Ok, so lately we have been getting a lot questions about Nutrition. Some of them include:
When is the best time to eat Protein to get the most out of my workout, you know nutrient timing? Should I be counting calories, you know Calories in vs. Calories out? Do you guys suggest meal plans that help someone lose fat in a few weeks?
Today, I am going to debunk or shed light on all these myths and give you a perspective on them.
A common question is nutrient timing or when is the best time to consume protein to maximize gains, before or after a work, and how long before or after? The truth is protein is protein. I think if you’re going to try and time it, you are going to drive yourself crazy. The fact is you should get protein when you can and in a purest form that you can. Unless you are a bodybuilder looking to increase your mass by 3% this year, the idea of nutrient timing is daunting and creates a sense of stress if you fixate on the minute details of x amount of per gram by x amount of time after. Just get your protein when you can and ask yourself how you feel after you take it in. Notice any changes over the few weeks and if the changes you want are not occurring play with the idea of adding in more protein from what you previously have taken.
Ok, let’s start out with an analogy from my fellow strength and conditioning coach, Pat Eble. Counting Calories is like counting money. You wouldn’t just count your money and expect that number to change, you would create an action plan based on how to make that number change.
I couldn’t agree more. You could count calories, but you would need a baseline to go off of and specific measurements and metrics to highlight goals that go in line with either physique reflection or health parameters. Without those, counting those calories has little to no relevance and offers no substance to your end result.
Now, if your counting calories for a calories in vs. calories out method that may be a different story. Again, I ask though, what are you doing it for? I could have you counting calories on an all oreo diet and if you put yourself at a oreo caloric deficit, than yes you would lose weight, but I ask, would you be healthy? NO!!!!! Would, you have energy? Probably not!!! Would you feel good? I think you get the point.
The idea of calories in vs. Calories out does not promote a longevity approach and rather creates a chaotic mindset where you make decisions based on restriction and than six months later, drop the ball, go off it and end up heavier than you once were.
Planning meals for the week is different from us prescribing a meal plan for you. I will start out by saying that these do work like the other two, but only as much as you stick to it. That last part is the misunderstanding and where most people hit a wall. They have a meal plan written for them, they undertake and start doing it, but then they realize they have a life and cannot control every single meal like their meal plan says they need to have. That person heads to a party and there is nothing there on the meal plan. So, what do you do next?
A meal Plan is only as good as every aspect of that plan you can control. Now, while I don’t disagree with the idea that everything you consume is your conscious choice, the idea that you must stick to a specified meal or you don’t eat is erroneous. If the meal consists of a protein, carb, fat than those are the things you should be able to choose at a party or event and not have regrets about the fact that it was not the exact amounts or food from that box that was shipped to you.
In retrospect these ideologies and methods do work, but within a very specific context. Unless, your goals are in line with a bodybuilders, fitness professionals, or a buddhist monk, small transitional, sustainable habits are a better option for you to reach your personal nutrition goals. Identifying factors where you can begin to practice habitual strategies around nutrition will help influence you making better choices and help you affect change for the long term. Let’s get away from the quick fixes and McDonalds drive thru version of lifestyle and find something that will help you change for the better.
