Confused with your nutrition which will help you to get the body you have always desired this summer? Well, you are not alone. There are so many beliefs about the best ways to lose body fat, a myriad of different diets and fads, no wonder you feel befuddled with the all the information out there!
It is important to note that, we are all different and will respond differently to different nutritional protocols, therefore this information should be used as a guideline ONLY. You will need to tweak this for yourself and understand how your body responds to the directions, in order to achieve true success.
On any fat loss plan, you should strive to lose 1-2 lbs. per week, whilst a realistic goal for strength and muscle building is between 2-4kgs. Essentially, if you haven't already done so, you will need to follow a nutritional protocol as soon as possible so that you can achieve the best results within a minimal timeframe.
CALORIES AND MACRONUTRIENTS (MACROS)- They all count!
You have three macronutrients which you need to take into consideration to get your body
working like a fat stripping machine for your 12 week transformation challenge. You must include optimal levels for each and every macronutrient (that is protein, carbs and fat) into your nutrition plan, and lose any preconceptions of completely cutting any particular macronutrient, which you may think will allude to better results:
Your macronutrients are Carbohydrate, Fat and Protein and all have a particular energy density which all play specific and essential roles within the body.
One gram of each macronutrient, is equal to a certain number of calories and therefore
Proteins, fats, and carbohydrates all have a certain amount of calories (unit of energy) per gram. One gram of protein contains 4 calories, one gram of fat contains 9 calories, and one gram of carbohydrate contains 4 calories. Due to the energy density of each macronutrient you will need to subdivide your portions carefully per meal to promote the results that you want.
To keep things super simple for you; think about every main meal, your protein serving should be approximately the size of 1 palm of your hand for the ladies and 2 palms for the blokes. Carbohydrates 1/4 to 1/2 cup- if well tolerated for both genders and fats 1/3 the size of each serving.
If you're a food lover, then maybe you eat all the healthy foods but can't understand why your not changing shape? If this is the case, you should definitely check your portion sizes this might be sending your energy intake over the edge and as a result, you could be stunting the potential of your results. If you do tend to splurge on the portions, a top tip is to be more mindful, and appreciative of each meal. Avoid being in a rush when you eat, slow everything down, enjoy each bite and chew around 7 times before swallowing. Also, actually focus on eating, so rather than eat whilst watching T.V eat at the dinner table where you have time to think about your meal a little more.
ONLY Choose the calories that will nourish your body
It might be obvious to you yet, important to note; whilst some foods are extremely nutrient dense for their ratio of calories others have hardly any use for your body, and can wreck havoc on your hormones thus preventing fat burn.
For example you could eat a 200kcal ice-cream or you could have a bowl of chopped carrots plus dip, (assuming this also equates to 200kcal). The calories in the ice-cream are nutrient empty, i.e ;full of the bad type of fats and sugars), whilst in the second choice of carrots and dips these are packed with nutrients which your body can use more effectively. So best to stick to the mother nature type of foods rather than anything packaged and chemically laced before it enters your mouth, so that you nourish your body as much as possible with the foods that you consume.
Record Assess, Plan and Prepare. (RAPP)
Do the RAPP. An essential part of your transformation plan is to record and assess all your meals for at least three days and ideally 7 days. After each meal and beverage you need to describe how you feel. Also you should record your activities around your meals to make a more accurate distinction of your average daily intake Vs daily activity. Ge the ball rolling- download my FREE BODYWIZE 7-DAY NUTRITION DIARY HERE. It is fundamental to do this so your coach and/or yourself can assess your different reactions to the foods, your timings of foods around your activities, and your energy levels, so you can adapt your nutrition in order to lead to awesome results. This exercise is also an excellent way of keeping you accountable for your goals, so always a great idea to repeat this exercise regularly to keep you on track. Once you have recorded your nutrients over 7 days, and calculated your ideal calorie consumption, factoring in your optimal macronutrient intake for your goal, plus activity level you can then plan your grocery shop accordingly and prepare you meals ahead of the week. This will help you to stay focussed and get you to your goals much quicker. You can download a FREE copy of a Meal planner and shopping list here.
Nutrient Timing
Ever heard of the 'anabolic window of opportunity'? This sentiment refers to nutrient timing and its effects on establishing body composition improvements and exercise performance. The ' opportunity window' alludes to a lim
Pre-training session-There are many interesting variables for this influence, such as exercise type. For example, Studies have shown that minimising simple sugars before your workout will maximise fat oxidation- i.e you will burn more fat during your workout by reducing and/or eliminating sugar intake, in particular before an endurance training session.
The post-exercise period is often considered the most critical part of nutrient timing (Aragon and Schoenfeld, 2013) Our body tends to be much more sensitive and receptive around 1-2 hours post training, due to the events controlled by insulin (Levenhagen et al 2001). Nutrient selection is largely influenced by exercise type. Packing in particular macronutrients, around a resistance training session, would differ from cycle class, for example. So clearly we need to ingest the correct nutrients, at the correct times in order to achieve our fat loss goals within our timeframe. Providing your body with the perfect blend of carbohydrates protein as opposed to a mish mash of nutrients and calories seems to allow for unequivocal results. An example of this theory was found by Ivy et al.(2002). The authors found that consumption of a combination of protein and carbohydrate after a 2+ hour bout of cycling and sprinting increased muscle glycogen content significantly more than either a carbohydrate-only supplement of equal carbohydrate or caloric equivalency. Argon and Schoenfild (2013) attribute the synergistic effects of protein-carbohydrate to a more pronounced insulin response.
Meal Frequency- Nibble or gorge?
Ever heard people yarp on about the fact that you must graze on 5-6 meals per day if you
want to improve your body fat percentage? I think this the biggest pile of dogs dinner the health and fitness industry wants you to believe, and its all a falsity. I know if i ate 6 meals a day i would blow up like a hippopotamus having a fat day. I know that I work much better with three meals. This isn't to suggest that 6 meals or 11 meals, might not work for you. This is my biggest piece of advice; find out what works best for YOU! Everyone is a different person, with different reactions. Are you a nibbler or a gorger, what gives you the best results? During a detailed review of the possible mechanistic explanations for a metabolic advantage of nibbling meal patterns, Bellisle et al (1997) failed to reveal significant benefits in respect of energy expenditure. In summary, consider your total amount of food consumed to determines the amount of energy expended during digestion. For example, eating 3 meals of 800 calories will cause the same thermic effect as eating 6 meals of 400 calories. There is literally no difference.
Mindset- consistency and PATIENCE!
speak yet, with-out setting themselves up for consistency as they have failed to plan properly. At the end of the day, your goal is to reduce body fat whilst increasing muscle mass AND you surely want to be able to maintain the results that we achieve from our hard work, therefore going in with the right mind set is a totally essential part of your plan so that you can stick at it through the tough stuff. Some clients fall into the trap of training and eating well for a couple of days then slacking off for a couple of days. Always be mindful of the fact that a spasmodic approach to training and nutrition will slow your progress down. The more you can assess your weaknesses and strengths, the more you can create the right strategies for yourself, so that you achieve success. There is no doubt that the mind will flip out sometimes so it's up to remember that you are in control and to tame yourself in to the course of action that will lead to your desired changes. Get your self on track by recording your goals in detail. Download your free copy of the Bodywize health fitness and goals assessment.
If you like this blog post you will LOVE to know more about the macronutrients in further
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