New Year, New You # 3 Dietary Guidelines: Establishing Appropriate Nutrient Ratios

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.

New Year New You #2 Metabolism: Accounting for Body Fat and Physical Activity Level

Last week we worked through the process of understanding the metabolism and its role in keeping the body healthy.  We came to an understanding of Basal Metabolic Rate; its meaning and the process of calculating the amount of calories needed to meet this demand.  However, there are two other factors that need to be considered when determining the body’s nutritional needs: the amount of body fat present and work-related physical activity and/or exercise.

Over the years I have found that the formulas used to arrive at BMR result in an overestimation of caloric needs in overweight and obese people.  The reality of the human body is that body fat slows down metabolic rate.  Two people may be of the same gender, age, height, and weight but if one person’s weight is comprised of substantially more body fat than the other person, this overweight person will have a significantly slower metabolism, and thus, burn fewer calories.  I have found that using the following guidelines to alter the BMR calculation results in a more accurate number of calories needed for those that are overweight or obese.

·         If your body fat is between 20-29% and/or you have 30lbs-100lbs to lose and your BMI is 25-27 take the BMR that has been calculated and multiply your calculated BMR by 0.75. This is a more accurate Adjusted BMR.  So:

BMR x 0.75 = Overweight Adjusted BMR

·         OR, if your body fat is higher than 30% and/or you have more than 100lbs to lose or your BMI is above 27 then multiply your calculated BMR by 0.60. This is a more accurate Adjusted BMR. So:

BMR x 0.60 = Obese adjusted BMR

Going, back to the BMR calculations in the examples from last week, we will now walk through this process.

•      Overweight Female BMR = 1563 calories x 0.75 = 1172 calories

o   This is a difference of 391 calories

•      Obese Male BMR = 1918 calories x 0.60 =1150 calories

o   This is a difference of 768 calories

It is important to note that these adjustments to the BMR reflect the amount of calories needed for days of little or no physical activity or exercise.  This is a crucial step in properly identifying the correct number of calories needed by an overweight or obese person.  Make sure to correctly identify which category, if any, you fall into too.  Skipping this step will result in consuming too many calories and inhibiting fat loss.  If you do not fall into either of the two classifications, as I have given them, then keep the original BMR calculation.  From this point we will now begin factoring in physical activity and exercise.  Before beginning the process of accounting for physical activity and exercise the two must be clearly defined so that the difference can be understood.  Everyone engages in physical activity but few people engage in exercise.

Physical activity- any form of bodily movement that prevents the body from being motionless or sedentary.  This can include physical activity related to work or employment.

Exercise- is any rhythmic physical activity purposely done for a defined period of time and in specific patterns of movement for the purpose of improving coordinated movement, physical strength, endurance, and BMR.

There are five classifications of people: Sedentary, Lightly active, moderately active, very active, and extremely active.  The vast majority of people will fit into either the sedentary or lightly active category.  Over-estimation of physical activity levels is a common problem when identifying the appropriate classification; follow the guidelines as closely as possible to properly classify yourself.

A sedentary person spends most of their day at a desk, or computer, or in front of a TV, and rarely leaves home except to go to work.  This person may do household chores such as washing the dishes, laundry, vacuuming.  However, this person does NOT engage in exercise or physical activity such as yard work.  A sedentary person does NOT need to increase calorie intake.  An increase in calories will result in an increase in body fat for this person.

A lightly active person has a job where the majority of time is spent sitting at a desk, and will perform physical chores or light exercise for up to four hours per week. Examples would include mowing the lawn (with a push mower), painting, pulling weeds, raking leaves, walking the dog, yoga. This person multiplies BMR by 1.3 to maintain body weight.

A moderately active person has job that keeps them on their feet, but is not labor intensive, such as a teacher, nurse, or restaurant employee or exercises a total of 3-4 hours per week performing weight training and exercises such as jogging or biking 2-3 times per week but does not spend more than a total of 4 hours per week exercising.  Or this person could play organized sports with practices and competitions meeting the weekly time commitment.  To calculate the caloric needs of this person multiply BMR by 1.4 to maintain body weight.

A very active person has a labor intensive job, such as a construction worker or exercises 6-8 hours per week and would follow a program that includes cardiovascular and strength training: running more than 20 miles/week or biking more than 40 miles, swimming more than 3 hours and weightlifting 3-4 times per week.  This person will multiply BMR by 1.6 to maintain body weight.

An extremely active person is someone exercises more than 12 hours per week, regularly competes in organized sports and does weight training 4 or more times per week, or, runs half or full marathons, iron mans, or competes as a college, Olympic, or professional athlete.  This person multiplies BMR by 1.8 to maintain body weight.

Keep in mind that up to this point the number of calories being discussed is still only about maintaining the current condition of the body, while factoring in physical activity and exercise.  This category has been correctly identified and the calculations completed, the focus can shift to changing caloric intake for fat loss or muscle gain.

It is important to remember that changing the body either for losing or gaining weight requires an appropriate balance between the amount of calories consumed through food and calories expended due to BMR and physical activity or exercise.  This balance is easier to achieve, particularly when trying to lose weight, by understanding that one pound of body fat stores roughly 3500 calories worth of energy.  There are seven days in a week: dividing 3500 by seven results in 500.  To lose one pound of fat per week the body must use 500 calories per day in energy more than it consumes through nutrition.  At least, that is what the math says.

Unfortunately, the body does not work exactly the way the math does.  Now, the straight math will work for sedentary people who have no intention of exercising.  But, if you already exercise, simply creating a calorie deficit of 500 calories will not work.  When a person is participating in regular exercise program simply eating 500 calories per day less than needed or, by using exercise, burning 500 calories per day more than needed creates too large of a calorie deficit for the body to properly recover from the strain of the exercise.  A 500 calorie deficit created this way will prevent the body from keeping and adding to its lean muscle mass.  A loss of muscle mass in this scenario will slow down the body’s metabolism, making it easier to eat more calories than necessary.  Over time, this will result in an increase in body fat.  Welcome to discouraging cycle of exercising and decreasing your health.

The 500 calories is an important number but it must be achieved through a combination of diet and exercise to ensure effectiveness.  I recommend reducing the amount of calories consumed by 200-300 calories per day while burning an additional 200-300 calories through physical activity and exercise.   Sticking to this process will produce a weight loss of 1-2lbs per week.

Now, suppose this a man would want to add muscle mass to his body.  To accomplish this he would have to consume more calories than burning.  This can be done without adding body fat as a part of the process.  Part of the reason most people do not do this because they consume far too many calories when trying to add lean muscle mass.  For most people, to add lean muscle mass without adding body fat only requires an additional 250 calories per day.  So if this man needs 2685 calories to preserve his current body weight and composition than he would only require 2935 calories per day to add muscle mass to his body.

As you can see this can be a challenging process to learn, be patient and stick with it.  Success comes to those who stay disciplined and focused.

Stay strong!

The Movement Motivation

Here is a simple question: ‘what motivates you?’  Think about it for a moment.  What captures your attention like nothing else?  What grabs on with a tap-out hold and does not let go?  What stirs such deep enthusiasm within you that it becomes a consuming and passionate fire that burns until it pours into an act of creativity and energy?  Got it?  Now, what triggers this passion?

Hold that thought for a moment.  We will come back to it.

This time of year flocks of people inundate the local fitness clubs and gyms in an attempt to make good on that New Year’s Resolution.  The overwhelming increase in the presence of these “resolutioners” will drive the regular fitness enthusiasts underground, or at least, to different times of the day for workouts.  By mid-March most of these people will be gone; a few will stick around and become a part of the crowd of regulars.

What separates those who stay with it from those that drop off?  Go back to the opening question, ‘what motivates you’?  For a moment, forget about nutrition and fitness programs.  The newbies that are still around after March, may have discovered an edge there.  But, before establishing effort something lit a fire within them. Something got those individuals motivated in a powerful way.  I can’t tell each individual person what should form their personal motivation.  But I can tell you that if ‘being healthy’ is the primary motivation it probably will not happen.  This is where most people begin to fail.  Successful motivation must begin deeper than that.

At sixteen years old, and 260lbs, being healthy felt like an impossibility and would have remained that way if the only thing I wanted was to ‘feel healthier.’  Becoming healthier and feeling better are fantastic by products of a healthy diet and regular exercise.  But as human beings we tend to be impatient and fickle.  Experience has taught me that the more personal something is, the more we tend to be this way.  What is more personal to a person than a person’s body?

In this lies the key, “personal” is necessary to finding motivation that will bring about real life change.  Motivation that moves a person into action that will result in real life change must be deeply personal.  For me it was simple, I wanted the life I have now: with a loving wife and a wonderful child.  I did not view that as something attainable when I was an obese teenager.  Find something that motivates you this strongly and nothing will be impossible. Grab on to something that is important to you because:

Nothing happens until something starts moving.- Albert Einstein

Action does not happen until something begins to move.  Getting the body in motion is not difficult.  Keeping it moving is.  Motivation to obtain a goal is best accomplished by identifying and firmly grasping an idea or vision that is worth putting aside fear to pursue.  Fear is beatable, motivation is the bat.  Issue fear a beating.

New Year New You #1 Metabolism: The foundation of life

We begin with a simple question, one that I asked myself, “how did I get fat?”  The answer is both simple and complex.  It is simple because the only way that person gains excessive body fat it by eating more than the body needs.  Yet it is also incredibly complex because everybody has a different and unique body.  Using a cookie cutter or fad diet approach will not result in permanent weight loss because it is not tailored specifically to your individual needs.  This is the ultimate problem with trying these methods.  There may be some initial changes but these changes will not be permanent and the weight will most likely come back soon after the program is abandoned.  It was not uniquely tailored to you.

To specifically create program for yourself you must understand metabolism.  Metabolism is the measurement of the energy required to maintain the human body’s current condition.  It is the sum of every biological and chemical process that the human body goes through to maintain life.  Energy is considered to be the ability or capacity to do work.  In the human body energy is measured in the unit of the calorie.  Energy is essential for the body to produce: mechanical work (movement of the body and exercise), maintain and regulate body temperature. Every breath, heartbeat, digestion, muscular contraction, and millions of other activities affect the amount of energy required to keep the body alive.  Energy is provided to the body by consuming food with the nutrition mainly coming from protein, carbohydrates, and fats.  The total amount of energy required to adequately support the body is referred to as Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR).  This does not factor in exercise.  That is another topic for another day.

BMR can be considered to be an effective evaluation of the quality of life and health because the body loses, or slows down, its metabolism during times of poor health and as the body ages.  Age will naturally slow the metabolic rate and this is nothing to be alarmed about.  However, research that is still in the preliminary stages is beginning to indicate that excess body fat, particularly in amounts that are defined as being obese, actually speeds up the aging process.  The result is that overweight and obese people are living in physical bodies that can be considered to be far older than the number of years lived would indicate.

As I mentioned a moment ago, the calorie is the unit of measurement given to the amount of energy that the body requires to support BMR.  There are a few factors that affect BMR; gender, age, height, and weight.   It is because these factors vary from person to person and between genders that a program not designed for your specific metabolism is ultimately doomed to failure. 

Basal Metabolic Rate is something that can be calculated and that is what we will now do.  It is impossible to out exercise poor nutrition.  For those who do not engage in regular exercise or work physically demanding jobs then BMR is the amount of calories your body needs.  Eat more than this and body fat levels will rise bringing with it a plethora of health problems.  There are two formulas for calculating BMR, one for men and one for women:

Male BMR = 66 + (6.22*W) + (12.7*H) - (6.8*A)

Female BMR = 655 + (4.36*W) + (4.32*H) – (4.7*A)

In the formulas, W is weight in pounds, H is height in inches, and A is age in years.  The process of correctly calculating BMR can be broken down in three steps: 1) Convert your height from feet to inches, 2) insert the information into appropriates spots in the equation, and 3) perform the calculations.  We will now work through one example each for a man and a woman.

Beginning with the man, we will assume that he is 56 years old, 5’11’ tall, and weighs 214 pounds.  This calculation can be broken down into three simple steps: 1) convert height into inches, 2) insert the information into the appropriate spots in the equation and 3) perform calculations.  Here is how to do it using the men’s formula:

•      Step One: (5’ x 12”) + 11”  = 71” Height (H)

•      Step Two:

•      Men BMR = 66 + (6.22 x W) + (12.7 x H) – (6.8 x A)

•      66 + (6.22 x 214) + (12.7 x 71) – (6.8 x 56)

•      Step Three:

•      66 + (1331) + ( 902) – (381)

•      1397 + 902 – 381

•      2299-381

•      Men BMR = 1918 calories

We will now follow the same process for calculating the metabolism a woman that is 34 years old, 5’6”, and 143lbs.  Use the same basic three step process: 1) convert height into inches, 2) insert the information into the appropriate spots in the equation and 3) perform calculations.  Here is how to do it using the women’s formula:

•      Step One:  (5’ x 12”) + 6” = 66”

•      Step Two:

•      Female BMR:

•      655 + (4.36 x W) + (4.32 x H) – (4.7 x A)

•      655 + (4.36 x 143) + (4.32 x 66) – (4.7 x 34)

•      Step Three:

•      655 + (623) + (285) – (160)

•      1278 + 285  - 160

•      1563-160

•      Female BMR = 1563 calories

Resolution to Fail, Committed to Succeed

The New Year is here, and just in case, anyone reading this has been living in a cave, this when everyone makes their resolutions for to ensure that 2017 is better than 2016.  Exciting right?  A fresh start to getting a jump on making life better, ready, set, go!  And if you are like most people, off you go with great energy and enthusiasm, only to fall of the wagon and quit in frustration.  It happens all the time, every year to almost everyone in some form or another.  If you are like most people who make a resolution, improving your health in some form is a part of the resolution platform, and so, every January thousands of people burst into the local fitness club or gyms with a resolution.  By mid-March the majority of these people have disappeared.

The Webster’s dictionary defines resolution, a noun, as 1: the act of resolving: as the act of analyzing a complex notion into simpler ones, 2: the act of answering and, 3: the act of determining.  I think of it more simply: identifying.   So if a person has made a resolution, congratulations, the problem has been identified…now, what will you do about it?

Here in lies the problem, this second question: ‘what will you do about it’, is never fully addressed, if addressed at all.  The next step is to commit.  As everyone knows, to commit is harder because commitment requires something that a resolution does not: action.  The dictionary defines commit as: 2: to carry into action deliberately or 3b: to pledge or assign to some particular course or use.  To commit is to engage in deliberate and purposeful action.  Living life as a verb instead of a noun is a distinction few people make.  Frankly, I think it why few people achieve their dreams.  It is why few people survive the resolution stage of health and exercise.  The word commit has another definition; it involves a jacket, men dressed in white, and a room with padded walls.

Want to know the secret to avoid becoming a ‘resolutioner,’as I like to call them?  Become so passionate about your health that the resolutioners think that that last definition of commit is your new home address.   Those who are full of passion in the pursuit of goals will never be understood by those who have none.  But passion driven without proper guidance is a reckless course to failure. Resolutions are made by those who wish to feel as if they accomplishing something, but in reality, have no idea to make it happen.

Without a plan, those resolutions are doomed to failure. However, those who plan for success find it. Those who commit and are fueled by passion and driving with a developed plan will find the success they crave. Luck is not needed; just solid commitment to a workable plan. Get after it! There is one key that must then be mastered. It is the most important key to succeeding with any exercise program. It has nothing to do with a particular exercise or cookie cutter program. What is this? Consistency. Whatever you choose to do, how often, when, or where is not nearly as important as doing to consistently. 

Nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight.-Bruce Cockburn "Lover's in a Dangerous Time"