So before I go into recommended daily values, and calories I want to look at some of the current info out there for the general public. After all everyone wants an athlete’s body don’t they. Not only that but we want it with as little work as possible, a single pill would be nice wouldn’t it. Unfortunately we’re living organisms and aren’t that lucky, but with the right knowledge it can become a whole lot easier.
First up is the most obvious one that everyone has probably tried or seen someone else try. Hell it may have even worked for some, but definitely not for long. Cutting calories. Yes cutting intake is obviously going to make you lose weight. That is until you hit deminishing returns. The only way to lose weight by cutting calories is to have a deficit of less calories in than are being used throughout the day as energy. The problem with this is that it can cause some bad side affects, and these side affects are what make people think they found the greatest diet. Without the calories as energy your body goes into survival mode. First it starts to conserve. That’s right It starts to store as much fat as possible for future energy needs. Second once the body hits a point that it can’t get the energy from the fat it stored it moves to the next best thing, muscle. That’s right good bye muscle mass and toneness. Your body starts breaking down your muscle to lower caloric need. Essentially it starts making you skinny-fat(think of bed ridden elderly, their skinny but frail due to zero muscle tone). There are times when calorie cutting does work but cutting isn’t a good word for it. With a low calorie diet and exercise you can get the same result except this way you can still enjoy eating and you avoid the dreaded skinny-fat. The key is to not go below the calories needed for daily activity(this is different for everyone). The more active you are the more calories you need to keep from going into a negetive caloric expenditure.
The second myth that really bothers me is the fad of high protein, low carbohydrate diets. Right away I will say carbohydrates are the body’s energy, no carbs no energy. The biggest argument for this is that evolution shows early neanderthals ate an almost completely meet diet and where the superior organism of their time. Yea well the neanderthals went extinct for a reason. As humans we evolved from erectus humanus not neanderthals, and erectus humanus survived where others couldn’t. Why they survive isn’t completely clear, but one thing is obvious. With their evolution they adapted to a gatherer lifestyle. While the neanderthals went extinct searching for meat on the barren plains their weaker less smart counter parts moved into the forest and took on a hunter gatherer diet. With a diet mostly made of wild vegetation, and root vegetables that was only mildly supplemented with meat they survived. Now since we evolve from erectus humanus and not neanderthals why would a high protein diet be best if our ancestors evolved to sustain off the opposite. Alright enough bashing protein I guess it does have it benefits like muscle repair, increases the full feeling, and increased metabolism function to break it down. With that we need protein but not as much as most think. For an active individual the diet should be about 60% carbohydrate vegetables and fruit, heavy on the fruit and vegetables and whole grains. The other 40% should be a mix of healthy fats and protein.
Alright that’s enough ranting about the two dieting mistakes that I see way to often. Next up I will give a run down of what a truly healthy diet looks like for an active individual with recommended nutrient intakes. Just remember healthy doesn’t mean eating less, it means eating better.
Endurance = Strength = Speed
Matt
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