The third post in the New Year, New You
series is going to focus on explaining different methods used for structuring a
diet program. It is important to be able
to correctly establish the right amount of protein, fat, and carbohydrates that
the body needs. These nutrients are
collectively referred to as the macronutrients. Before diving into that process
a distinction between two different terms needs to be understood: dietary breakdown and nutritional breakdown. Dietary breakdown
is the term for describing the style in which the nutrition of the diet will be
defined. The most common styles of
dietary breakdown are; Low-Carb, Fat-Burning, Mass Building, and High-Carb
Performance Diet. Nutritional
Breakdown is the target percentages of the macronutrients within the
specific type of diet. These percentages
are broken down in ranges and not exact numbers. This is done on purpose for two reasons: 1) hitting
an exact number every day is impossible and, 2) Obsessing about hitting an
exact number every day will inevitably lead to more frustration than
success. In light of this, remember, blessed
are the imperfectionists for their flexibility will accomplish more.
Before going any further it is
appropriate to spend some time coming to an understanding of the nutritional
values of the macronutrients. The
macronutrients are measured in two different ways; calories and grams. Calories measured the amount of energy that
food contains. While grams measure the
macronutrient by weight. This often
causes confusion with people that makes it difficult to understand and eat
healthy because, not all calories are created equal.
•
Protein has 4 calories per 1 gram.
•
Carbs also have 4 calories per 1 gram.
•
Fats
contain 9 calories per 1 gram.
Keeping that in mind, we will now move into an
explanation of the different styles of dietary breakdown.
Low-Carb Diets
This diet is best for those who are sedentary or lightly active
and want to lose weight without strenuous exercise. A low carb diet is one where less than 30%
of the nutrition is consumed from carbohydrates. More protein and fat must be consumed with
this type of diet to ensure that the person is still consuming adequate
calories to support the body.
•
Pros
of a Low Carb Diet
•
Fast weight loss for a short period of
time
•
3-4 weeks for non-exercisers
•
4-6 weeks for exercisers
•
May help control blood sugar levels
for diabetics TALK WITH YOUR DOCTOR BEFORE TRYING A LOW CARB DIET
•
Works for both those who exercise and
those who do not
•
People who are too obese to exercise
may be able to lose weight
•
Cons
of Low Carb Diet
•
This dietary method only work for a
short period of time
•
If cut carbs are cut too low, moodiness and short-temperedness
can occur
•
Too much fat will ruin this diet
•
More protein must be consumed on a low
carb diet and when combined with a lack of adequate fiber may lead to
severe constipation
•
Absolutely no breads, pasta, baked
goods, soda, juice or refined sugars for this to work
Typically, diet programs like the Adkins’ or South Beach diets
that use low carb methods have two stages with the first stage lasting for 2-4 weeks. During this stage no breads, pasta, baked
goods, soda, juice, refined sugars, or fruit are consumed. Protein is consumed at every meal, but
usually not red meat. Protein sources tend to come from chicken, lean turkey,
lean fish, and eggs along with healthy fats such as avocados, nuts, and olive
oil. There should be more vegetables
than anything else at each meal. The
second stage is the same as stage one
with the addition of fruit at two or three times per day instead of,
or with, vegetables and stage two also lasts 2-4 weeks.
The Nutritional Breakdown for a low carb diet typically is broken
down as follows: Carbohydrates form 20-35% of the nutrition in this
diet, Fat will form up to 20-40% of this diet, and protein will
make up the remaining nutrition 25-60% of nutrition for this diet. To determine these numbers let’s assume that
a person needs 2400 calories per day, while exercising to lose 1lb per week.
•
Example:
•
2400 cal x 20-35% = total daily
calories from Carbohydrates
•
2400 calories x 20-35% = 480-840 daily
calories from Carbs
•
2400 x 20-40% = 480-960 calories from Fat
•
2400 x 25-60% = 600-1440 calories from Protein
Once the correct calorie range has been determined for each
nutrient it can be converted to the grams per day range by dividing by the
calories per gram for the respective nutrient.
•
480
-840 calories per day divided by four would translate into 120-210 grams of Carbs per day
•
480-960
calories divided by 9 would be 53-107 grams of Fat per day
•
600-1440
calories divided by 4 would be 150-360 grams of Protein per day
Fat-Burning Diets
This is best suited for people who are
moderately, very, or extremely active and are trying to lose body-fat
while maintaining muscle mass and strength.
From an exercise standpoint, it is important to note that this method
works best for those who incorporate both strength-training and cardio training
in their fitness program. Typically,
unless a person is constantly performing High Intensity Interval Training, as
the main part of the strength program, then this diet will involve too many Carbs.
• Pros
• More Carbs, more energy
• Better supports regular exercise
• Due to increased physical activity and
exercise levels this can be more forgiving and less strict than the low Carb
diet
• Cons
• Too many Carbs if you are not exercising and
want to lose body fat
• Still no refined sugars, or junk food
• Whole-grain pasta and breads are allowed but
strictly controlled, no more than three servings per day
In the nutritional breakdown for
fat-burning diets carbohydrates comprise 40-55% of daily calories for
this diet, fat ranges between 15-25% of the daily calories, and protein
will be 25-35% of daily calories.
To determine these numbers take 2400 calories and multiply by the percentage
of each nutrient to develop the range
• Example:
• 2400 x 40-55% = total daily calories from
carbohydrates
• 2400 calories x 40-55% = 960-1320 daily
calories from Carbs
• 2400 calories x 15-25% = 360-600 calories from Fat
• 2400 calories x 25-35% = 600-840 calories from Protein
Converted
to grams:
• 960-1320 divided by four is 240-330 grams of Carbs per day
• 360-600 divided by 9 is 40-67 grams Fat per
day
• 600-840 divided by 4 is 150-210 grams of Protein per day
Mass Building
This diet starts by properly
addressing protein and fat, then carbohydrates.
To determine protein needs identify what body weight that you wish to be. Eat this many grams of protein per day.
Multiply this number by 4 this is the total number of calories per day
needed from protein. Subtract this
number from 2600.
• Example protein for a person needing 2600
calories per day, wanting to improve mass to 180lb
• 180 x 1 = 180g Protein per day
• 180 x 4 = 720 calories per day from Protein
• 2600-720 = 1880 calories remaining for the day
To determine the fat requirements,
after identifying the correct number of grams of protein, cut this number in half,
this is the number of grams of fat that will be needed each day. Multiply the
grams of fat by 9 to calculate the total fat calories per day and then subtract this number from what was
left after subtracting the
protein calories from 2600.
• Example Fat Calculation
• 180 x 0.50 = 90 grams of Fat per day
• 90 x 9 = 810 calories per day from Fat
• 1880-810 = 1070 calories per day remaining
For identifying the correct number of Carbs, take the calorie number remaining after subtracting protein calories and
fat calories from 2600 and divide this number by four. This is the
grams of Carbs per day required to meet mass building goals.
• Example Carb Calculation
• 1070/4 = 268 grams of carbs per day
In this example a person needing 2600
calories per day to improve body mass to 180lb would need per day: 180g or 720
calories from Protein, 90 or 810 calories from Fat, 268g or 1070 calories from
Carbs to reach the goal of improving muscle mass to 180lbs.
High-Carb Performance Diet
Please take note of this: dieting this
way is best for endurance athletes wishing to maintain current body weight and
composition. It provides high carbs for
energy to maintain performance at a high intensity for a long duration. Because of this, this method contains far too
many carbs for anyone who is not very or extremely active. The Nutritional Breakdown for this diet has carbs 45-60%
of daily calories, protein 15-25% of daily calories, fat 15-30% of daily calories.
• Example:
• A person needs 2800 calories to maintain body
weight
• 2800 x 45-60% = 1260-1680 daily calories from Carbs
• 2800 x 15-25% = 420-700 daily calories from Protein
• 2800 x 15-30% = 420-840 daily calories from Fat
Convert to Grams
• 1260-1680 divided by four is 315-420 grams of Carbs per day
• 420-700 divided by four is 105-175 grams of Protein per day
• 420-840 divided by nine is 47-93 grams of Fat
per day
What you
eat maximizes the potential to achieve the goal. Eat for the body you want not the body you
have.
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