What’s up ladies and gents! You want to look shredded and lean? First things first, what does your diet look like? Maybe it looks alright or maybe it looks like crap! Name of the things you eat in an average day out loud. Cocoa puffs, two double cheeseburgers, large “diet” coke (watchin the waistline), pizza hut pizza, milkshake, and some late night chips. Sound familiar? Maybe or maybe not. If your diet looks anything like the above, then you’re going to need to completely flip it upside down to get the body you want. Drop the cheese burgers chubby, the diet coke doesn’t make it any better.
Nutrition isn’t that hard to understand, it may seem complicated at first but it really isn’t at all. A lot of it is common sense. If you think that it’s healthy, then it most likely is. If you don’t, then it most likely isn’t. How you eat will determine what results you get. Simple equation to remember for anything that you do, what you put in= what you get out. My track coach reminded me of that equation everyday. The quality of what you put in will always equal the quality of what you get out. Eat garbage then garbage you will get out in terms of those nice little rolls on your body. If you eat quality foods then you will get quality results. Even if you don’t want to exercise, you will lose weight from the diet change. But that’s not what we are here for are we? We want that tight shredded look.
Here are the basics.
Nutrients in food are separated into micro and macro nutrients. Micro nutrients are the vitamins and minerals we ingest from food. It’s the vitamin A, vitamin B, zinc, iron, etc of food. I’m sure you’ve seen them on the sides of nutritional labels. Macro nutrients are the big daddy’s of nutrients. They are the nutrients that we need in larger amount. These are the fats, carbohydrates, and proteins! You’ll get to know these three very by the time summer rolls along.
Protein, the building blocks and repair men of muscle. They repair torn muscle tissue, as well as build it. Do you think it’s an important part of your diet? You betcha it is! And look, it comes from the Greek word “prota”, meaning “of primary importance”. Enough proof? Proteins will 1. Repair muscle 2. Boost your immune system 3. Help burn fat 4. Prevent catabolism (breaking down of muscle for energy, a no no). Your going to want around 1-1.5g’s of protein per pound of body weight.
Acceptable Sources of Protein:
- Skinless chicken breast
- Lean Beef
- Eggs
- Fish
- Turkey
- Shrimp
- Whey (will talk more about later)
Next on our list of macro nutrients are the carbohydrates! Yay! Everything from sugar to whole wheat pasta. Carbohydrates are a major reason why The United States is obese. Lack of exercise + carbs + fat= America. Don’t get me wrong, carbohydrates are not “evil”, they just need to be used wisely. They are used as fuel for your body. They are the preferred source of energy. If you take in more then you use, then the result is storage in the form of fat. The tricky thing about carbohydrates though is that different people respond differently to them. Some people may be more sensitive to them and tend to store them more easily then others. Some may require a large supply just to get through the day. I recommend that you keep the majority of your carbs in the morning, early afternoon and after your workout. Experiment with different amounts of carbs to see how your body reacts.
Acceptable Sources of Carbohydrates:
- Oatmeal
- Sweet Potatoes
- Beans
- Brown Rice
- Multigrain Hot Cereal
- Pasta
- Rice
- Potatoes
Finally on our list, Fat! First off, fat will NOT make you fat. This common misconception comes from very very good advertising and marketing. Low fat this low fat that. This makes the consumer believe that fat is evil. It is not. Don’t go deep frying your chicken now because I said this. Fat is not evil, only if you eat the right kinds. Keep saturated fats below 10-15g a day since a diet high in saturated fat may raise your chances of developing heart disease. Avoid transfat AT ALL COSTS. They are EVIL. They are little man made devils created solely to make your McDonalds french fries taste better at the cost of your health.
Acceptable Sources of Fat:
- Natural Style Peanut Butter
- Olive Oil or Safflower Oil
- Nuts (peanuts, almonds
- Flaxseed Oil
So how much do we eat?
Try a 40/40/20 ratio.
40% of calories from protein.
40% of calories from carbohydrates.
20% of calories from fat.
Men: 1 x body weight (kg) x 24 = Calories a day
Women: .9 x body weight (kg) x 24 = Calories a day
Divide your weight in pounds by 2.2 to get kilograms.
After you do that, multiply the number you got
by 1 if you are from 10-15% bodyfat
by .9 if you are from 15-20% bodyfat
by .85 if you are above 20% bodyfat
10-15% is lean
15-20% is chubby to fat
20%> is obese
This is the amount of calories you should consume in a day.
After you find your daily caloric intake, take the number and multiply
By .1 to get the amount of protein a day in grams.
By .1 to get the amount of carbohydrates a day in grams.
By .02 to get the amount of fat a day in grams.
Feel free to mess around with your final daily caloric intake because all people are not the same, some have a fast metabolism, some have a slow. If you plan to exercise in addition, then add 200 calories, if you exercise moderately and 500 if you exercise intensely. Again, this is just a ball park number, feel free to raise or lower the final number. I recommend counting calories for a couple weeks and then to stop once you get the hang of it. You will be able to judge and count in your head after you get used to it. If you like number crunching, then I suggest you use www.fitday.com to maintain your calories. You can add your own foods, etc.
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