Nutrition is awful. It is confusing, frustrating and it is beyond annoying on how many different diets and nutritional theories there are out there.
As a nutritional coach, it is very hard to talk about nutrition here at Strive Fitness and Performance. Why? Because of all the new diets and fads coming out every other day. The media has made it so hard for people to figure what to believe, people are willing to believe literally anything....See waist trainers...That is all.
Even though it is such a controversial issue in the world today, I actually love talking about nutrition with clients. The main reason I love it, is because I can help people open their eyes a little at a time.
Below are the top 5 questions that I always get here at Strive.
Well first let’s define “that much” because it is generally different on who is consuming it. But more than likely the answer is yes, you do need a little bit more than what you probably had expected.
I would say about 75% of the people that come to Strive Fitness and Performance tend to be low on protein and high either in carbs or fats or both.
That being said, you do not need to be stuffing your face with protein every waking moment like a pro bodybuilder going through a prep. A good recommendation from us here at Strive is anywhere between .7-1 gram per pound of body weight. The more weight you want to lose, the lower you should be on the ratio.
Protein is huge when it comes to body composition change. It helps us stay full while dieting, it has low calories, it helps us build lean muscle and it has the highest TEF (Thermic Effect of Food), which means it burns more calories during digestion (burn more calories by just eating).
Say it with me…Carbs are not the enemy. They help with recovery and help you have kick ass workouts in the gym.
Here are my tips to follow with carbs…
How many meals fit into your life? Perfect, eat that many meals and be happy. Just make sure you are getting enough nutrients in.
The whole “you have to eat 6 small meals a day to keep your metabolism going strong” is very false. It turns out that the calorie intake a main factor in how your metabolism works.
This means you can help your metabolism go by eating 2 large meals, 3 medium meals or 5 smalls meals. The biggest thing is consistency. Whatever you can do consistently over the long run is what is going to matter for YOU.
Sadly, this is a very hard question to answer over a blog, phone or email. I would be a horrible coach if I said I had the perfect answer for you without taking the right steps. Everyone we work with here at Strive is different. They live different lives and they are coming to us at different states of mind and food intake.
If we are looking for a general approach on what should work in a perfect world, someone with a healthy metabolism would look like this.
Weight loss= 10-12x Bodyweight in calories
Muscle Gain = 14-16x Bodyweight in calories
In most cases, however, we do not live in a perfect world and many people have terrible metabolisms.
So most will tend to be at the 8-10x bodyweight range. The important thing to remember is that we want to be at the highest range possible, while still losing weight.
This allows for more flexibility, better performance, better sustainability and of course better health.
The preferred option for us here at Strive is to start recording your intake either via food log or an app like myfitnesspal. Do this for about a week but at very least 3 days. After that time, you can get the average intake and see what your weight is doing during that time. If you are losing weight, you are good, if you are gaining weight….eat less.
It is important to note, that with any REAL nutrition weight loss plan, it is a work in progress. We will always need to make nutrition adjustments along the way. One of the many reasons having a coach is so important. Give use a call by clicking HERE and we can set up a free consultation.
To put it bluntly…If calories are in check, you do not need to eat breakfast technically.
There are some things to consider however,
If you have gone through the roller coaster of yo-yo dieting, if you “eat clean” but have plateaued and are starting to not see results. Take control of your eating, nutrition and lifestyle and set up a free consultation with one of our nutrition coaches. No strings attached…Let’s get you started on the right path.
