The Balancing Act: A Diet How To

Do you remember your school health teacher or parents talking for what seemed like hours about the food pyramid and a balanced diet? Good, because I’m about to tell you that you were half right. A balanced diet is important for your health and fitness. But there is more to a healthy, well-balanced diet than simply eating the “ideal” number of servings from certain food groups and counting calories. It is also about which food sources the calories come from. Here, I’d like to give you an overview of balanced nutrition without getting into schoolteacher or parent mode.

What are calories?

Calories are a unit of energy obtained from almost everything we eat or drink each day.

When we want to lose weight or increase lean muscle mass, we need to know how many calories we are giving our body and what foods those calories are coming from. To help you understand it better, consider the following table. It only contains the Macro-Nutrients we need every day, because Micro-Nutrients such as vitamins and minerals have a caloric value close to zero.

1g protein = 4 calories

1 g of carbohydrates = 4 calories

1 g of fat = 9 calories

proteins

Proteins are the premium building blocks for your body. Because of this, they should form a large part of your diet. A moderately active person should aim for 25-30% of their daily calories to come from protein and up to 40% for people who do heavy physical labor or sports like bodybuilding.

Try to include protein in every meal you have throughout the day. This can actually help you eat less and control cravings, because protein-rich foods digest slowly. This helps keep you feeling full longer and reduces snacking between meals.

Great sources of protein are meat, fish, poultry, and dairy products (watch out for fat content). Also vegetables and some nuts. However, be careful how much nuts you eat because while they are high in protein, they are also very high in fat and calories.

carbs

Carbs have been painted in a poor light recently and for the most part it has been unfairly so. (thanks Paleo Gurus)

Carbohydrates are our body’s naturally preferred source of energy, especially during exercise or physical work. They only become a “problem” when our diet has more carbohydrates than our bodies need for energy each day, causing the excess carbohydrates to be stored as fat.

Carbohydrates not only give us energy, they also provide fiber and other important nutrients for our general well-being and should make up about 40-50% of your daily meals. Good sources of carbohydrates are: whole grain breads and pastas and brown rice which are high in fiber which means you feel full longer, fruits and vegetables.

A couple of important things to consider here are: Try to stay away from processed grains like white breads, pastas and white rice. The processing they undergo robs them of important nutrients and leaves them with a higher sugar content than the same size serving of whole grains. When it comes to fruits and vegetables, try to choose varieties that are high in fiber and/or or water, such as apple, pears and watermelon and vegetables like lettuce, cabbage and celery. These are low in calories and high in fiber and will help you feel full for a longer period of time without hitting your calorie budget for the day too much.

fats

For years, gurus have told us that we should eat as little fat as possible or eliminate it completely from our diets to stay healthy. Now common sense is making a comeback as research sheds new light on the former baddies.

Simply put, our bodies need fat to function properly. They help in the lubrication of the joints, digestion, the protection of our skin and other vital functions. A healthy range of fats in our diet is approximately 20-25% of your total daily calories.

All fats are different. There are good fats, bad fats, and really bad fats, so I’ll give you a quick rundown of them so you know what to look out for when eating healthy.

The good

Heart-healthy unsaturated fats that come in two main types. Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated.

Monounsaturated fats have been shown to lower overall cholesterol, but particularly bad cholesterol (LDL). Good sources of monounsaturated fats include nuts (preferably raw), nut butters like almond and peanut butters, olives, avocados, safflower oil, and coconut oil.

Polyunsaturated fats include the Omega-3 fats found in fatty, cold-water fish such as salmon, herring, some varieties of tuna, and mackerel (including sardines). Pumpkin, sunflower, and flax seeds are also high in Omega-3s.

Conjugated Linoleic Acids (CLA) are fats found primarily in red meat and dairy products and are good for you too. Research has shown that these fats actually help with weight loss, but they inhibit the absorption and storage of other fats.

Saturated fats like butter should be included in your diet. The key here is moderation and you should limit, not eliminate, your intake of saturated fat. For example, coconut oil is an extremely healthy saturated fat and adds great flavor and aroma to foods.

The bad

Omega 6 fats have been linked to arthritis, cancer and heart disease and should be kept to a minimum in your diet. Some common omega-6 fats in our lives are soybean oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, corn oil, sesame oil, and cottonseed oil. If you cook with any of these oils on a regular basis, try switching to coconut oil or a small amount of animal fat.

Worst

Try to completely eliminate trans fat from your diet. They are most commonly found in fast and packaged foods. If your diet is too high in trans fats, you are at high risk for heart and cholesterol problems. Always read the labels of the packaged foods and snacks you buy. If they have more than 0g of trans fat listed in the ingredients, look for an alternative that doesn’t.

Water

Water allows your body to flex muscles during work and exercise, removes waste, carries oxygen and vital nutrients to your body’s cells, and helps convert food into energy, among other functions.

We’ve been told over and over again “8 glasses a day” and some people find that amount daunting. However, it’s not as difficult as you may think, because it includes the water used in tea and coffee and other drinks that you probably enjoy more than the water of life. Also, many foods contain large amounts of water. This counts towards your water usage. A good example is watermelon which is about 90% water and lettuce at about 95% water. Some proteins like fish contain as much as 70% water.

keep it simple

I admit that counting the caloric content and nutrient ratios of each meal takes time at first and can seem a bit daunting. But after a short time, preparing a meal with the right balance of macronutrients will become second nature.

Finally, eating a balanced diet that contains quality ingredients is a lifestyle, not a diet. Simply put, count calories, watch your macronutrient ratios, and avoid the bad stuff to get the most out of life.