The statement “you are what you eat” applies well to anyone with an active interest in their physique. No amount of training or focus will ever replace the values of a well balanced meal. A vital part of a diet is not only what and how you should eat but also what and how you shouldn’t. It’s a fine line between the perfect diet and the most detrimental meal you’ve ever had. The difference could be a few egg yolks or a dressing on a salad.
This quick list of restrictions when formulating your nutrition plan will help you get the best out of your diet.
Do not avoid pre and post workout meals
When targeting to lose fat it makes perfect sense to create a caloric deficit by cutting down on meals but the problem is when you cut down on essential nutrients. The biggest pitfall to be weary of is the risk of denying your body a stable supply of energy thus sending your body into an emergency state with a catabolic environment.
Though some may argue that this will attain the desired result of losing weight, it will also escalate the rate at which you gain that weight back. The other major drawback in cutting down on vital meals is the risk of reducing your metabolism, a counterproductive exercise given that it leads to less fat burning capacities.
If a caloric reduction is on your mind, cut down on other meals like late dinners.
Reducing fruit intake because of the sugar content
The advise on reducing fruit from your diet because of its sugar content is flawed. One of the many reasons why fruits are integral to the perfect diet is that fruits contain a host of essential vitamins your body can’t do without in addition to improving complexion and other outer appearance related factors.
Fruits also have the capability to minimize risk of many diseases. The sugar content in fruits don’t spike blood sugar levels like table sugar does and what’s more the form of sugar found in fruits known as fructose replenishes liver glycogen stores, a major determinant of energy expenditure.
It’s not all about the calories
A fundamental mistake that beginners make in gym is to count everything in calories. Calories are definitely the best way to gauge your body’s energy reserves, the type of calories make huge differences in the aftermath.
Junk food and processed foods cause major spikes in blood sugar levels and rate of digestion thus contributing to major mid day cravings. Slow burning complex carbs are the recommended form of calories for achieving a weight goal, the main exception being strenuous sports activity which may require simple carbs to fuel the body quickly by replenishing glycogen stores.
Whole wheat, grains and brown rice are examples of complex carbs that won’t create major sugar spikes and insulin rushes in your system.
Cutting out on the lean cuts
Many weight loss diets involve elimination of red meat to be replaced by poultry and fish. The benefits of red meat are numerous and shouldn’t be overlooked that simply, aside from the excellent protein content, red meat also contains iron, zinc, vitamin B12 and natural creatine, all of which contributes to muscle gain.
For those of you who argue that muscle gain isn’t the desired result and fat loss is, a point to note is that increased muscle mass supports increased fat burning capacities by utilizing higher energy amounts.
Multi vitamin exclusivity
Getting your total vitamin requirement through pills and tablets is a bad idea for two reasons’ one being that these supplements are designed only to fill gaps in the nutrition requirements not to replace vegetables and natural vitamin sources completely.
The second drawback is that these pills will often lack the anti oxidants and other similar supporting beneficiaries that are present in their natural sources.
By Dilshan Senaratne
0 Comments