Are you looking for nutritional advice for losing weight or perhaps muscle gain, or just to maintain a healthy diet?
Nutrition can be a complicated subject. There’s so many myths and so much propaganda it’s really hard to know who to trust and what to believe. I like to make nutrition simple and easy to understand for my clients, so they are able to stay consistent and maintain results long into the future.
Weight loss or building muscle isn’t just about nutrition
What you also have to understand is that weight loss or building muscle and strength isn’t just about nutrition. If you haven’t got your mindset, sleep and stress in check then this will have a knock on affect on your nutritional habits.
Building new healthy habits is the only way you are going to be able to sustain your results. You have to learn to let go of the way you currently think and be prepared to change your lifestyle.
Let’s look at more in-depth nutritional advice:
- Calorie Deficit
Despite what online articles, fad diets such as keto or intermittent fasting tell you, the only thing that will determine whether you lose or gain fat is your energy balance. This means consuming less calories than what your body is burning, not just on a daily but weekly basis. It really is that simple. But learning how much your body is burning and knowing how much to take in is the difficult part. Your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is the total amount of calories your body burns in a day. Everybody’s TDEE is going to be completely different. It all depends on your current activity levels, weight, height and age. Once you have calculated this then you will have your benchmark. As long as you consume within this amount of calories per day you will lose fat. The bigger your deficit is from your TDEE the quicker you will lose fat. A diet higher in carbohydrates or fats will not have any impact on weight loss. Despite what you may have heard, bread is not bad for your diet. Many studies have been done over the years proving that weight loss is no different with higher or lower carbohydrate diets if the same deficit is applied.
People will tell you that they aren’t losing weight because their body is in starvation mode or their hormones aren’t working properly. Majority of the time it’s down to energy balance. Either they aren’t being active enough or they are consuming too many calories still.
Tracking calories can often be quite difficult and seem like a chore. There are various tracking apps that you can use like my fitness pal but they’re not always accurate. Many people underestimate the amount they are taking in, resulting in slow or no progress with their weight. Getting a rough idea of your intake though will allow you to have more flexibility with your diet without having to cut anything out or restrict food groups. Tracking calories is not something that you’re going to do forever, just until you develop the right habits and to ensure you are consistently staying in a deficit.
For some tracking calories is not an option and by no means is it essential. Ultimately if you want to improve or have a lean physique you have to adopt new habits. Consistently eat enough protein each day, drink lots of water, workout 3-5 days a week for 1-2 hours, manage sleep and stress, manage social situations better, being more mindful, reducing alcohol and manage intake of high fat and high sugar foods. Ultimately it boils down to having more discipline. Learn more about the best food for fat loss.
- Macro and Micronutrients
Protein, fats and carbohydrates are the three main macronutrients. Your body needs them in regulated amounts as well as micronutrients to maintain its normal physiological functions. Without them it can affect your metabolism, muscle growth and repair, digestion, reproductive system, immune system, brain function and energy levels.
- Protein
Proteins are essential nutrients for the human body. They help growth and maintenance of muscle tissue. You can get protein from animal sources as well as plant based. As well as being the building blocks of tissue they can also serve as a fuel source. Per gram they contain as much energy as carbohydrates (4kcal per gram).
Amino acids are the building blocks of protein and are necessary nutrients. There are 20 in total. 9 essential amino acids (which you must get from your diet) and 11 non essential (your body produces these). Sources of protein are fish, meat poultry, eggs, dairy products, nuts and seeds, beans, lentils and tofu.
When looking to lose fat or build muscle protein should always be your main priority. It will help you maintain muscle as well as increase levels of satiety.
- Fats
Fats have an important role in the human body. They help transport nutrients around the body, regulate hormones as well as absorb vitamins. Too much fat in the diet can increase the risks of heart disease and other illnesses. 1 gram of fat contains 9kcals which is over double the amount of carbohydrates and protein. Most fats and oils contain some amount of both saturated and unsaturated fats. As part of a healthy diet try to cut down on saturated fats and replace them with unsaturated fats. Foods that contain unsaturated fats are olives, nuts, fish, avocados and seeds.
- Carbohydrates
Though they are often demonised, carbohydrates are your bodies go to energy source. They are the sugars and fibres that can be found in fruits, grains and vegetables. Foods that contain carbohydrates often contain other essential nutrients such as vitamins. Fibre is an important aspect of the food group as this aids digestion and reduces the risks of bowel cancer and other illnesses. Carbs provide fuel for the central nervous system and energy for working muscles in the form of glycogen. They are also important for brain function and influence mood and memory. There are two groups of carbohydrates, simple and complex. Simple carbs are digested and absorbed quicker then complex carbs and usually contain more sugar. As part of a healthy diet try and consume more complex carbs such as beans, peas, lentils, potatoes, parsnips, broccoli, whole grain bread and cereals, couscous, raspberries, apples and bananas.
My final thoughts
Whether you’re looking for nutritional advice for losing weight, building muscle or maintaining a healthy diet, it’s important to get nutritional advice. Following sensible advice helps you to stay consistent in your approach and maintain long term results.
As part of my personal training services, I provide simple and easy to understand nutritional advice for my clients helping them stay motivated to achieve weight loss or setting goals for muscle building.
For more information please don’t hesitate to get in touch.