Energy balance

Energy = carbs + protein + fat (+alcohol)

Energy balance.  Our food gives us energy (calories).  We spend energy to stay alive, to watch Rafa vs Rog on the HD TV, to trim the grass patch outside, to walk to the pub, to chase the dog, to do those 3km on the treadmill.  If energy in (from food) is more than energy out (from daily activity) we store energy and put on weight.  If the converse is true we lose weight.  The weight we put on or lose can be in the form of fat, protein or carbohydrate stores.  How we eat and how we train effects that.

Not all calories from food were made the same.  Each gram of protein, fat, carbohydrate or alcohol in our diet gives us a different amount of calories.  Finding the right ratio of all these in your diet will affect your body composition, your performance and your recovery.  Add to that the timing of eating these nutrients and you have another aspect to take note of. 

The man on the couch, the woman on the bike and the china on the squat machine all have different needs.  The energy they spend is all different, their goals are all different and so too their energy needs from their diet will be different.  Getting to grips with what your food is and what you are getting from it in order to reach your goals is the first step in successful nutrition.

Carbohyrates.  Carbs.  Starches.  Sugars.  These words are all used for the same group of things really and are the single most important nutrient to us all.  These puppies give us about 4 calories per gram.  We break down most of our carbohydrates into smaller sugars to be absorbed.  These sugars give us energy to use immediately or to store as glycogen for later use.  They should make up between 45% and 65% of our diet.  We can tweak this ratio in order to lose weight or to meet the demands of strenuous exercise.  That guy who is still on the couch might need only 3-4 grams per kg body weight* every day.  Our fine lady on the bike training for an ironman (ironwoman?) may need up to 3 times that amount!  Not only should carbohydrates be the backbone of meals, but pre/during/post exercise nutrition is based on carbohydrate intake.  The type and timing of which is very important.  Grains, cereals, fruit, sugar, dairy are all sources of carbohydrate.  The topics of simple and complex sugars, fibre, GI, low carb diets and nutrient timing are for another day I think.

* You will note I refer to recommendations quite a lot as grams per kilogram body weight.  Everyone’s needs are different and this allows for fine tuning of an individuals intake.  Research and documented guidelines often work on this basis too *

Protein.  This is the building blocks of a helluva lot in our bodies and another essential element to our diet.  Like our carbohydrates, Mr Protein gives us about 4 calories per gram too.  We break these down into amino acids which later get rebuilt to make muscle fibers, hormones, connective tissue (ligaments etc) and assist with any repair or immune function fighting that needs to go on. Usually 15-20% of our total dietary energy should be from protein.  Our friend is obviously still on the couch and he needs about 0.8g per kg (15% total energy) every day.  Endurance and strength athletes need a bit more depending on their training.  For weight loss we often choose to go higher at the expense of carbs.  Lean sources of protein should be plentiful in our diet.  Lean meat, legumes and dairy are common sources.  Many more posts will follow on this one!

Fat. Sounds evil doesn’t it? Not true.  We need fat; it is vitally important for proper functioning of our immune systems, hormones, enzymes and to physically protect our organs and provide a source of energy.  We get a whopping 9 calories per gram with these big boys.  A dense source of energy.  I am sure we have all heard of good fats and bad fats, a nice simple way of discriminating.  I fear that my views on this may be against the grain of that which many others believe and profess.  Please feel free to argue with me.  I feel too much attention is placed on pounding and criminalising fat.  My views are based on research, evidence and common sense which we will come across in future posts.  Obviously too much of anything is going to have a negative effect but tread wisely when choosing your sources of fat.  Widely available information describes bad fats as animal sources (meat, butter, dairy) or saturated fats. Also in this group of baddies are trans fats which are for the vast majority manufactured fats not naturally occurring.  We find these guys in baked products, processed foods, chips and cooking oils and on and on.  No qualms here with trans fats.  Avoid.  Our good fats are unsaturated fats from fish, nuts, seeds, avo, olives etc.  A bit of a blanket statement that we should also be careful about.  Once again the truism that too much of a good thing… Watch this space.

Alcohol.  An empty calorie they say.  About 7 calories per gram.  Not much nutritional benefit comes from these calories and the requirement of our bodies to process the alcohol is one we should keep to a moderate level.  The metabolism of alcohol takes preference over a lot of important processes.   The champ on the couch isn’t helping his blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose control or weight by knocking back 2 tinnies every day.  In balance with a healthy lifestyle I can’t mock it and I am sure along the way my love for wine will provide a post or two on the booze.  There are some beneficial nutrients in wine anyhow, plus some research evolving for the benefits of yeast (beer and wine) on recovery. This is likely to be alcohol free however.  For now exercise moderation and don’t indulge when you should be recovering, or if you are on medication.  Any complicated health issues are another sign to stay away.

Post…done