FITNESS NUTRITION
Anyone who exercises knows that a large part of your success is dependent on fitness nutrition. Some have even stated that more than half of the results of your fitness regimen comes from your fitness nutrition. Being such an important component of your routine it is vital that you are absolutely certain that your fitness nutrition is matched to your overall goal (health, athletic performance, etc.) and just as importantly to the specific type of exercise you participate in. This link will provide an overview to fitness nutrition needs based on the type of activity you participate in.
NUTRITION BASICS:
A proper nutrition program should work long term and significantly improve your overall health. This, of course, will eliminate fad diets and quick fixes. The best nutrition program will make a priority out of getting in all the macro nutrients in their purest form and in appropriate amounts for your age, gender, body weight and activity. The macro nutrients are protein, carbohydrates and fats. These are your most important energy sources that are each in their own way crucial to a completely healthy diet.
Each of the macro nutrients plays a crucial role in your fitness nutrition program. Your body needs protein for tissue repair and building. With plenty of variety available it will be easy to choose a protein that provides all of the essential amino acids. Essential amino acids are building blocks of protein that can only be obtained by ingesting them. Popular protein foods are; beef, pork, chicken, fish, dairy, and soy.
Carbohydrates are your body's main source for fuel. Ingesting only whole foods, including plenty of raw fruits and vegetables and whole grains, you will be getting the best sources of carbohydrates. Variety of carbohydrates is really important for complete intake of vitamins and minerals. No supplement will be better absorbed than the actual food, so be sure to add several servings per day of fruits, vegetables and grains. Remember that it is the refined foods loaded with sugar that cause you to increase body fat stores.
Fat is another essential macro nutrient that plays a key role in many metabolic processes. Some ingested fat is necessary to utilize existing fat stores and should be part of your fitness nutrition program. There are many healthy and delicious fats that offer essential nutritional value. Variety is key, so include as many of these as possible: nuts, olives, olive oil, and avocado. You also get healthy fats from fish, tofu, and nut butters. Although there are many readily available choices it is best to use fats in moderation as they are high in calories. While the RDA for fat is no more than 30% of your total caloric intake, a fitness enthusiast should strive to make fat account for no more than 20% of total calories. This will give you the fat your body needs with out being excessive. Avoid the obvious; animal fats, junk food, and fast food.
SPORTS NUTRITION:
Your fitness nutrition plan should be specifically tailored to the type of activity/sport you are involved in. For simplicity we will break all activities into two simple categories; endurance sports and resistance activities. The two have significantly different nutritional requirements and will serve as general guidelines for a number of different types of exercise.
The endurance sport participant/athlete will have to focus his or her fitness nutrition on carbohydrate. It is the macronutrient that will fuel the majority of workouts and as a result should comprise at least 60% of total caloric intake. The body has the ability to store carbohydrate, in the form of glycogen, in certain tissues. Over time, as your training volume increases, the amount of carbohydrate storage will also increase. As a result, your fitness nutrition plan should include 4-6 small to moderate size servings of carbohydrate and nutrient rich foods.
The best sources of carbohydrate for the endurance athlete come from whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Try to avoid taking in products or foods that are processed or contain white flour or sugar. The remainder of the endurance athlete's diet should be made up of 20-25% protein and 15-20% fat.
For someone involve in resistance exercise the focus for fitness nutrition should be on protein. It is the macro nutrient that will best enable you to recover workouts that have resulted in significant muscle breakdown and eventually enable you to increase your lean body mass. As a result this fitness nutrition plan should contain a protein intake equal to between .8 and 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. Once this is calculated an estimate for carbohydrate and fat intake can then be determined. Again, fat intake should be limited to no more than 20% of total caloric intake.
Regardless of the type of fitness nutrition plan you follow always choose the best sources of each food that you consume. While organic and high nutrient foods usually cost more, you will find an ever increasing number of grocery stores that cater to a more health conscience clientele. Stores such as Whole Foods, Henry's and Trader Joe's offer a refreshing alternative to high processed/high sugar and fat foods found in traditional grocery stores.
Great fitness and diet help resources:
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