching on low-fat Capicola ham recently! Believe it or not, the ham has next to no calories from fat! So much for living a monk-like life of self denial!

• Fish
• Turkey
• Chicken
• Lean Beef
• Tuna

Let's talk about "bad proteins". These are simply proteins that pack an extra wallop of fat! Think bacon, sausages, fried chicken. These are poor ways for a runner to get their protein. Too much fat baggage!

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates and the Low Fat Diet Plan

Carbohydrates are part of the low fat diet. Carbohydrates supply the fuel that muscles use to create "stored energy". What we know now is that the type of carbohydrate in our diet plan is a critically important part of diet and nutrition.

Complex Carbohydrates vs. Simple Carbohydrates

Isn't a nice hot cinnamon bun and coffee in the morning instant gratification? A short time later, however, we are hungry again - and this time - with a vengeance! Here's what happened: the 'quick hit' cinnamon bun refined carbohydrates raised our blood sugar in a most satisfying and rapid manor, but then as the energy from these carbohydrates was stored our blood sugar plummeted and we were hungry again!

Carbohydrate solutions for low fat diet plans mean choosing the right kinds of carbohydrates: complex carbs rather than simple carbohydrates.

Complex carbohydrates are processed by our bodies more slowly than 'simple' carbs. This means we don't get the sudden sugar highs and lows we experience with simple carbohydrates like sugars, white flour or white rice!

A bonus for complex carbs is that they really are a better choice for weight loss because the help us with our food cravings.

Complex carbohydrate foods are wholegrain foods: wholegrain breads, oats, muesli and brown rice.

Complex carbs help us regulate our appetite. We feel satisfied longer and as a result eat less 'emergency food' like a chocolate bar, donut, or muffin.

See how the different carbohydrates compare in the table below:

That's your diet plan 101! Your secret to diet planning success is developing your owne list of low fat foods, make the plan then work the plan! And don't forget...

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