Nutrition and Diet for Well-rounded Fitness Program

Along with the exercise component, proper nutrition is essential to having a well-rounded fitness program. You will not obtain maximal health improvements with exercise alone. Exercise in combination with eating well will give you the greatest health benefits. This is especially true for people who are attempting to lose weight. Diet plus exercise has been shown to produce the best results for both short-term and long-term weight loss. Remember that in order to lose weight, you need to expend more calories than you consume. If you want to maintain your current weight, you need to balance caloric intake with caloric expenditure. If you consume more calories than you expend, your weight will increase.

Your body needs fuel to continue to function during exercise. Fuel can come from carbohydrates, fat or protein. The duration and intensity of exercise determine which source provides the fuel. Proteins only play a minor role in providing fuel for your body. Proteins provide between 5%-15% of the fuel for exercise. Lower intensity exercise utilizes fats as the primary energy source. High intensity exercise utilizes mostly carbohydrates. Longer duration activities utilize more fats, generally because the intensity is lower, while shorter duration, high intensity activities use more carbohydrates. However, be aware that you are never using just once source for fuel. Even when you are doing higher intensity exercise, you are still using fats as part of the fuel source. Training programs that included intermittent higher intensity exercise showed a greater reduction in skinfold thickness than programs that involved exercising at the same intensity Remember that a calorie burned is a calorie burned, regardless if that calorie is from fat or carbohydrates. Any form of exercise will burn fat, the important thing is to just do something.

Carbohydrates are the primary source of energy for all tissues in your body. You need to make sure your body has enough carbohydrates to feed all of your cells. This is especially true after exercising. Your muscles need glycogen, which comes from carbohydrates, to replenish their stores. Once you are done exercising, you need to replace the substrates that were used to provide the fuel for your body. Your body is like a car engine. When you exercise you burn calories and use up your fuel. If you do not replace the fuel your body has burned up, your body will not be able to optimally function. When you are attempting to lose weight, you should not drastically reduce your caloric intake. If you starve yourself, your body will go to other sources to provide energy, including breaking down essential proteins.

Given the importance of replacing proteins and carbohydrates, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has published a Dietary Guidelines for Americans. There are 2 sets of reference values for these guidelines. The first set is for protein, vitamins, and minerals and they reflect the average allowances based on the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA). The following list gives the values for a few of the main vitamins and minerals.. These values are for each day.

Protein 50 grams
Vitamin A 5,000 IU
Vitamin B6 2mg
Calcium 1,000 mg
Vitamin D 400 IU
Vitamin E 30 IU
Iron 18 mg

The amounts listed vary depending upon gender and age. Pregnant women, for example, should have more calcium and iron. Please see the RDA web site for a complete listing of all vitamins, minerals, and recommended amounts for gender and age.

The second set of values is for nutrients and food components, such as fat and fiber. These amounts are recommended by the U.S. government to improve the health status of the nation.

Fat 30% of total daily calories
Saturated fat 10% of total daily calories
Cholesterol 300 mg per day
Carbohydrates 60% of total daily calories
Fiber 11.5 grams per 1000 calories consumed per day
Protein 10% of total daily calories
Sodium 2400mg per day
Potassium 3500mg per day

This list should help you determine if you are eating a nutritionally sound diet. Do not try to drastically change your diet all at once. Take small steps to reduce fats and cholesterol. Gradually eat healthier, while still enjoying life. Use lower or non-fat products and limit fried and breaded foods. You can use a relatively high caloric, high-fat meal as a reward for a good week of exercising. You do not have to give up everything you enjoy to eat. The important thing to remember is that anything is okay in moderation. Fast food generally has a high fat and cholesterol content. Try to avoid eating these meals too often.

To maintain good health, there are some more general guidelines from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. These include:

• Eat a variety of foods
• Maintain healthy weight
• Choose a diet low in fat, saturated fat , and cholesterol
• Choose a diet with plenty of vegetables, fruits, and grain products
• Use sugars, salt, and sodium only in moderation
• If drinking alcohol, only do so in moderation

The RDA for caloric intake may also be found at the RDA web site. For males, the average recommended caloric intake is from 2300 to 3000 calories a day, while for women the values range from 1900 to 2200 calories a day. Remember that this number is influenced by activity level. People who are more active may eat more while still maintaining or losing weight, while people who are not active need to stay on the lower end of the range. There are 3500 calories in 1 pound, so if you reduce your caloric intake by 500 calories a day, times 7 day, you will lose approximately 1 pound a week, which is great. However, if you also burn 250 calories a day from exercise, you can reduce your daily caloric intake by only 250 calories still lose about 1 pound a week. This is another benefit of exercise. When you are losing weight, you want to lose the weight slowly. You only want to lose 1-2 pounds a week, to make sure you are losing fat weight and not water weight or muscle. There are many different theories about how to eat. I advise people to eat the way that is the most comfortable to them. If you like having many small meals throughout the day, that is fine. Having 3 larger meals during a day is acceptable as well. Be sure to only eat when you are hungry. If you find yourself eating because you are bored or stressed out, go exercise instead. Exercising will make you feel better about yourself than eating.

The bottom line is to use common sense and think about what you are eating before you eat it. Look at the labels of foods before you buy them. Pick foods with lower quantities of fats and cholesterol. The majority of people just don’t care about what they eat and how the food they eat affects their bodies. If you think before you eat, you will be more likely to eat healthier. Remember, eating healthy is an essential component of your total fitness program. Do not leave it out!