Basic Nutrition

Health Made Easy

I could pour out loads of information about macronutrients, the fuel source of the body and dictator of all your fitness desires. Macronutrients are the vitamins, minerals, proteins, fats, and carbohydrates that make up your daily caloric intake, which fuels the body. But to keep it basic, the more active you are the higher your macro intake needs to be to sustain daily bodily functions, recovery, promote muscle growth, and cell health. Your intake should reflect your lifestyle and goals.

For example, a distance runner requires a higher level of carbohydrates than a body builder, a body builder wants to increase his protein intake while monitoring the carb intake, both these athletes may need anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 calories. However, you may only need 1,800 a fraction of their macro intake to reach your health and wellness goals.

Let’s make it simple. Let’s think back to when people were primarily hunter gathers. If we are going on a 3-day hunting expedition, what might we carry with us? It probably would have been dried meat, nuts, fruits and or vegetables. Today with our mostly sedentary lifestyles we manage to do one of two things: eat too much or not eat enough.

If you want to put science aside, and you are not ready to invest in a nutrition consultation or purchase a custom suggested meal plan template (I provide both services), here is what you should know.

Your meals should be like an upside down triangle. Have your biggest meals at the start of the day and taper down. Breakfast might be 2 boiled eggs, ½ cup of Greek yogurt, 1 cup of sliced bananas. Quick, easy, and probably meets or comes close to what your body needs. Lunch is even simpler, chicken breast, half a cup of brown rice, and a cup of broccoli. For dinner why not a chicken Caesar salad light on the dressing? We should also snack in between those meals i.e. nuts, fruits, vegetables, or a protein shake. The big secret is, wait for it!

WATER!!! The body is 65% water and our cells need hydration to function. How much do you need? For women 90 or so ounces of fluids per day and for men 125, I always suggest a gallon as a high point to shoot for. Over time an adequate water intake will aid digestion and increase the metabolism, and last but not least we lose 5 to 10% of our maximum muscular output when we are dehydrated. So if you could bench 135lb when you are dehydrated you might only be able to do 120lb.

SO! Drink lots of water, portion your meals, eat snacks, and ask about all the services provided by Fitness by Ben that you have yet to take advantage of.