Nutrition is key

Nutrition is often made out to be unnecessarily complicating, which unfortunately leads to varying interpretations of exactly what the best nutritional choices may be for one to achieve their goals in health. In this article I aim to clarify the vital terms of nutrition and in doing so provide you with the essential knowledge needed to efficiently achieve individualised goals – whether those be orientated towards fat loss, muscle and strength gains, or performance outcomes.

 We begin with ‘Energy’, this is the overriding term for weight: as in weight consumed daily through nutrition and weight expended daily through exercise and resting metabolism. Weight is measured in either kilojoules (kJ) or Calories (Cal). However, these terms are not equal in value: 1 Cal is equivalent to 4.2 kJ.

 The next most important nutrition term in my opinion is Macronutrients! You have all likely heard of these as the abbreviation Macro’s is thrown around rather frequently these days and sometimes carelessly! Yes, these are: Protein, Carbohydrate, and Fat. Though, there is a fourth; Alcohol!

But we need to know exactly why these are called Macronutrients and therefore what makes them so important to helping us achieve (or despairingly fail) our goals! The answer is that these are the providers of Energy and also the determinants of whether that Energy is functionally in line with your goals or just simply a wasted Energy conducive to the complete opposite of what you may be tirelessly trying to achieve!

 Here is the point; every time you consume 1 gram of Protein you are also ingesting 4 Calories (or 16kJ). Secondly, these 4 Calories are fortunately extremely functional for Muscles! In fact, they will likely be stored in your muscle to provide Growth, Recovery and Strength! Perfect if those are your goals, right?

 How about Carbohydrate; again 4 Calories per 1 gram, though this time these Calories require you to use them through Exercise! These are Energy providing Calories that will definitely feed you some liveliness, but if you neglect their function, well then that’s when over time they will store as a Fat! Hence the importance of Carb Timing and Doses!

 Fat; A significantly greater contributor of Calories, 9 Cal (or 37kJ) per 1 gram. Yes, very functional for weight gain! Of course there are plenty of benefits from consuming plant based fats, known as Un-saturated fats, namely Hormone Secretion, Skin Rejuvenation, Brain Power and Anti-inflammation etc, though weight loss is NOT one of Fat's major functions!

 Alcohol, don’t forget, is the fourth and final Macronutrient, as it too is a significant contributor to Calories and indeed the most useless in its’ function! 1 gram of Alcohol equates to 7 Cal, put into perspective; a standard drink has 10 grams of Alcohol, therefore 70 Calories from the Alcohol content alone to sit around the stomach! 

 OK, so let’s now discuss the common term; Energy Deficit. Yes, this simply means consuming less daily energy than expended energy. But, an individual’s daily energy expenditure is dependent on a number of factors; including age, muscle tone, daily nutrition patterns and choices, genes and of course exercise type, intensity and frequency. 

 Resting metabolism is the term given to the speed at which we burn up energy/weight whilst not intentionally performing exercise. Thus, when in a resting state – energy is used to aid in essential living requirements of breathing, maintaining homoeostatic body temperature, cognitive function and digestion. This resting metabolism is therefore positively related with younger age, lean muscle tone or fat free mass, small frequent meals and snacks and food choices high in fibre.

 Exercise then makes up the remaining contribution towards daily energy expenditure. Resistance and cardio training impact differently on energy usage, however both are necessary to achieve greater lean muscle mass, and eliminate fat mass. Resistance type training will aid in the development of muscle size and tone, while burning energy as well. Whilst cardio exercise will burn a greater volume of energy. Intensity plays an important role in the efficiency of energy expenditure – as at higher intensities one utilises kilojoules from carbohydrates, fat and protein for energy – which therefore expends a greater volume of overall energy.

 This leads into the current hot topic of ‘training within your fat burning range’. This refers to the fact that fat is oxidised for energy metabolism when oxygen is readily available, which is mostly during aerobic exercise levels rather than anaerobic higher intensities. However, what one must remember is that if the goal is to lose weight, well then the aim must be to burn as many kilojoules as possible during any given exercise bout, which in turn also increases metabolism during the hours following exercise. The point being that at higher training intensities a greater energy expenditure is produced and therefore a greater overall volume of kilojoules are burnt as the individual still progresses through the fat burning ranges on route to glucose and glycogen burning levels.

 Naturally, if the desired outcome of your workout is to produce generalised weight loss, I then recommend high intensity interval style training on an empty stomach. This forces metabolism of stored ‘Macronutrients’. Furthermore, to aid in metabolism of the desired fats consume Acetyl L-Carnitine immediately prior. Alternatively, if the goal is to build muscle or strength then a macronutrient balanced meal two hours prior to training is vital as without sufficient fuel, energy can be forced to be drawn from muscle protein stores, which commonly causes muscle catabolism rather than desired anabolism.

 Now, use this nutrition knowledge as a platform to accelerate the achievement of your desired goals. Get excited about the prospects of breaking through to new heights in your training and accomplishing the body you have been steadily working towards.