A common scenario I hear quite often from people is that nutrition is easy, they know how to eat and that nutrition is the simple and easy part of fitness. Of course, I am a big nutrition buff so I always ask: “Oh cool, so you know how calories work and how many there are in protein, carbohydrates and fats then?”…..This question is almost always answered with a simple, “uh no” response.
I hate to burst the dieting world’s bubble, however, one law remains constant when it comes to eating right and losing bodyfat: Calories in and calories out. You must have more calories going out than in to have any type of weight loss. If you expend 3000 calories a day, then you need to eat 2750 calories or less a day to get some noticable weight loss. Do you want to know why diets make you lose weight initially?…because you are below your calorie maintenance level…that’s why. However, most people are impatient so diets are usually designed for rapid weight loss…and that’s why you gain all the weight back after a while. I recently had a friend of mine beg me for diet advice, I agreed to help her. She then asked me…ok ..so how much can I lose by june 2nd. Well considering it was already May 27th..I just broke her heart and said “not much”. Her question was simply spawned from her impatience to lose weight. Keep it this way, it’s better to lose 20lbs over 20 weeks and keep it off than lose 20lbs over 10 weeks just to put your metabolism in chaos and gain the weight back.
So, what am I getting at? I just want to take some time to go over some simple nutritional basics and how understanding them can lead you to eat healthier and get leaner. Foods are primarily composed of macronutrients (not to be confused with micronutrients such as vitamins and minerals). These are Proteins, Carbohydrates and Fats. Protein and carbohydrate have 4 calories per gram, fat has 9 calories per gram. Oh and if you really want to know alcohol has 7 calories per gram. Now just by reading that you can see why it is important to keep your fat intake in check. It also shows you the ultimate flaw of diets such as Atkins.
By understanding how many calories are in each macro nutrients it is easier to discern the food labels when we go grocery shopping. With this basic understanding you can make better food choices. For things that do not have labels, like when you buy fruits, veggies and meats, use a food listing. I recommend Corrine T. Netzer’s The Complete Book of Food counts. for you internet junkies try www.calorieking.com.
Making smart food choices makes a HUGE difference. After a while you will see how many things you thought were great but are just horrible, and vice versa. I have been analysing my food for a month now and I know that I eat 275 grams of protein, 350 grams of carbohydrates and 60-70 grams of fat a week. With this balance I am losing bodyfat very slowly, which is my goal as I am still working at gaining quality muscle.
Well I hope this helps.
Lou
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