Fad Diet Failure & Basic Nutrition Guide
Every day we are bombarded on social media, television and magazines telling us about the latest miracle weight loss diet, muscle building supplement or fat burning pill. Do you know what the BIGGEST secret in the fat loss/muscle gain industry is that there is no secret.
To put it simply, if you eat and exercise in a way specific to your own needs – you can achieve your fat loss, muscle gain and health goals.
That may not sit well with some people, especially those (and maybe even you) who have spent lots of money over the years on pills, powders and potions, trying to get rid of the jiggly bits, or get that 6-pack for beach season. Yes, you can lose 7 pounds in a week with a crash diet that leaves you hangry and miserable all day. However, it’s more than likely you will put it all the weight back on once you resume your old bad eating habits.
At Fatty Liver Guide, you may run into some diet plans and recipes. To understand a nutrition plan a bit better, we will briefly take you though some of the mentioned terms. This is so you can start to understand your own nutrition needs and help you make the correct food choices in the future.
Calories
This is a word that evokes different responses in different people. Confusion, fear frustration; any of these sound familiar?! Put simply, calories (or kcal as it is written on packaging) is simply the amount of energy in a food.
Our body’s need energy to function; to breathe air, to digest our food, to think, and the most obviously one – to move around. We get this energy from our food and this is what calories are. Now, if we consume more energy (in the form of food and drinks) than our bodies need, it is stored as adipose tissue – or as its more commonly known; fat. To get rid of this storage fat you need to use more energy than you consume i.e. burn more calories than you eat or drink.
Macronutrients
There are three macros’; carbohydrates, protein and fat. Every food is made up of one or more of these macro’s, in different proportions. Macros’ have their own specific functions and roles in the body and all three contain calories. For this reason, they are required for health, growth, repair and development.
+ Carbohydrates
Carbs have gotten a bad rep in recent years. However, it is scientifically proven that a low-carbohydrate diet should not be recommended to the general public. The human body’s preferred source of fuel is carbohydrate. There are two main types of carbohydrates, complex and simple.
+ Protein
The world has gone protein crazy and we are here to stop the madness! If you are guilty of spending big money on protein bars, cookies, chips, drinks, and even coffee (yes coffee!), then today is the day you stop.
Don’t get us wrong protein is essential to toning up and recovering after a hard workout. However, we can get nearly all our protein from our food (with a little help sometimes from a carefully selected protein powder).
Protein is made up of amino acids, and these are the building blocks of our muscles. Protein has other important roles in our bodies such as fighting illness and transporting nutrients around the body.
+ Fat
Thankfully the days of low fat diets are almost behind us and are almost as unfashionable as other terrible 1980’s trends like leg warmers and tight perms! To be at our healthiest we need fat in our diets, it carries out numerous functions in the body.
What you need to understand is that not all fat is created equal. There are good fats and bad fats. Foods that contain bad fats are, you guessed it, junk food, processed food, cakes, chips, anything deep fried, doughnuts, pastry’s, take-aways, cookies and margarine spreads.
In your food plan, you will get most of your fat intake from the healthy sources of fat; nuts, seeds, avocado, oily fish and extra virgin olive oil. However, foods that contain both bad and good fats are usually high in calories. You need to make sure you follow the portions outlined in your plan as you can still overeat on healthy foods!
Hydration
Staying hydrated is important for hitting your fitness goals, losing weight, improving your mood and staying healthy. Our bodies are made up of about 60% water and it is vital for almost every biological function.
Studies have shown that proper hydration can aid better sleep, restore bodily systems, and help in the production of ample energy to get you through your day. If you are consuming sodas, energy drinking, or several teas/coffees per day, we recommend you switch to drinking at least 2 litters of water instead. Staying hydrated can also suppress hunger as often when we think we are hungry we are in fact dehydrated. So, keep that water bottle to hand during the day and keep hydrated!
Micronutrients
Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals required by the body for optimal health. Unlike macronutrients, micronutrients are only needed in tiny amounts to hit our requirements. Vitamins and minerals are incredibly important for health and wellness.
Deficiencies can have lasting, detrimental health consequences in children and adults of all ages. To ensure you are getting all you require, you need to have a balanced, varied diet. Besides general health knowledge, his website is built around a wide variety of food packed full of these health boosting nutrients, ensuring you will be the healthiest, fittest version of you!
Originally posted 2019-09-20 18:19:53.
