Basic Nutritional Science:Beginner Edition

[mmanningfitness]

Basic Nutritional Science: Beginner Edition
Authored by: Marcus Manning
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To all beginners out there: As soon as you determine your fitness goal(s) it is imperative that you develop a basic understanding of nutrition as a large percentage of your results derive from what you consume daily. This brief article will give you a simple understanding of nutritional practices for weight loss and gaining lean body mass.

Without further adieu let's begin.

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CALORIFIC INTAKE
A Calorie is a measure of energy expenditure; this is one of the most important things to know in relation to changing your physique for the better. The number of calories in your meals is a measure of the stored energy in the food. The most common notion is that consuming a surplus of calories will evidently lead to weight gain and reducing your daily calorific intake below maintenance will lead to weight loss. This holds true, however what must be understood is that other variables must be adjusted when a surplus or deficit is induced on the body.

BASAL METABOLIC RATE (BMR)
Your Basal Metabolic Rate is another important factor as well as it is the baseline level of calories you need to support normal metabolic function in the body; energy your body requires to survive. Before we begin developing a nutrition plan we need to first determine your BMR. This can be done by taking your age, height, and weight and inputting these figures into the following formula:

Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )
Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.8 x age in year )

Example:

Maria is 21 years of age, is 5’ 4” and weighs 115 lbs.; determine her BMR:

We use the BMR formula for Women and input the figures given:

BMR= 655 + (4.35 x 115) + (4.7 x 64) – (4.7 x 21)
BMR= 655 + (500.25) + (300.80) – (98.7)
BMR= 655 + 702.35
BMR= 1357.35

Therefore, Maria’s Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is 1357.35kcal.

HARRIS BENEDICT FORMULA
The Harris Benedict Formula is a very accurate formula to estimate how much calories an individual needs based upon their activity level. Knowledge of this formula is a must if one wishes to change alter their body composition. There are 5 levels of activity given below that we will use to determine your calorific needs based on your activity level:

• If you are sedentary (little or no exercise) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.2
• If you are lightly active (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.375
• If you are moderately active (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.55
• If you are very active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.725
• If you are extra active (very hard exercise/sports & physical job or 2x training) : Calorie-Calculation = BMR x 1.9


Example:

George’s trainer has calculated his BMR and now needs to determine how much calories he needs to maintain his current bodyweight. George’s BMR is 1685.29 and he works out 6 days a week. Calculate his calorific requirements:

=1685.29(1.725)
=2907.12

Therefore, George requires 2907kcal to maintain his current body-weight.

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CALORIE ADJUSTMENTS FOR BODY COMPOSITION


Now that we understand how to calculate our Basal Metabolic Rate and now that we are able to use that figure to determine how much calories we need to maintain our current body-weight we must now learn how to build muscle while keeping the subcutaneous fat (visible fat on your body) off and how to maintain muscle while reducing this subcutaneous fat. Below are the basics:


Gain weight:
• Add 500 calories to baseline calorie level.
Lose Weight:
• Subtract 500 calories from baseline calorie level.

Now what must be understood is that these guidelines do in fact work but not for everyone and many will lose lean body mass when subtracting 500 calories all at once while some may add too much subcutaneous fat when adding 500 calories; results vary really. Ideally, if your goal is to build muscle while keeping the fat off, you must add calories slowly while readjusting ‘macronutrient’ intake. The same rule applies if you are attempting to lose weight with the goal to maintain as much lean body mass as possible, you must reduce calories slowly while readjusting macronutrient intake.




MACRONUTRIENTS



Macronutrients are the substrates which are derived from calories. These substrates are used for a variety of metabolic process in the cells and are composed of 3 subunits:

• Proteins
• Carbohydrates
• Fats

PROTEINS

Proteins are composed of amino acids, the quality or the biological value of a protein substrate is determined by the amino acid profile within it. We must keep this in mind when selecting the types of food we consume as the quality of food we ingest and metabolize will determine the rate of our progress. Another important thing to know is that proteins are 4kcal per gram of protein; this figure will help us allocate our nutrients and calories accordingly.

BRANCH CHAIN AMINO ACIDS (BCAA)


Branch Chain Amino Acids are very important as they are the amino acids that are not produced naturally by the body as they must be consumed from external sources. 3 of these amino acids are of upmost importance to human life, stress, energy and muscle metabolism. They are:
• Valine
• Leucine
• Isoleucine
Foods high in these amino acids are Chicken Breast, Turkey Breast, Salmon, Beef, Eggs, etc.



CARBOHYDRATES

Carbohydrates serve as the main energy source for your body and are particularly important to cognitive function, blood sugar, and metabolic processes such as glycolysis. They also can be converted to glycogen which is then transferred to muscle tissue providing energy through the metabolic pathways for ATP production. We will not go into the bioenergetics of this substrate as it is too lengthy and not applicable to your goals.


GOOD AND BAD CARBS?
Essentially, all carbohydrates are the same in terms of glucose release rate, however carbohydrates low in fibre tend to absorb into the bloodstream too quickly which is not what we want as it may lead to subcutaneous fat storage. Ideally, we want to consume carbohydrates that are high in fiber such as oats, brown rice, yams and sweet potatoes. Bread is not an option as wheat has been linked to subcutaneous fat gain in a number of studies (debatable). When it comes to fruits, I suggest you consume them in the morning and after your workout to avoid unnecessary sugar intake. Also, Carbohydrates are 4kcal per gram.

FATS

Fats have been given a bad rep over the years by the media up until recently. Fats provide energy as well through a process known as lipolysis and the Krebs cycle. Again, we will not dive into the bioenergetics of this substrate; all that you need to know is that Fats are good for you. Also, Fats are 9kcal per gram.



OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS

Omega-3 fatty acids are a must whether you are active or not as they help reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and may help lower blood pressure. They also reduce inflammation, lowers risk of chronic diseases such as cancer and arthritis and support brain function.
Foods high in Omega-3 are:

• Albacore Tuna
• Salmon
• Olive oil
• Garlic
• Wine (Moderate consumption).
• Most fruits


NUTRITION PRESCRIPTION


Now that we understand the basics of macronutrients and calories, we can construct a sound nutrition plan to ensure we achieve our goal in 60 days! First, we will take our calculated calories to maintain our current weight and use that as our baseline. Then, we will add 100-120 calories to that baseline figure:

2907kcal + 100 = 3007kcal
From here we will divide our food into 5-6 meals spread throughout the day, consuming each meal every 2-4 hours to maximize protein synthesis:
*Note: This will require a bit of arithmetic *
*Check the labels of all the foods you consume and add up the macronutrients and calories to reach your calorie target. For nutritional information refer to nutrition data on Google, just type in the food you wish to review and it will pop right up with a number of subcategories.*

***Or download an Iphone app called: "MyFitnessPal" you can scan barcodes of food packages to increase the accuracy of your diet.***


There you have it, a brief explanation of how to gain and lose weight. I hope you all find this article helpful!


Best Regards,


Marcus Manning
Owner/Personal Trainer/Fitness Model
Enhanced Muscle Development

[toughid]

thanks

[beardb]

Quality article. Good place to start. I may send people to this when they ask me questions about nutrition in the future.

[mmanningfitness]

Quality article. Good place to start. I may send people to this when they ask me questions about nutrition in the future.

Thanks for the comment!

[chris139ryan]

very good article

[4EverLearning]

Very much appreciated! I like the numbers here that was hard to find all in one place like this. I'm beginning a new venture as I've arrived in middle age!

[mmanningfitness]

Very much appreciated! I like the numbers here that was hard to find all in one place like this. I'm beginning a new venture as I've arrived in middle age!

Glad you found it helpful! Good luck!

[evalala]

Always good to check up on those numbers every once in a while, thanks!

[TheEngineerGirl]

This is going on my fridge. Thanks.

[jh4]

this is a great start