Don’t allow your diet to derail your fitness ambitions. Build a rock-solid nutrition program by following these 7 ideas from successful fitness coaches.
If you want to change, you can’t rely solely on your workouts. To gain muscle or lose fat, you also need to put in a lot of effort in the kitchen as well. Without a solid grasp of nutrition, you won’t get the results you strive so hard for. If you want 2023 to be your best year yet, you must go into it with a solid nutrition game plan.
Calorie Adjustments on Days Without Training
Many people looking for a positive transformation in their physique make the error of eating the same amount of calories on training days as they do on non-training days. But you actually need a lot more nourishment on your training days to support your body’s healing during and after your workout sessions.
At Anabolic Coach, we suggest limiting your calories on non-training days and increasing them on your training days. For example, your daily calorie intake could be 2,000 calories on your days off and 2,500 calories on days when you are working.
Adjust your calories based on your weight, gender, objectives, and workout intensity, but instead of dramatically altering your calorie intake by thousands, you can stick to a tried and tested 500-calorie swing where you increase your daily calorie intake by 500 calories on your training days. Many of these calories can be obtained from protein and additional carbohydrates, which will support optimal performance on the days that you train.
Pay Attention to Your Body
Eating healthily is not as simple as staying faithful to a list of nutritious food items. While it is important to customize your nutrition strategy to suit your training needs, you should also be aware of how your body reacts to various foods.
Even if a certain cuisine may be nutritious for you, it may not make you feel great. If anything causes your body to react poorly, leave it out of your diet. Replace anything you do decide to take out with an alternative, healthier option.
Don’t force yourself to consume something you detest or have bad reactions to just because your plan specifies it.
Not too much restriction
There is no doubt that healthier food choices are necessary if you want to reduce your body fat. Unhealthy meals that may have previously filled your plate will likely be excluded from your new regimen. However, don’t start your journey by giving up everything you enjoy eating.
You should focus on eating nutritious foods as much as possible, but don’t see any item as off limits. You’ll go crazy and your strategy won’t work if you limit yourself to eating the same few meals repeatedly.
Keep in mind that there is room for a treat every now and then if you choose healthy options for the majority of your carbohydrate, protein, and fat amounts. Essentially, balance in your eating habits is crucial to the success of any nutrition plan.
Boost Your Protein Intake
A 2005 study published in “The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition” discovered that increasing protein consumption from 15% to 30% increased the feelings of fullness in adult subjects while decreasing their calorie intake and fat mass at the same time.
Consuming 20-30 grams of high-quality protein at each meal can also lead to an increase in protein synthesis and muscle growth.
In other words, protein reigns supreme! So, if you’ve begun the transformation of your physique but haven’t yet upped your protein intake, now is the moment to do so.
However, increasing your protein intake doesn’t mean that you should chow down on meat at every meal. Vegans can also receive sufficient protein intake from beans, lentils, soy, and tempeh. Additionally, it’s crucial to remember that your body is impacted by the quality of the food you eat. The healthier the food you consume, the better you ultimately will feel.
Fat is also important
Some people completely eliminate dietary fat because they believe it doesn’t fit in a diet designed to burn fat. However, the fact remains that your body requires dietary fat in order to burn fat. According to studies, eating nutrient-rich good fats like omega-3 fatty acids can really help with fat burning.
According to one of these studies, healthy men and women who took fish oil supplements for six weeks saw an increase in lean mass and a decrease in fat mass.
In addition to lowering cortisol levels in the body, healthy fats also aid in stress management. Furthermore, it has been proven that mixing fish oil with exercise improves cardiovascular and metabolic health in addition to the reduction in body fat.
A diet high in healthy fats from avocados, fish, nuts, olive oil, and fish oil is highly recommended, along with low-glycemic fruits like berries, fiber-rich vegetables and, of course, a sufficient amount of protein.
Reduce calories gradually
Suddenly cutting your daily calorie intake from 2,500 to 1,500 might make you feel famished, restricted, and generally dissatisfied. It is much preferable to gently reduce your calorie intake. We advise that you start with a 200-calorie reduction [from what you’re consuming today] and then gradually increase your activity and intensity levels.
Slowly reducing your caloric intake will help to ensure that you continue to notice improvements. You won’t be able to move forward if you start your journey by reducing your calorie consumption too quickly.
Starting with the smallest effective dose of calorie reduction and cardio ensures that you’ll be able to progress for the long run.
Maintain hydration
We advise that you drink enough water, since staying hydrated is essential to the fat-loss process.
Everything from your metabolic rate to your energy levels might be affected by dehydration. Too many individuals spend the entire day slightly dehydrated, which makes them feel tired when they shouldn’t and makes them eat when they should just be drinking water.
So how can you tell if you are adequately hydrated? The simplest method is to observe the color of your urination. Your urine should be the color of lemonade; if it appears more like apple juice, you should consume additional liquids.
However, if you take a multivitamin, you could notice that your urine will have a neon yellow color which is mainly due to the riboflavin in the multivitamin. You should also pay attention to how frequently you go to the bathroom and avoid hydrating with coffee or energy drinks. If you dislike plain water, you can add some slices of lemon or BCAAs to your water.
In Conclusion
Training is great and essential for building muscle mass. But in order to train properly you need energy and you get this energy from the foods you eat. The seven tips in this post should help you in staying healthy before, during and after your training.
