There are many components to focus on when working to improve a fitness training program. The big three components in my team sports training program are motivation, training and nutrition. With a focus on nutrition one area that is often overlooked is the addition of vegetables to an athletes diet. I like to treat vegetables like one of the macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins and fats) but they are not. Vegetables are carbohydrates.

I like to measure and count vegetables by themselves. Measuring vegetables separately gets me into the mindset of making sure I know how many and how often I am eating vegetables. I like to eat vegetables at least three times daily and even up to five times a day. I move up to five times a day when I am eating the healthiest I possibly can. If my meal needs more carbohydrates than what is in the vegetables I will add more low glycemic index carbs like fruits, beans and sweet potatoes.

Most people don’t like and don’t eat enough vegetables. Vegetables are very important for weight loss. Learn to like vegetables and add them to your diet. There are simple ways like steaming and adding low salt seasoning to make them taste better. Many of my client’s started off not liking vegetables but grew to like them over time.

Vegetables add fiber for digestion and give your body a feeling of fullness for a long time after each meal. Vegetables are very nutritious and low in calories. This means you are getting a food that has great value without adding a lot of calories. This will lead to weight loss and overall health.

The value you get is a food that is high in anti-oxidants, vitamins and minerals. Anti-oxidants are very important for helping the body stay strong by helping the cells in your body stay healthy. These tiny cells are what your body is made out of and the better they act the better your body will act.

The fiber in vegetables has an affect on the body that forces it to burn body fat. This added bonus is another reason to include vegetables into your diet.

Vegetables can be found in foods like cucumber, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, colored peppers, tomatoes, carrots. The nutritive value of foods list has a whole list of all the vegetables.

I recommend you eat at least 2-3 cups or 285 grams (weight on a food scale) a day. I personally eat up to 5 cups or 475 grams a day.

Don’t worry about adding the carbohydrates grams to your daily total. Take more time to measure the grams for carbohydrates that are high caloric like fruits, tortillas, yams, oatmeal etc.