Basics of Nutrition for Gym-Goers

Nutrition is one of the most important aspects of changing your body. If you don't give your body what it wants to change, it simply won't. For example, if you want to gain muscle but aren't eating enough calories, your body will (metaphorically of course) think, "There's no way I'm building muscle, I know this guy/girl is exercising but I'm thinking about survival here, we can't afford to spend calories on muscle building?! We have to use them for breathing and living for God's sake!" A simplified fun little example but you get the idea. If you want to change, you have to give your body the building blocks to do it, simple as.

So let's meet the building blocks! We'll start in this article with the important heavy hitters...

CALORIES

Although I will probably receive more than one angry email at this, I'm going to say the famous line... I believe that A CALORIE IS A CALORIE. What does that even mean..? Good question, it's the theory that your body doesn't care where you get your food from or what it is, all that matters is your calories taken in. If you eat more then your body needs, you'll gain weight (fat or muscle mass), if you eat less you'll lose weight (again, can be fat or muscle) and if you break even you'll maintain weight. Now of course they're are slight variances, our bodies don't pay attention to numbers very closely! Do feel free to do your own research on this, going into the science of it is out of the scope of this article, but through personal experience, articles online and scientific literature (I am citing "The Complete Guide to Sports Nutrition" by Anita Bean here, among others, I'd highly recommend it!) I have decided that a calorie is indeed a calorie. This means that whether you slurp on Coke and eat donuts all day, or eat brown grains and chicken with greens, it doesn't matter. All that matters is the calories you've had that day when you hit the pillow. This is NOT an endorsement for unhealthy eating! Diets like that have enough negative effects to impact training and general health, but strictly in terms of body composition a calorie is a calorie. You can adjust what your body does slightly by altering your macronutrients (see below), but the rule is fairly solid. If there is sufficient demand I will go into further detail on this point in another, more specific article

Below are the macronutrients (alcohol is the fourth however for this article i believe it is not needed)

CARBOHYDRATES

These guys are likely your most common food source in daily life. Bread, Coke, rice, pasta, all mainly made up of carbohydrates. Your body likes to use these for energy as they are conveniently digested. Technically, your body doesn't actually need them, it can make them from protein and fats through a process called gluconeogenesis, but for many reasons you should be eating adequate carbohydrates. The main reason is glycogen storage, glycogen is a carbohydrate that your body stores for use during physical exertion. It's made up of digested carbohydrates (glucose), although can be filled up by using glucose made from fats and protein. However, for the physically active person (particularly those who weight train) carbohydrates are the only way to ensure topped up glycogen stores. Don't be afraid of the "evil" carb, make them your friend by not splurging out on them so much that you go over your calorie limit, and they will reward you with boundless energy for exercise!

PROTEIN

Ahh protein, the glorified nutrient. It has reason to be as well, it 's used to build and repair muscle, blood, skin and other tissues throughout the body, and it's important to note that it's important in every training and goal. Fat loss? You need it to prevent your body using the muscle for fuel instead of the fat. Muscle gain? You need it to build new muscle after training. Strength? You need it for the intra-muscular adaptations after a heavy workout. The list goes on! You need to be taking in adequate protein if you are an active individual or want to be one, the common figure is 1 gram per pound of bodyweight, but feel free to go over that if you love your meats! A high protein does not cause any liver damage in a normal individual, that is an all-too-common myth. Do try and not fall too far beneath that figure. Protein has 4 calories per gram and is excellent at promoting satiety (the feeling of fullness). It also requires more energy from your body to break it down, two reasons that make it a good choice for people on a low calorie diet.

FATS

There's a special place in my heart for poor ol' fat. It gets such a hard time these days, but from observing recent articles it is making a comeback. There is a stigma surrounding it, "If you eat lots of fat, you get fat," and "Fats are unhealthy." I'd like to refer you back up to the piece on calories written above, eating fat doesn't cause fat gain, eating too much calories without exercising does. In fact, high fat high protein diets have even been shown to help with fat loss http://anabolicminds.com/forum/content/lose-fat-eating-3169/?s=0d8382bd9d3fdc1d19266159b7d9db5c

You're body likes to use fat for energy but not nearly as much as carbs. Be careful though, fat has 9 calories per gram so a high fat diet where you aren't counting calories will probably put you in a caloric surplus, and you will gain weight. Fats to include are fats from fish oil, flaxseed and other sources of omega 3, as well as poly and mono unsaturated fats. DO have some saturated fats (it often gets slated for causing heart disease, cholesterol and other nasty things), the evidence for this however is highly sub-standard, and they are needed for adequate hormone production, which every athlete and trainee needs in spades.

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