Nutrition for dummies...

Food, glorious food! Fuel or enjoyment? Or both? A lot of what I used to read in Muscle and Fiction or Bodybuilders Bible of Bullsh@t said you should treat food as fuel. Stuff to get you through the day and all that entails whether that is sitting at your desk, flying your jet fighter into the danger zone or plain old busting your ass lifting heavy stuff in the gym.
Eat your oats in the morning(I agree), 12 egg white omelette (ok), chicken and broccoli for lunch (hmmmm..), Super protein shake pre workout (ok), super mega shake post workout (ok...), chicken and brocolli for dinner, (again?), pre-bed shake (i guess). And some times I kid you not, a middle of the night protein shake, cos' you know, you might just get muscle wastage while you sleep... Next day, repeat. Keep going till you get HUUUGGEE!

I tend to think a little differently. I mean that days eating doesn't exactly inspire me. I like food. I like the tastes, the textures and everything else that good food entails.

That's not to say I eat anything and everything that comes my way. I used to, but because I'm superhuman, I didn't gain much weight at all. (Either that or it was the fact that I ran around all the time doing sports, working out and generally not sitting on my ass in front of the TV).  I eat well, I get a good amount of protein, good fats, a reasonable amount of carbs. washed down with about 3 litres of water, some caffeine and a protein shake. I like to indulge every now and again, but just enough to keep me sane, and since i'm looking to maintain my weight and not bulk or cut, thats fine for me.

But its a confusing old world out there. When it comes to nutrition, everyone has their own take on what works. Atkins, South Beach, Intermittent Fasting, even Weight Watchers have differing ideas, frustratingly for you, they all will work for someone. Because we are all different, and there are many variables to nutrition, different folks will react well to different tweaks to the ratios of macro nutrients. I mean even a twinkie diet will lose you some weight if you are in a deficit! However, if you want to fuel yourself (and enjoy your food), and succeed in hitting your weight loss or gain goals sticking to:

• Lean proteins like chicken, beef or fish.
• Lots of vegetables. Low in calories but nutritionally dense.
• Fruit. Tend to be a little higher in calories, but I've yet to see someone get fat from fruit!
• Moderate carbs - Starches rather than sugars are going to have a generally lower effect on blood sugar.
• Fat. Thats right, fat. Everyone needs it, As long as its the right kind, and not an excessive amount.

Now some of you might be asking, "Dave, what are these and what are the right amounts?" Well, my next post is going to be a break down of macro nutrients (protein, carbs and fat), what they do, why they are important and how much is enough! I'm breaking this into 2 parts because

1. I'm writing this before I head to work,
2. I'm running out of time because of 1.

So, I'll be back with more later on. In the meantime, you can follow me on Twitter (b_fast) or on Facebook (dave ballantine).