Lose Weight For Life: Nutrition Basics 3 - Eating for Your Activity

Nutrition Basics 3

Eating for Your Activity

You have learned about Total Calories and creating a caloric deficit, you have learned about macronutrients and creating a balanced breakdown but now you are ready to take it one step further and learn about eating for your specific physical activity.

Depending on what your activity level looks like you may need to eat accordingly. This being separate from your personal metabolism and physical chemistry, which is specific to you. This is in regards to what activity you do to burn calories. A marathon or long distance runner has very different calorie requirements than a bodybuilder. One focuses on long endurance training and one is focused to short intense energy bursts. What each should be eating to lose weight is slightly different.

There are benefits of “overweighting” different macronutrients based on what type of physical activity you are doing to balance performance and weight loss.

Higher Carbohydrates

If you are focused on endurance activities such as long-distance running, biking, cross country skiing, spending hours on the treadmill, etc. you will need to up your carbohydrate intake to fuel these long grueling workouts. An hour of endurance activities does require 20-60g of carbohydrates just to fuel that activity. This would be on top of your normal carbohydrate requirement. Higher intensity for a 2 hr duration would require upwards of 120g of carbohydrates! 

If your workouts are longer and more intense it would not be recommended to skimp on the carbohydrates. These are excellent sources of energy for those types of workouts and you will need a higher amount in the macronutrient balance.

Higher Protein

If you focus is on resistance training and building muscle you will need to focus on your protein requirements. Resistance training is very intense and does require calories, but the calorie expenditure of 5 sets of bicep curls or bench presses vs. running a mile is drastically different. Even though both may take 5-10 minutes, running a mile burns 2-3 times more calories than the former. 

If you are focused on resistance training you will should trade some of those carbohydrates for protein. You will need the extra protein to repair your muscles and if you eat extra carbohydrates you may not actually use them all.

High Fats

Fats support two main functions in the body, energy storage and cell reproduction. Higher fats may want to be your focus if your intensity level is not very high. The intensity of walking for two hours is different than running for two hours and the energy for that walk will mostly come from fats and less from carbohydrates. If you focus on low intensity physical activity, your body may just be storing those extra carbohydrates.

Fats are also essentially in cell reproduction, these fats absorb micronutrients that aid protein in rebuilding muscles from resistance training. Therefore when you are resistance training you still need an adequate amount.

Examples

Here are some examples of general calorie breakdowns all with the same goal of losing 0.5 calories per week. But all have different physical training:

Example 1: Male 45 year old
Runs 8 hours per week
Height: 188 cm (6’2) 
Weight 190 lbs
Goal: lose 0.5 pounds per week.

Calorie Intake: 2,880 calories
Calorie Expenditure: 3,131 calories
Daily Deficit: 250 calories 
Recommended Started Macronutrient Percentage Split (Carbohydrates / Proteins / Fats): 50 / 25 / 25

Carbohydrates: 360g
Proteins: 180g
Fats: 80g
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Example 2: Female 30 year old 
Resistance Trains 5 hours per week
Height: 157 cm (5’2)
Weight 141 lbs
Goal: lose 0.5 pounds per week

Calorie Intake: 1,670 calories
Calorie Expenditure: 1,920 calories
Deficit: 250 calories
Recommended Started Macronutrient Percentage Split (Carbohydrates / Proteins / Fats): 30 / 40 / 30

Carbohydrates: 125g
Proteins: 167g
Fats: 55g
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Example 3: Male 25 year old
Walking 10 hours per week
Height: 178 cm (5’10)
Weight 200 lbs
Goal: lose 0.5 pounds per week

Calorie Intake: 2,352 calories
Calorie Expenditure: 2,602 calories
Deficit: 250 calories
Recommended Started Macronutrient Percentage Split (Carbohydrates / Proteins / Fats): 30 / 30 / 40

Carbohydrates: 176g
Proteins: 176g
Fats: 104g
‍

All the examples are general and finding your balance will be a bit of trial and error, as you play around with the percentages. Everyone burns fuels slightly different and finding what works for you is at art form.

You have now covered the 3 parts of Nutritional Basics, your basic nutrition plan now complete. If you are ready move on to Lose Weight For Life: Exercise Basics 1.