Personal Training

Pro, Fat, Carb–>Info!

Posted on by Naomi
My weekend was just Jam packed, it was nice, but just busy and acutally felt good to be back to work to the normalcy of things. I have been enjoying the best fruit and veggies lately. I dont know what it is but everything is just in the right season and so darn delicious!
Clementines!
And my breakfasts, well they are always delicious, especially with a little bit of unsweetened cocoa powder, cinnamon and coconut oil!
Lunches have been great too! I have been on a roasting veggie kick. I roast up a bunch of vegetables and keep them cold in the fridge to have them easily ready to throw on my salads! Its the best decison!

SOME NUTRITION INFO

One of the biggest misconceptions that I run into with people when they are trying to shed body fat, lose weight or just get healthy is the whole issue of food. What to eat, when to eat it, how to eat it, are there better times than others to eat it. We are thrown so much information at us daily it really is hard to listen to just one source.

You can talk to one person and hear about the many benefits of coconut oil, that the saturated fats in coconut oil are aacutally good.The fats are short and medium-chain fatty acids that help in taking off excessive weight. It is also easy to digest and it helps in healthy functioning of the thyroid and enzymes systems. Further, it increases the body metabolism by removing stress on pancreases, thereby burning out more energy and helping obese and overweight people reduce their weight. THEN on another hand, you hear some dieticians who say “well, saturated fats are saturated fats no matter what form they are in, it is still solid at room temperature therefore its not as good as everyone says”

WIth this information, how the heck am I supposed to know if coconut oil is good for me or not? THe main thing here is to always listen to your body and do what you think is right. If you enjoy coconut oil once a day, and you are seeing some great results or simply enjoy it, then eat it! Don’t stop just because one source you read says its not great.

Learning the importance of food and why are eating it is so important when we have goals at hand. FIguring out how to gain muscle without gaining fat, and still eating plenty of food can be tricky…well I put together a little cheat sheet for you all!

Protein
Many people especially women do not get adequate protein they need to keep their muscles and bones strong. Different misconceptions about too much and what types of protein can steer some away from eating it completely. On the other hand, some women consume way too much protein, and that in turn can turn into fat.

Heres a tip: Have quality protein at every one of your meals. Your body needs just the right amount of quality protein, but it does not need to be overloaded with it

Low: 0.5 grams per lb of body weight per day, or 70 grams (150 lb woman=75g protein/day)
Medium: .75 grams per lb of body weight, or 105 grams (150lb woman=112g protein/day)
High: 1-1.2 grams per lb of body weight or 140 grams (150lb woman=150-180g protein/day)

Another tip: Eat what you like! Like I mentioned with the coconut oil. Do not eat something ‘just because’ Eat foods you enjoy.
Protein sources are so easy to find! 

Carbohydrates
Low carb to lose weight? Nope, that is certainly a myth that I am sure most of you all have heard before. Raise your hand if you have tried your hand at the South Beach or Atkins Diet–yeah, how did that work out for you?

Especially if you exercise on a regular basis, carbohydrates are key and provide essential vitamins and minerals needed to repair and rebuild muscle as well as provide the body with an energy source. You may see if you try to cut out carbohydrates, your body will crave sugar filled treats like doughnuts, sweets and pastries.

About 40-50% of your daily intake should come from carbohydrate sources. Try to avoid simple carb sources such as white bread, cookies, pastries and doughnuts and instead opt for complex, low glycemic carbs that will keep your blood sugar more stable and provide you with satiety and lasting energy. These sources include:
Fats
If you read OneFitFoodie regularly, you know this girl loves fats! One of the biggest myths I always hear is that fat makes you fat. Uh, nope acutally the opposite is true (with some sidenotes) Eating healthy fats such as Poly and Monosaturated fats in the proper portions helps you to lose fat. Fats have that feeling of satiety which means the body is less likely to fill up and go scrounge out other sources to fill that void such as cakes, cookies and treats. 

Fat is extremely important for muscle growth because it helps the entire body function properly. If you are not getting enough healthy fats in your diet, you can increase the risk of poor recovery from your workouts as well as increased fatigued and muscle soreness. On top of all of these benefits, fats are just DELICIOUS. Just be careful because it is quite common to open that jar of nut butter and dig out nearly 5 servings in one sitting (its been done, just trust me on this 🙂 )

Healthy fats should be about 2o-30% of your total calorie intake for the day. The healthy fat sources go on and on! Some of my favorites
I hope you all learned a little something and are going to enjoy a delicious well balanced meal! 🙂

New obsession

Question of the day: What is your favorite combination of protein, carbs and fats?

Naomi
Naomi