Nutrition Plan

This article will go into more detail about creating a solid nutrition plan that works. First of all, it is important to point out that eating 2 or 3 meals per day is not the way to get a great body; you most eat more often than this. It comes as a surprise to some people that you must eat numerous times throughout the day for optimal health. This applies to everyone: women and men, and both those who are trying to gain muscle mass and those who are trying to lose weight. The key concept here is portion quantity. Rather than eating larger meals a couple of times a day, you should be eating frequent, smaller meals. In this way, the body is continually being supplied with nutrients throughout the course of the day, making digestion easier and allowing the body to grow and repair in a more efficient manner. You should aim to consume around 5-6 small meals daily. With regards to specific nutrient amounts, the 40/40/20 nutrition plan is a good way to go. In this system, 40% of your daily calories should come from carbohydrates, 40% from protein, and 20% from healthy dietary fat. When thinking of your nutrition plan, useful information regarding which sources of these nutrients to consume and which to avoid can be found here.

Nutrient Timing

Under a solid nutrition plan, a serving of complex carbohydrates should be consumed at every meal, except your final meal of the day before bed. Before you go to sleep, there is really no need to supply your body with energy in the form of carbohydrates since you will be inactive for 6-8 hours and any carbs that you consume will therefore be stored as fat. By eating complex carbs at every other meal though, you will continually be providing your body with energy througout the day. At breakfast, nutrient timing becomes crucial. When you first wake up, your body has been without food throughout the night and will thus be in a catabolic (tissue-breakdown) state. At this time, the glycogen (stored glucose) levels in your muscles is low, seeing how you have been without food for approximately 8 hours. As a result, you should immediately take in some fast-digesting carbohydrates upon waking up which will allow you to replenish your muscles with glucose. Waxy maize starch or potatoes are good options for fast-digesting carbs. In addition, fruit is good to consume in the morning hours, considering it is composed of simple sugars (although fruit is actually a slow-digesting food). Some fast-digesting carbs should also be consumed following a workout, when your body will again be low on glucose due to the strenuous work it has been put through. Similarly to carbohydrates, you should divide your protein consumption evenly among all of your daily meals. Consuming protein shakes is an excellent way of meeting your daily protein needs. It is especially important to consume protein in the morning, when your body has been without food for a long time. The best choice for morning protein consumption is whey protein, which is fast-digesting and will allow you to get protein into your muscles as quickly as possible. Also, following a strength-training workout, you should consume about 40-60 grams of protein as well in order to begin the repair of tissues that have been placed under stress during exercise. Vegetables should also be consumed at nearly every meal in order to assist with digestion, considering their high fiber content. As far as the final meal of the day goes, it is a good idea to consume a fairly large amount of milk at this time, say 2-3 glasses. Milk is rich in casein, a slow-digesting protein. For this reason, milk is perfect to consume right before bed as it will continually release protein into your body at a fairly slow pace while you are sleeping to last you throughout the night.

Nutrient Requirements

It is generally suggested that the average person consume about 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight everyday for general health purposes. Those who are training intensely will need to follow different guidelines in their nutrition plan. These people will require more protein, usually about 1.5 grams per pound of body weight everyday. Some bodybuilders even suggest going as high as 2 grams per pound of body weight. Under the 40/40/20 system, you would take in approximately the same amount of carbohydrates as protein. Under this example, that would be about 1.5 grams of carbs as well per pound of bodyweight. As for dietary fats, you should aim to consume around 0.25-0.6 grams per pound of bodyweight. Remember, all of these figures are very general guidelines and must be adapted slightly to suit your individual needs. Everybody's body is different and may require different amounts of certain nutrients. For example, some people have a faster metabolism and will require more protein and less carbohydrates than a person with a metabolism that is more optimal. It is best to find what amounts of nutrients work for you through experimentation with different quantities.


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