Nutrition Position
Explore Fitness believes that proper nutrition is about
changing lifestyles to reflect better choices while still enjoying food. Food
need not be a source of stress or a guilty pleasure, but rather something
enjoyable and life sustaining.
Explore doesn’t believe that fad diets, aggressive
supplement regimens or other non-sustainable activities are real solutions to
issues with diet. In order to see lasting results that help our participants for
life, we take a sustainable and enjoyable approach to diet.
Explore Fitness believes that nutrition need be approached
on an individual basis, while considering the whole person. It is when we
consider each of these factors that we can truly achieve optimal health and
happiness. There is no cookie-cutter approach, or one-size-fits-all
plan. This is why we take the time to go beyond symptoms, and look
beneath the surface to identify the hidden causes of weight gain, stress,
fatigue, digestive disturbances, poor skin, depression, anxiety, and beyond.
Contact us today for a free consultation by a registered
dietician.
Eating for Fat Loss
Fads and binges do not work over the long term. There are
drastic ways to lose fat quickly that include starvation, supplementation, zero
carb, and “cleanses.” Eating has to be a sustainable part of your life. Changes
in diet should be permanent, or with the goal of changing habits long-term.
Here are some basic rules to live by:
1.
Caloric
deficit - To lose significant amounts of weight. It is necessary to introduce
a caloric deficit.
·
The size of the deficit will vary greatly
depending on the individual.
·
Seek the help of a professional to determine
your needs
2. Keep your blood sugar balanced.
·
Too little blood sugar induces cravings, and
signals your body to slow down and conserve energy.
·
Too much blood sugar forces your body to have a
hormonal reaction that brings this excess of energy back to equilibrium as body
fat.
·
If you feel significant hunger, your blood sugar
is low.
·
Eat something when you wake up. Even if you don’t
feel hungry, something light will help your body’s metabolism get started and
give you energy for the day.
·
Eat every 2-3 hours.
·
Avoid big meals.
3. Control your portions Inevitably, you will
find yourself in a situation where you are hungry and low on blood sugar.
·
Slow down. Your body’s satiety signal will lag
behind your ability to consume food by 10-15minutes. Eat some, then wait some,
and if you’re still truly hungry, eat some more. Often you’ll find that your
cravings fade after a while.
·
Drink water – Feelings of thirst and hunger are
often confused. You will feel less hungry if you are well hydrated. Proper
hydration is also essential for proper nutrient transport, proper cooling and
just about everything else your body does ever.
4.
Eat
around your workouts.
·
Eat a
balanced mid-sized snack 60-90minutes prior
to vigorous exercise.
·
Eat a balanced meal immediately following your
workout.
·
Do not use this as an excuse to overeat
5.
Practice
situational self control.
·
Avoid putting yourself in situations where
you’ll know you’ll be tempted to make poor choices.
·
Pick restaurants where you know you’ll have a
healthy option (don’t go to Taco Bell. Ever.)
·
If you know you are going into a situation where
you’re going to be tempted to make poor choices (a friend’s bbq for instance),
eat a healthy snack before you go and minimize your cravings.
6.
Read
every nutritional label. You’ll be surprised to learn what some things you
buy are composed of.
·
Be sure to note:
o The
ingredients
o Serving
size
o Calories
o Calories
from fat
o Grams
of protein
o Grams
of fat
o Grams
of sugar
o Grams
of Carbohydrates
·
None of these things are necessarily better or
worse than others, but you should know what you’re eating so you can balance
your meals properly for your goals. You’ll find some interesting things about
the good foods you eat as well. Did you know a serving of whole oats has 7g of
protein?
7.
Alcohol –
Not your friend
·
Alcohol has 7calories per gram (protein and
carbs have 4, fat has 9).
·
Alcoholic drinks are often associated with other
sugars and can be high calorie besides alcohol.
·
Alcohol is dehydrating
·
Alcohol is detrimental to sleep
·
Alcohol has very little nutritional value
·
Example: Jennifer
likes to have a few glasses of wine when she gets home from work with her
husband. She consumes about 300calories per night on weeknights and then has a
few extra drinks that give her another 200calories per day on the weekends at
social functions. Her total caloric intake of alcoholic beverages is about
3,000 calories per week. Her goal is to lose one pound of fat per week which
requires a caloric deficit of 3500 calories. Jennifer must now burn 6500
calories more than what she is eating every week to reach her goal. NOT GONNA
HAPPEN. Does that sound at all familiar?
8.
What do I
eat? Everyone has different requirements. Finding a healthy diet can be a
matter of trial and error The guidelines listed are a decent starting place for
many individuals.
·
Individuals trying to lose weight should eat a
diet consisting of:
o 20%
Fat, 30% protein, 20% starchy
carbohydrates, 30% low glycemic carbohydrates.
·
Generally, active athletes should get about
1gram of protein per 1kilogram of body weight. So if I weigh 150lbs, I’m about
68kilos, so I need about 68 grams of protein. This is rough, don’t get hung up
on this number. Generally most Americans get plenty of protein in their diets,
usually alongside saturated animal fats!
·
Glycemic
Index – A measure of the body’s ability to turn a carbohydrate into
glucose, or blood sugar. Carbohydrates with a higher GI (i.e. white bread
GI=100) should be avoided in favor of carbohydrates with a lower GI (i.e.
Broccoli GI=15) for purposes of weight loss. Carbohydrates with a lower GI tend
to be more filling, higher in nutrients, and lower in calories than starchier,
higher GI carbohydrates. Just because something says “sugar” doesn’t make it a
high GI food. An apple for instance has a GI of 38, despite having most of it’s
calories from sugar (13grams). Generally
speaking, you can’t go wrong eating fruits and vegetables.
·
See the
attached Table for some general guidelines and food suggestions. Remember
that everyone is different, and your needs may vary.
9
YOU WILL
SLIP UP. Don’t get depressed or mad at yourself; just try to make as many
good choices as possible. The effects of your diet are cumulative, one bad
decision doesn’t screw the whole thing up, just as one good decision doesn’t
complete your fat loss journey.
SUGGESTED READING:
The Zone Diet – Dr.
Barry Sears
My favorite book so far, various adaptations come with lots
of recipes. His concepts are easy to understand and implement.
Happier and healthier weighing in at 205! 2012
Nate Lawrence
