Nutrition can be pretty overwhelming for some people. There is so much information out there, and half of it seems to contradict itself. Keto, Atkins, Zone, and Paleo are just a few examples of different diets that preach different principles. Some say carbs are bad, while others say that they are essential. Some say that you can eat whatever you want as long as you can stay within your calorie goal for the day when others say certain foods are strictly off limits. When it comes to nutrition, my number one rule is to keep it simple.
So let’s keep it simple. I’m only going to talk about three things in this post. A lot of people make nutrition way more complicated than it needs to be. Most people are not elite athletes training for elite competition. For those very few percent of the population, nutrition is a little more involved. Still not rocket science, but it definitely takes more calculating and exact planning. For us normal folk, these are the big three things we need to keep in mind:
- Keep your calories in check
- Focus on un-processed, nutrient-dense foods
- Stay consistent
Calories
Your individual calorie intake is going to vary based on many factors. Those factors include your resting metabolic rate, activity level, and fitness goal. There are others, but these are the main determinants. The first two factors decide your maintenance level. Your maintenance level is the number of calories you need to eat in order to maintain your exact body weight. Say you are an adult male that weighs two hundred pounds. You’ve weighed two hundred pounds for a long time, and everyday you eat around 2500 calories. Your maintenance level calories would be 2500. So, if your goal is to lose weight then you need to consume less calories than this number. If you wish to gain weight, then you need to consume more. You should always start small when adjusting your calories. If you want to lose weight try eating a hundred calories less per day and see how your body reacts. After you give your body a period to adapt, you can add or subtract a small amount of calories as needed.
Nutrient Density
No matter which kind of diet you follow you should always focus on nutrient dense foods. Nutrient density refers to the ratio of nutrients compared to the amount of food and calories that it contains. Eggs are nutrient dense because they have lots of protein, vitamins, and minerals, and are low in calories. Cupcakes, on the other hand, contain mass quantities of sugar and fat, with almost no protein, vitamins, and minerals and are very high in calories. These are two extreme examples, but when choosing foods try your best to choose the ones that offer the most nutrients. These will, most times, be the most filling and help you reach your goals, whether it is to lose fat or gain muscle. A good rule of thumb is to choose unprocessed options such as meat, eggs, fish, fruits, vegetables, rice, and pasta. So pretty much, try to avoid prepackaged or pre made meals as these usually contain unnecessary fats, sugars, and fillers. If you stick to unprocessed foods, it’s actually hard to overeat but easy to hit your protein requirements.
Consistency
By far the biggest factor in any fitness plan is consistency. If you eat mostly according to plan on most days, then you will succeed. You don’t need to be perfect by any means but you do need to be consistent. If you eat great for a week but then eat horribly the next week, they cancel out for no net gain or loss. Consistency is the biggest reason that I tell clients to avoid any unnecessarily strict diets like the ones mentioned earlier. These diets typically lead to early results, followed by a hard crash after it’s decided that it’s too hard to maintain. For long term success choose a way of eating that you enjoy and that you can keep up for a long time. Most people do not enjoy cutting out entire food groups, so any diet that is overly restrictive is only good for short term results. Again, all you need to do is choose foods that are high in protein and other key nutrients over foods that are filled with sugar and fat. If you do this more often than not, then you will find success.
There it is. Three simple steps that will help you with your nutrition goals. Please do not overcomplicate things. There are no magic diets or mystical foods that are the key to instant change. Change comes slowly, so find a way of eating that you can make part of your life. Keep an eye on your calories, make smart food selections, and stay consistent. Do these things and you will achieve success.