Nutrition - The Truth
When it comes to nutrition there's a tonne of places putting out information, but is it the right information? We have big TV companies producing shows but are they recruiting the right people to share that information. The reason I say this is because how many times have you been told something by someone in relation to nutrition, only for someone else to tell you something else contradictory a mere 60 minutes later? Trust me I hear it all the time.
- Carbs are bad for you.
- Sugar makes you fat.
- Fat causes heart disease.
- Over consumption of protein will damage your kidneys and liver.
- You can only digest 20g of protein in one sitting.
There isn't many things I haven't heard when it comes to nutrition from a variety of different people. But don't worry, once you've finished reading this (trust me you're going to want to keep reading), you'll know almost all you need to know about nutrition. Then you can get on with the more important things in life like enjoying yourself and not worrying about whether you can have that chocolate bar or ice cream at the weekend if you're trying to lose fat!
Like anything else we do at Elite Performance Coaching the education process is the most important. It's more crucial that you understand why you're doing something, because then the what becomes a little bit easier to implement. The above is in relation to the health and fitness industry as a whole. Most people's goals will fall into one of four categories, 1.) Gain muscle, 2.) Lose fat, 3.) Body re-composition (combination of 1 and 2), 4.) Increase performance in their chosen sport. The the way that we approach bringing about these changes in everyone will be largely the same. However, the how will have to be different for every individual. The principle of muscle gain/fat loss never changes, the way in which we gain muscle may differ from person to person.
A lot of people (regardless of who you are and what age) would like to be a little bit healthier and look a little bit better (whether you like to admit it or not). This all starts with what you eat as it has a huge bearing on your body composition. A lot of people say "oh, I'm eating 'well' but not seeing the results". When you question them on how many calories they are eating, 9 times out of 10 they won't know the answer. So that brings us to the first important juncture in this series. The idea of calories, what they are and why are they so important.
Calories
What is a calorie? Scientifically, it's the amount of energy needed to heat a gram of water by 1℃. But how does that help you? Well calories are energy, and calories come from food. So when you realise that all of the things that you do everyday require energy, they become extremely important. All of the physiological processes that happen in your body, breaking down of food and digesting it, they all require energy. The fidgeting that you do at work or school during the day, brushing your teeth, tying your shoelace, all of those require energy. The kick around at lunch time, the gym session after the work, the 5-a-side on a Thursday evening. These all require energy. All of this energy comes from food. Below you will see an chart depicting where all our energy comes from (TDEE).
The above graph is broken down into three sections.
The thermic effect of food is the amount of calories that you burn from digesting and absorbing certain macronutrients (carbohydrates, fat and protein). Out of all the macronutrients, protein has the highest TEF. This is part of the explanation why having a higher protein diet is a beneficial strategy to manage your weight and body composition.
NEAT stands for Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (production of heat). NEAT consists of all the activity that you do that is unplanned and sporadic. For example, doing house chores and taking the dog for a walk. Your body still requires energy to complete these daily tasks but you sometimes become unaware that you are doing it.
Obviously physical activity is a big contributor to Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). For the purpose of simplicity it is left out as not everybody engages in structured exercise and it will be discussed in a following article.
- BMR - 60 to 70%
- TEF - 20 to 30%
- NEAT - 10 to 15%
The thermic effect of food is the amount of calories that you burn from digesting and absorbing certain macronutrients (carbohydrates, fat and protein). Out of all the macronutrients, protein has the highest TEF. This is part of the explanation why having a higher protein diet is a beneficial strategy to manage your weight and body composition.
NEAT stands for Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (production of heat). NEAT consists of all the activity that you do that is unplanned and sporadic. For example, doing house chores and taking the dog for a walk. Your body still requires energy to complete these daily tasks but you sometimes become unaware that you are doing it.
Obviously physical activity is a big contributor to Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). For the purpose of simplicity it is left out as not everybody engages in structured exercise and it will be discussed in a following article.
Energy Balance
For want of a better expression, this is the holy grail of nutrition. It is the foundation of your nutrition lifestyle and will always be the reference point for your decisions on food. If your goal is to gain muscle you need to understand calorie balance. If your goal is to lose fat you need to understand calories balance. If your looking to improve your performance in the gym or in your chosen sport you need to understand calorie balance. Calorie balance is the relationship between calories in and calories out. As we have already spoken about both sides of the equation. We can now talk about how it can apply to you.
Calories In = Food
Calories Out = TDEE + Exercise
Calories In = Food
Calories Out = TDEE + Exercise
Gaining Muscle
To add on muscle, you are going to need to get the energy to build that muscle from somewhere. And, unless you've been living under a rock up to this point, that energy is going to come from food. To be able to build muscle, we are going to need an excess of calories. Our calories in, need to outweigh our calories out, so that we have an excess of calories to add on muscle mass. We call this a calorie surplus. Without that surplus, you will find it extremely difficult to gain weight. What must be made clear is that we are making the assumption that you are getting a well-balanced diet and not gorging on sweet treats etc.
Losing Fat
Hopefully, you are beginning to start to think for yourself and things are starting to become a little bit clearer. To lose fat, naturally, you are going to have to be in a deficit of calories. Your calories in must be less than your calories out. Creating this slight deficit will cause your body to have to take calories from your body stores (fatty acids and glycogen) to try to maintain homoeostasis. Maintaining a deficit long term will lead to long term weight loss. But, you can only find this deficit if you understand calorie balance.
To add on muscle, you are going to need to get the energy to build that muscle from somewhere. And, unless you've been living under a rock up to this point, that energy is going to come from food. To be able to build muscle, we are going to need an excess of calories. Our calories in, need to outweigh our calories out, so that we have an excess of calories to add on muscle mass. We call this a calorie surplus. Without that surplus, you will find it extremely difficult to gain weight. What must be made clear is that we are making the assumption that you are getting a well-balanced diet and not gorging on sweet treats etc.
Losing Fat
Hopefully, you are beginning to start to think for yourself and things are starting to become a little bit clearer. To lose fat, naturally, you are going to have to be in a deficit of calories. Your calories in must be less than your calories out. Creating this slight deficit will cause your body to have to take calories from your body stores (fatty acids and glycogen) to try to maintain homoeostasis. Maintaining a deficit long term will lead to long term weight loss. But, you can only find this deficit if you understand calorie balance.
Now that you have read through the introductory piece to nutrition you can now read more about the hierarchy to nutrition and lots lots more. Check it out because there's some free stuff to be had over there!
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