On Sunday at rb5 Personal Training, Nottingham we ran an educational seminar for Personal Training, bootcamp members and guests about nutrition and how calorie counting can be very negative and misleading.
The main concept that head personal trainer, Ricky Berry, was trying to make people understand was that our bodies need quality calories and not junk calories. Our bodies respond better and absorb the vitamins and nutrients they need better from unprocessed foods. The biggest trend we see when people start our personal training and bootcamp programs at rb5 Nottingham, is a lifetime of dieting using a variety of different methods but they all have one thing in common…
You lose weight and then put it back on and then some!
So we need to understand why this happens?
Let us explain…
Our body needs 3 main types of food fats, carbohydrates and proteins these are called macronutrients. Each macronutrient is used for a different purpose and has a different calorie count per gram.
Fats = Cognitive function, insulation and energy for everyday activities 9 Calories per 1 gram
Carbohydrates = Used to replenish glycogen stores and feed our muscles with energy for demanding tasks. 6 Calories per 1 gram
Proteins = The rebuilding minions of the body to help use maintain and build lean muscle tissue. 4 Calories Per 1 gram
Why do you need to know this?
Because, if you are counting calories the obvious choice is to scrap fats and choose low fat options.
What is not so well known is that food companies tend to replace fats with sweeteners that have no fat or calories in them. However, if we replace fats with these you are not feeding your body with the essential energy and nutrients that you need to lose weight and for your body to function.
Carbohydrates are usually the next thing people tend to drop, as the common conception is that “they make us fat”. To a certain extent this is correct, they do, but ONLY IF you over indulge and make poor choices and eat simple carbohydrates and starchy carbohydrates like bread and pasta.
Most people fail to take in a sufficient amount of protein. Protein is essential for people training 2+ times a week as it rebuilds and builds new, lean muscle tissue. The aim of strength/resistance training is to build lean muscle tissue to be more toned and increase our metabolism so we burn fat when resting (how cool is that?). Increasing the amount of protein in your diet, therefore, actively assists in building lean muscle.
If your diet is based on counting every calorie that goes into your body, you are distracted by the quantity of food rather than the quality of food that you eat day in day out.
Follow these simple changes and we guarantee that you will achieve long-term weight loss success and never have to count another calorie in your life….ever!
- On average you are looking at having a thumb size (tip of your thumb to the joint) portion of fats with every meals . Good sources of fats are nuts, seeds, avocados and good quality cooking oils (check out our cooking oil blog for our recommendations)
- There are times that you don’t need as many carbohydrates in your diet , such as non training days. But you do need carbohydrates in your diet and we suggest the you try including sweet potato and quinoa as these have a more fibrous structure and will keep you feeling fuller for longer and stop you from snacking and succumbing to cravings.
- Calculate your recommended daily protein intake by using the following formula:
Females – 0.8-1 gram of protein per 1 pound of body weight Males – 1.2-1.5 grams of protein per 1 pound of body weight
- 1 portion of meat is usually between 20 – 25g and a boiled egg is 11g
The main thing that we want you to take away from this blog is think about what you are eating, enjoy your food, listen to your body and feed it natural unprocessed ingredients.
If you would like to find out how we can help you achieve long lasting amazing results then apply for your FREE no obligation consultation at rb5, Nottingham Personal Training
