Food
You are what you eat. This is particularly true of active people and athletes. To exercise for any length of time your body needs to draw on stored energy. This is a very complex process so to keep it simple, let us accept that the body gets its long-term energy from Complex Carbohydrate.
Dietary recommendations
An active person’s diet should consist of approximately:
- 60% complex Carbohydrate – pasta, rice, bread, potatoes, fruits, vegetables and breakfast cereals. (Simple Carbohydrates – refined sugars, jams, honey, sweets and cakes are not good sources of long term energy.)
- 15% Protein – fish, dairy products, meat and nuts are all good sources of protein, which is essential for repairing and maintaining the body.
- 25% Fat – yes, fat is an essential part of our diet and is needed to store nutrients and supply energy.
- Remember that 1gram of carbohydrate or protein contains 4 calories while 1 gram of fat contains 9 calories. So the above proportions must be based on calorie intake, not weight
These proportions are slightly different for very active people and particularly atheletes who will eat less fat and more Protein (5%).
Some general guidance on good eating:
- Variety – eat as many different things as possible. (Eat foods from each of the major food groups: dairy, meat, vegetable, fruit and grain every day)
- Often – eat little and often, this actually helps to burn calories and keep your metabolism going.
- Always eat breakfast, lunch and an evening meal.
- Graze between main meals on fruit, nuts, raw vegetables and low fat cereal bars.
- Eat starchy carbohydrate foods, less fat, sugar and salt.
- Eat some carbohydrate immediately after training (a banana or tuna sandwich).
Finally, to lose weight you simply need to burn more calories than you consume. As rough guide: women should eat about 1500 calories, men 2500 a day. Regular exercise will demand more calories, so keeping your calorie intake the same but increasing your exercise level should lead to a loss of weight. Be careful to maintain a healthy balanced diet, if you eat unwisely or eat too little you will not be able to exercise effectively and will impact your immune system, making yourself ill.
2lb. of body fat equates to about 3000kcalaries and a sensible weight loss is about 2lbs. a week so reducing your daily intake by about 300kc and doing 30 minutes of exercise a day will result in a slimmer more toned and fitter you.
One note of caution, exercise will result in more muscle mass, which is heavier than fat but looks a lot better!
