Nutrition is 70-80% of your progress. In order to achieve maximum results from your workout program, you must follow these basic rules of nutrition:
EAT FREQUENTLY
Go too long in between meals and your body goes into starvation mode, lowering your hormone levels (insulin) and slowing down your metabolism so you burn fewer calories and burn muscle. Then when you do eat (generally a big meal because you're really hungry), your body raises those hormone levels too high, once again lowering your metabolism, so you store as much as possible. Eating frequently (every 2-4 hours) allows you to maintain perfect hormone levels so you burn fat and keep muscle at the best possible rate.
EAT HEALTHY
Eating junk food every few hours won't do much for your body -- remember, you are what you eat. Try to eat as natural as possible: meats (soy is good if you are vegetarian), fruits, grains, vegetables, nuts, etc. A famous fitness guru once said, "If man made it, I won't eat it." If it's processed, then it's not good for you.
EAT BALANCED
If you're going to be really active in the next few hours eat more carbs, if not you don’t need as many. Protein is necessary for building muscle and making your metabolism work properly. Eating protein 5-6 times a day is a lot easier for your body to digest than eating it all in one or two big meals. Protein and carbs have 4 calories per gram, but fat has 9 calories per gram and absorbs much easier into your body. If you're trying to lose weight, limit your fat intake to about 15-20% of your total calories. Eat mostly unsaturated fat (liquid at room temperature). For gaining weight, increase your fat intake to over 30%.
EAT THE RIGHT AMOUNT
This one is the most obvious but the toughest to do. If you want to lose weight, you have to burn more calories than you consume. To gain weight, you have to consume more calories than you burn. To determine how many calories you burn each day, you need to know your Daily Caloric Intake (see below).
KNOWING YOUR DAILY CALORIC INTAKE
Your resting metabolic rate is known as the Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), measured in calories per day. The Daily Caloric Intake takes into account your activity level and lean factor as well.
To estimate your Basal Metabolic Rate and Daily Caloric Intake, follow the steps below:
1. Convert your weight into kilograms (1 kg = 2.2 lbs.)
2. Multiply your weight by 1 (Men) or 0.9 (Women), and then multiply by 24
3. Multiply by your lean factor to get your Basal Metabolic Rate:
1.00 = Men 14% body fat or less; Women 18% or less
0.95 = Men 14-20%; Women 18-28%
0.90 = Men 20-28%; Women 28-38%
0.85 = Men over 28%; Women over 38%
4. Multiply by your activity level to get your Daily Caloric Intake:
1.30 = Couch Potato (stting all day)
1.55 = Mildly Active (sitting, with some standing and walking)
1.65 = Active (sitting, standing, walking, with 1-2 hours of exercise)
1.85 = Very Active (walking all day plus 2-4 hour of exercise)
2.00 = Active Athlete (8 or more hours of exercise per day)
EXAMPLE: Male, 150 lbs., 16% body fat, active
150 lbs. / 2.2 = 68 kg
1 x 68 x 24 = 1632
1632 x 0.95= 1550 (Basal Metabolic Rate)
1550 x 1.65= 2558 (Daily Caloric Intake)
REMEMBER TO DRINK PLENTY OF WATER!
The average person needs to drink 2 liters of water per day to stay properly hydrated. Drinking enough water is beneficial to your immune system, good for your skin, and increases your energy level. Extra fluid is needed in hot weather and when you exercise. For each hour of exercise, drink 1 liter of water, or enough to replace the fluids you've lost.
