Eric’s Fitness Tips – More on Nutrition!
More on Nutrition By Eric Walden
Last blog we talked about how to cut some calories out of your everyday diet. This week I am going to talk a little more in depth about what you should be eating.
Recommended Calories
At the least, I recommend a 2000 calorie a day diet. The reason why I recommend this is because if you work out for an hour burning around 400-600 calories, your body really only gets 1400 to 1600 calories for the day. If you only consume 1200 calories a day, then you work out for an hour burning 400 to 600 calories your body only gets 400 to 600 calories to function on.
This is not enough calories for your body to function. I bet you’re thinking by doing that you’ll just loose the weight faster, right? Not so. If you do this, your body goes into starvation mode. It stores all that it can as fat for energy later.
To help break down the 2000 calories here is what I recommend.
50% should come from carbohydrates
25% from proteins
And 25% from fat
This is a balanced diet for the average person. With that said it can be adjusted for different individuals that have different needs/goals. This break down gives individuals enough nutrients to meet the daily needs.
To break it down even further we can break it down to grams. Grams are how the nutritional value is written on the packages of food. With a 2000 calorie diet it is easy to break down. One carbohydrate calorie equals 4 grams, 1 protein calorie equals 7 grams and 1 fat calorie equals 7 grams. From this information we figure out how many grams of each group you should consume.
We already broke it down to 50%, 25% and 25%. Now just do a little math to get how many grams.
To get the carbohydrates take (2000*.5)/4= 250 grams. 250 grams of carbohydrates is the amount you should consume in one day
To get proteins and fats use the same equation (2000*.25)/7=71 grams. 71 grams of protein and fat should be consumed each day.
When you look on a food label it will tell you how many grams of each of these are in the food you are eating. Be careful because on labels they will tell you the nutritional value for one serving, but there will be more than one serving in the container.
Gram Limits for Carbohydrates and Proteins for Weight Loss
For a weight loss diet I will typically adjust the carbohydrates and proteins. I will lower the carbohydrates by 10-15% and raise the protein value the same. This tells the body to build up the muscle and store less fat. I don’t adjust the fats much lower, because the fat does a lot for joint lubrication. I have done less and I have felt a big difference in my joints because of it.
I hope this has helped you understand nutrition a little better and helps you decide how you should eat.
Nutrition can be a very tricky subject and there is a lot of information out there. I like to keep nutrition as simple as possible. With this set up it is easy to add your favorite foods (ie. Dairy Queen Blizzard :) my favorite). The nice thing is you can plan for such indulgences.
One of the easiest ways is work hard 6 days a week at your nutrition then allow yourself a “cheat” meal or day. This helps with nerve racking of keeping to a stricter diet. Or you can start out slow and work your self up to the 6 days if you find it hard to start out with 6 days right away.
The best advice I can give you is to PLAN AHEAD! By planning ahead you can avoid the pitfalls of stopping at a fast food restaurant when you have healthy food at home. Also by keeping healthy snacks in your purse or desk drawer at work will keep you on track instead of hitting the vending machine.
If you have questions about this article please get in contact with me at eric_walden@waldospersonaltraining.com or by phone at 765-404-7343. I would love to help you meet your goals when it comes to fitness and nutrition.
