Don’t Undermine Your Training With A Poor Diet

Often people think that the more they train, the more calories they burn and therefore lose weight, but is it really that simple? Well, put simply, no it is not that simple - especially when the initial goals and driving forces are all wrong. The focus should never be on weight loss, only fat loss, and to lose fat, you need to build muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat and muscle is what burns fat, so we need to focus on fat loss rather than weight loss.

If you are serious about losing fat, then yes you need to be serious with your training, but perhaps more importantly you need to be serious about your diet. Unfortunately there are so many misconceptions about diets and dieting that so much of it has been over-complicated or misunderstood.

Fat doesn’t make you fat!

One really crucial factor that you must get your head around is that fat doesn’t make you fat. Sugar does. Carbohydrates don’t make you fat either - sugar does. The New York Times discussed this in more detail when looking at the success of diets such as Atkins. Unfortunately this is a big misconception and we are often taught incorrectly from a young age and what happens is we then grow up with beliefs that are just incorrect. Teaching children from day one the correct facts about food and nutrition is crucial for people to develop into leading a healthy lifestyle.  You can train for eight hours a day if you like but if you don’t make intelligent choices about what you put on your plate then you will not reach your goals. It is that simple.

So let’s look at what a diet for fat loss should look like. When you are training hard, you need to eat more, even if your goal is to lose weight – or rather fat. Six small and mindful meals a day is perfect.

Protein - this is fundamental for building and repairing muscle. You need to ensure that your diet is high in protein. Although there are thousands of different protein supplements out there, and some can be excellent, nothing beats real organic, protein rich foods such as meat, poultry, fish and eggs.

Carbohydrates - you need these to provide you with the energy required for day to day life, let alone for smashing the gym! Carbohydrates will not make you fat, but you do need to choose wisely here. Stay away from white potato and pasta, instead opt for better complex carbohydrates like sweet potato or rice, but keep them to a minimum. 80 grams of rice or sweet potato twice a day is enough. it is also wise to avoid carbohydrates in the evenings, you don’t need to take them to bed with you.

Fat - oh yes, you must include fat into your diet. The body needs it, and surprise surprise - fat doesn’t make you fat! It is really important that your meals are balanced, so if your meal  contains a very lean protein source such as chicken or white fish, then add a drizzle of olive oil to your vegetables or salad, or a few nuts on the side.

Fibre - eat as many green vegetables as you can manage! If you are really serious about fat loss then try to avoid colored vegetables such as peppers as they have a higher fructose content in them. Green vegetables are your best friends, not only will they give you energy and keep you regular, they are also full of the nutrients that the human body needs.

Fuel your body properly

Don’t be tempted by fad diets or meal replacements, eat six small meals a day which are high in a good source of protein. It is also important to consider how your meal plan fits with your training plan. If you train in the morning then a good breakfast as soon as you wake up maybe something like a protein shake with some added oats. Try to avoid using cows milk with your shakes - instead opt for water, almond or rice milk. The added oats will give you some energy for your training session. It is crucial that you eat straight after you train - get some protein inside fast! The best thing is a pre-made meal that includes a good source of protein, however if you are too pushed for time then a shake will do if you add some flax seed oil or a couple of nuts (don’t forget to add in the fat!). Branch Chain Amino Acids are fantastic pre and post workout, these will support your muscles and help to ensure that your body is burning fat and not muscle tissue. It is worth mentioning tough that most protein shakes have a good BCAA and Glutamine content in them so it may not be necessary to double up here. The more organized you are with your diet the better. It is possible to prepare all of your meals the night before, and there are lots of means of taking them with you to work, or to the gym etc.

Another really crucial point to make is you must keep regular measurements; otherwise you can work really hard in the gym, even harder in the kitchen and if you do not know it is working then you can lose motivation and fall off the wagon as it were.  Keep the tape measure handy and record results daily.