Fitness Nutrition 101
The 80/20 Rule
As the saying goes, fitness is 80% in the kitchen and 20% in the gym. If you want to take your health seriously, it’s essential to have at least a baseline knowledge of macronutrients and tailor your diet towards your goals.
MACRONUTRIENTS:
FAT, CARBOHYDRATES,
& PROTEIN
Macronutrients (aka macros) are the nutrients that your body needs in large amounts to maintain its systems and structures. They consist of fat, carbohydrates, and protein. You need all three macronutrients as part of a healthy diet, so you shouldn't exclude or seriously restrict any of them.
The role of each macronutrient in the context of exercise
Carbohydrates - Provides explosive, short term energy for our muscles
Fat - Primary fuel for long term, light to moderate intensity exercise
Protein - Rebuilds our muscles during recovery
Ok, so how much of each of these should I eat?
That is entirely dependent on your body mass and goals. Go to the Precision Nutrition Ultimate Macro Calculator and enter your information. This will give you high quality guidelines on calorie intake, macronutrients, and specific food recommendations. There are many different macro calculators out there (just Google it) and they will all give slightly different advice, but this one is very good.
Alternatively, this macro calculator from LegionAthletics.com isn’t quite as thorough but it is faster and you don’t have to give your email to see your results.
PROTEIN FOR
BUILDING MUSCLE
For active individuals, consume .6-1 grams of protein per pound of body weight, per day. Whether protein is consumed on the high or low end of this spectrum should be based on intensity/frequency of daily exercise or calorie restriction. Sedentary individuals should eat at least .36 grams of protein per pound of body weight, per day.
Should I eat protein after I work out?
Yes, eating 20-30g of protein no later than one hour post workout will maximize muscle protein synthesis. Muscle sensitivity is heightened after strenuous activity and muscles metabolize nutrients more efficiently within that time frame. A hearty meal with protein, carbs, and fat is ideal but a whey protein, or for vegans/vegetarians, pea protein shake is a good option if you don’t have time.
Does the type of protein matter?
Yes, it absolutely matters. Eating complete protein is essential for your muscles to repair and grow after exercising. Eating incomplete protein will limit your body's ability to rebuild muscle because it lacks all the necessary amino acids.
What is the difference between complete and incomplete proteins?
A protein is formed out of 20 different types of amino acids connected to each other. Our bodies make 11 types of amino acids on their own, these are called “non-essential amino acids.” But we need to get the remaining nine types of amino acids, called "essential amino acids” through other sources, like food.
Complete proteins have all 9 essential amino acids.
Examples of food with complete proteins:
All animal meat: fish, poultry, beef, pork, etc.
Eggs
Dairy
Soy
Hemp
Quinoa
Edamame
Incomplete proteins have only some, not all nine types of essential amino acids.
Examples of food with incomplete proteins:
Legumes (beans, peas, lentils)
Nuts
Seeds
Whole grains
Vegetables
I’m vegetarian, can you combine multiple foods that contain different incomplete proteins to make up a complete protein?
You sure can! Different plant foods have varying amino acid profiles. You can create a complete protein by combining sources with complementary amino acids. For example, legumes paired with grains, nuts, and seeds can provide complementary amino acids.
Examples of complete plant protein combinations:
Beans and Rice
Hummus and Whole Grain Pita
Quinoa with Edamame
Peanut Butter on Whole Wheat Bread
SUPPLIMENTS
For some it can be difficult to eat the necessary amount of food to keep up with their protein needs, a good way to supplement this is through protein powder. Whey protein isolate is my preferred choice for meat eaters and pea protein powder is my choice for plant based diets.
But before you go out and buy the first protein powder you see at the grocery store, understand that not all protein powders are created equal. Check out my other blog, Supplements 101 for more details as well as my specific recommendations for what to buy.
That’s it for now! For deeper dives into the subject of macronutrients check out the articles below.
What Are Macronutrients? All you need to know
How Much Protein Should I Eat to Build Muscle?
DISCLAIMER
I am not a doctor, a nutritionist, a dietitian, or anybody with any formal qualifications of any kind having to do with food, diet, nutrition, supplements, or anything even close. The information I have provided is purely based on articles I have found on the internet and my own personal experience. I do my best to pull information from reputable sources but it’s important to understand that even the doctors and scientists get it wrong a lot more than anyone wants to admit and money is the ultimate disrupter of truth. It’s up to all of us to stay informed and accountable for your own health and what you put into your body.
