Nutrition
Nutrition is often what people refer to as “Diet” but I am not the biggest fan of the word diet because it implies something that is not a lifestyle, it implies something that is a fad or something that you are doing just for now. Nutrition is key to success in meeting your goals and it can, in most cases, be more important than the exercise portion of your health and fitness. If you can’t stick to your nutrition, then we need to figure out what it is that is keeping you from staying with it. If your nutrition is too limiting, as most peoples is when they are “on a diet”, it causes them to fall off and usually binge and end up worse than when they started. Finding a nutrition plan that you can stick to that meets your nutritional needs is the key to success. To help show you how we need to start looking at our nutrition I am going to show you the Nutrition Pyramid, and no it’s not the government fruits, veggies, ten tons of grains, meat, and dairy one. This one is all about what the government guidelines leaves out, calories, macros, micros, timing, and supplements.
As you can see this isn’t your normal government issued food pyramid, this is a more important pyramid that tells you how you should look at your nutrition. As with most pyramids we start at the bottom with the most important facts. As you can see behavior and lifestyle are at the very bottom and holding the whole thing together. This means that your behavior/adherence and lifestyle change are key to making your nutritional changes work. At the base we see energy balance AKA calories as the foundation of pyramid. After that we have your Macronutrients (Macros). Macronutrients are your Proteins, Carbohydrates, and Fats. These are where you are getting your calories from (as well as from alcohol for some of us). If your calories aren’t at the right amount the macros don’t matter but once your calories are correct then you can start looking at your macro breakdown. If you are hitting your macros then we look at your micronutrients, your vitamins and minerals. Once you are hitting those bottom three then we can look at meal timing such as when you break your fast, eating before and after a workout, and eating before bed. Then at the very top we have supplements. I bet most of you thought it would be lower on the pyramid, and that’s totally normal with how much advertising we get for supplements. The sad reality is that they do little to nothing, especially if we don’t have everything else on track. Let’s take a look back at those calories, the foundation of our nutrition, and see how we can use them.
Lets Talk Calories
Calories can be used for losing weight and gaining weight/muscle mass. We do this by having more or less calories that what our total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) is. Say we want to lose a healthy 1 lb per week. There is an equation I will show you all or you can use calculators online to figure out your TDEE. Once you have your TDEE then you want to subtract 500 calories from that number. This will be your total daily calories. Now 1lb of fat is valued at 3500 calories, so you have to have -3500 per week to lose that 1lb per week. So if your TDEE was 3000 and we took 500 we have 2500 per day and a weekly drop of 3500 calories! Now this works to a point, but if you keep pulling down your calories your body will fight back. There is a number called your Basil Metabolic Rate or BMR and that is the total number of calories your body needs to function without you moving at all, your breathing, heartbeat, brain function, digestion, are all things that need energy to function. So what your body does when it notices you are getting less calories than it needs to survive it will lower your metabolic rate and lead to fat storage. This means YOU HAVE TO EAT TO LOSE WEIGHT! Plus, if you are eating your performance in your workouts will stay up, your hormones will stay in the proper ranges, and you will be much more mentally stable, not to mention able to do this the rest of your life! Trust me, those fit friends of yours haven’t been starving themselves the last few years, it’s not how it works. Now when you look at fitness models and competitors that is a different story and is not something that they do for life, it is something that they peak at for a day or two and then rebound back to normal. Keep that in mind.
Ok so let’s get your calories figured out. You have two options, go to http://www.iifym.com/tdee-calculator/ , or you can use this equation below.
1. Determine Basal Metabolic Rate
(I recommend the Mifflin-St. Jeor Method for determining basal metabolic rate.)
Men: BMR = 10 * weight(kg) + 6.25 * height(cm) - 5 * age(y) + 5
Women: BMR = 10 * weight(kg) + 6.25 * height(cm) - 5 * age(y) - 161
2. Multiply BMR by your activity levels to determine Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE)
If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
If you are moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9
This will give you your maintenance calorie intake aka your TDEE. From this point we can decide how fast we want to lose weight by using percentages. If you are overweight and new to tracking, you can take your TDEE calories and multiply them by .15 up to .25 to get the amount of calories you should cut per day. If you are pretty lean already it might be best to do .1-.15 so that you can hold on to more muscle mass as you cut the weight. Fun fact, as you cut calories and start to get lean your body will start to eat the muscle as it is not as necessary and can cause your body to burn more calories by keeping your metabolic rate up. So be sure to lift weights to combat this muscle loss and slowing of your metabolism.
We should have our calories set at this point. Now it is time for us to figure out what percentages of our calories should go to what macronutrients. This is something you will have to play with and that will change due to your metabolic typ. In this e-book I do not go into how to figure that out but I usually start myself off with 40% of my calories coming from carbs, 30% coming from protein, and 30% coming from fat. To figure this out all you have to do is multiply your total calories by .4 and that will be for your carbs. Next divide that left over number (the 60%) in half to get your calories for your protein and fats. Once you have your calories divided up into the three percentages, you will then divide the calories according to the number of calories per gram in each macronutrient. This means you will divide your carbs by four, your protein by four, and your fat by nine to find your grams for each macro nutrient. Fat is the most caloric dense so you will have the least amount of grams when it comes to fats. An example of what your macros could look like would be 3000cal carbs: 300g, protein: 225g, and fat: 100g.
I know that was a lot to take in but it is the foundation to getting your nutrition started. Other than adhering to your program for nutrition, calories and then marcros are the most important thing you can do to get you to your goals. Also be sure to get yourself a food scale so you can weigh out your food to get the most accurate measurements and track it in the app myfitnesspal. It makes it really easy to enter and keep track of your calories and macro nutrients. I don’t go over it in this book but I have information on how to get your myfitnesspal account set up to track your macronutrients and I tell you what to look for as well.
Below you will see some sample healthy, fair, and poor food choices as well as a sample day of eating. It is important to know what foods are healthy so that you can pick them up when you are shopping and substitute in the healthy for the not so healthy options. It is also important to take some time to read nutrition labels. This is key to finding out what is really in that box you throw in your cart every week. In this e-book I do not cover the labels or grocery store navigation but it is a very important part of eating clean. For now, take a look at the food options and sample day of eating listed below.
Healthy Food Choices
Studies show that those who keep journals are more
Successful in any pursuit. Study’s also reveal that
those who document their food and beverage intake
may lose more weight than those who do not.
Tips to Remember for Your Success:
-Try to walk in the morning before eating. 10-30 min.
-Drink lemon water in the morning before breakfast
-Jot down which proteins, carbs, and fats you select.
-Record the amount of water you consume each day.
-Get in the habit of checking nutrition labels and
ingredients before purchasing items.
-General rule of thumb. No more than 7 ingredients
Protein
Meat and Poultry
Best Choices (low in saturated fat)
Beef (range fed or game)
Ground beef (Less than 10% fat)
Chicken breast, skinless
Chicken breast, deli-style
Turkey breast, skinless
Turkey breast, deli-style
Turkey, ground
Fish and Seafood
Best choices (high in O3 fats)
Bass
Bluefish
Cod
Haddock
Halibut
Lobster
Salmon
Scallops
Snapper
Swordfish
Shrimp
Trout
Tuna (steak)
Tuna, canned in water
Fair Choices (moderate in saturated fat)
Beef marbled cuts
Chicken, skinless, dark meat
Corned beef, lean
Duck
Ham, lean
Ham, deli-style
Lamb, lean
Pork
Turkey burgers
Turkey, skinless, dark mea
Veal
Poor Choices (high in saturated fat)
Bacon, pork slices
Beef, fatty cuts
Beef, ground (>20% fat)
Hot dog, beef or pork
Hot dog, chicken or turkey
Pepperoni
Salami
Sausage, pork link
Sausage, pork patties
Prepackaged deli meats
Eggs
Best Choices
Whole egg
Vegetarian
(always check package labels)
Protein powder
Soy burger patty
Soy Canadian bacon slices
Soy hotdog links
Soy hamburger crumbles
Soy sausage
Tofu
Fat
Best Choices
(rich in monounsaturated fat)
Almond butter
Almond oil
Almonds
Avocado
Cashews
Guacamole
Macadamia nut
Walnuts
Olive oil
Peanut butter, natural
Pistachios
Sesame oil
Coconut oil
Flax seed oil
Fair Choices
Canola oil
Sesame oil
Soybean oil
Poor Choices
Bacon bits, imitation
Butter
Cream (half and half)
Cream cheese (REG or even Lite)
Lard
Sour cream
Vegetable shortening
Carbohydrates
Vegetables
(Best Choices)
Artichoke
Asparagus
Beans, green
Bok choy
Broccoli
Brussel sprouts
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Chickpeas
Eggplant
Hummus
Kale
Leeks
Lentils
Mushrooms
Onions
Okra
Spaghetti squash
Spinach
Swiss chard
Yellow squash
Zucchini
Raw Vegetables
Alfalfa sprouts
Bamboo shoots
Bean sprouts
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Celery
Cucumber
Green or red peppers
Jalapeño peppers
Lettuce
Mushrooms
Onions
Radishes
Salsa
Snow peas
Spinach
Tomato
Water chestnuts
Water cress
Vegetables
(use in moderation)
Beans, baked
Beans, refried
Beets
Butternut squash
Carrot
Corn
Lima beans
Parsnips
Peas
Pinto beans
Potato
Sweet potato
Fruits
(Best Choices)
Apple
Apricots
Blackberries
Blueberries
Cherries
Grapefruit
Kiwi
Lemon
Lime
Nectarine
Orange
Peach
Pear
Plum
Raspberries
Strawberries
Tangerine
Fruits
(Fair Choices)
(use in moderation)
Banana
Cantaloupe
Cranberries
Dates
Fig
Guava
Honeydew melon
Kumquat
Mango
Papaya
Pineapple
Prunes
Raisins
Watermelon
Keep fruit juice to a minimum.
Grains
(use in moderation)
Steel cut oats
100% Whole grain/wheat bread
100%Whole grain/wheat pasta
Try to keep fiber content high if eating grains.
Grains
(poor choices)
Bagel
Biscuit
Cereal
Cornbread
Cornstarch
Couscous, dry
Cracker, graham
Cracker, saltine
Cracker, Triscuit
Croissant, plain
Crouton
Doughnut
English muffin
Granola
Grits
Melba toast
Millet, dry
Muffin
Noodles, egg, cooked
Pancake
Pasta
Pita bread
Popcorn
Rice
Rice cake
Rolls
Taco shell
Tortilla
Waffle
Others/sweets
(Avoid at all cost)
Cake
Candy bar
Chips
Cookies
Ice cream
Jam or jelly
Molasses, light
Relish, pickle
Sugar latent products
Syrup
A Sample Day
This is an example nutrition plan for a day; Use the many healthy choices for each macronutrient listed above and create your own healthy meals that will fit your lifestyle. You don’t have to eat 6 times a day. Just try to ensure you hit you calorie count everyday
Breakfast
A 3-egg omelet mixed with some green veggies and cooked in 2 teaspoons of olive oil.
Lunch
A grilled chicken spinach salad with 4 ounces of chicken breast, some olive oil and vinegar dressing, and fresh fruit for dessert.
Dinner
12 ounces of salmon covered with a tablespoon of slivered almonds, 2 cups of steamed vegetables.
Snack only if necessary. We want to keep insulin levels low as much as possible.
Drink at least 64oz of water per. 96 if exercising.
Sample recipe
Here is a good idea for breakfast or snack!
1/4 cup quick oats
1 egg (sub. 1/4 egg beaters for less calories)
small handful of blueberries
little bit of brown sugar/stevia (optional)
1 tbsp soymilk or regular milk(for added moistness!)
Mix it all up into a coffee mug!
Put it in the microwave for 1 minute, make sure it doesn’t overflow! Add an extra 30 sec if it needs to firm up. Here is a good idea for breakfast or snack!
Wrap Up and Moving on to Training
As you can see from all the information provided on Nutrition it is key to your success when it comes to reaching your health and fitness goals. Once you have your nutrition on track you will start to see results and is actually the biggest reason people reach their goals, especially weight loss. A lot of times you will see people working out very hard but using that workout to justify eating poorly and they never get results no matter how hard they train. Speaking of training let’s take a small look into how training falls in the pyramid of health and wellness.
