Nutrition Basics for Healthy Eating, Building Lean Muscle, Losing Body Fat, and Increasing Energy
Fast Facts of Nutrition: Taking the Mystery Out of Properly Fueling Your Body for Your Goals
When it comes to overall wellness, exercise is one piece of the puzzle. While it cannot be overstated how important moving your body is, nutrition is just as important.
There’s so much to learn about nutrition- far too much to share in a single blog. But there are some basic facts that everyone should be armed with. The more nutrition knowledge you have, the more you’re able to make informed decisions about how you fuel your body.
15 fast facts to take some of the mystery out of nutrition
Proteins, fats, and carbs are all necessary nutrients for a healthy and balanced diet. All of these macronutrients are required to increase lean muscle mass.
Fat is stored energy. Lean muscle fiber is a dense, active fiber that burns energy at a higher metabolic rate.
Converting your stored energy into lean muscle fiber is the best way to transform your body.
Lean muscle fiber protects your bones and joints better than fat, because it is dense.
Adults naturally burn about 1,500 to 2,500 calories a day just by living. That is called your RMR (resting metabolic rate). If you’re curious what your exact RMR is, we offer RMR scans at our 5th Street studio. Reach out to us at office@pongopower.com to learn more.
Your resting metabolic rate accounts for about 70% of your total daily energy expenditure, food consumption comprises 6%-10% of total energy expenditure, and physical activity can account for 20% or more of your total energy expenditure.
On average, 3,500 calories equals one pound of body fat. A calorie is the amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water 1 degree celsius.
Only a registered dietician is qualified to prescribe meal plans.
The acceptable macronutrient distribution ranges (AMDR) are 45–65% of your daily calories from carbs, 20–35% from fats, and 10–35% from protein.
Protein helps with feelings of satiety because protein activates specific satiety mechanisms in the body.
Fiber is a complex carbohydrate and has been associated with lower incidence of heart disease and certain types of cancer when higher intakes are consumed.
Carbohydrates are a necessary part of your diet. Low carb diets should only be prescribed by a medical professional.
The importance of water cannot be overlooked. The recommended water intake for a sedentary adult man is 13 cups and sedentary adult woman is 9 cups, at minimum. Any additional movement will require more water intake.
Fruits and vegetables are nutrient dense, containing high amounts of fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
White, refined sugars and starches have less nutritional value. Highly processed foods tend to have more calories while doing little to provide satiety.
Before you focus on “losing weight…”
Awareness of nutrition is about providing your body with the fuel you need to support your lifestyle. After all, weighing less does not always equal being healthier.
Before you focus on weight loss, consider speaking to a NASM Certified Personal Trainer to determine if you actually want to “lose weight,” or if your goal is more nuanced like:
Wanting to feel strong, healthy, or confident
Be able to pick up your kids
Relieve pain or stiffness
Counteract the effects of your job
Alter body composition
And finally, some simple tips for a healthy lifestyle!
Eat breakfast every day, no matter how rushed you feel. A small breakfast counts, too!
Eat every 3-4 hours so that your blood sugar doesn’t drop and prompt your body to need or want something ultra-high in saturated fats and calories, often in the form of a “trigger food” (things like chips, chocolate, fried foods, and ice cream that create the phenomenon of craving and needing more once you begin to eat it).
Eat three balanced meals a day. Balanced means: some protein, healthy fat, and fiber, in combination with one another. This helps your body on a chemical-reaction level to absorb all the nutrients.
