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Basic Nutrition for the Average Female
by Dawn Henry, www.FitChics.com
For more information on Dawn Henry and FitChics.com, please click on the above banner.
I find it necessary to write this article due to interaction with so many women over the years on the boards, in the gym and even at work. My goodness, I have even been stopped in the grocery store and asked my opinion of whatever diet seems to be the fad at the time. I feel that so many women out there are overwhelmed by all the fad diets and the amount of information both bad and good, so I wanted to make it simple. If you are one of those ladies who have had so much information thrown at you that you don’t know where to start, whether you goal is to lose a little or a lot - this article is for you. If you want to lose weight but don’t want to be one of those skinny, squishy women - This is for you as well. I’m going to make this simple - I’m not going to get into the complexities that can surround dieting, that can come later. This is for you that are just starting out. Just some sound, basic knowledge and common sense is a good place to start.
I cannot stress this enough - good nutrition has to be a lifestyle - Those fad diets are hard to follow long term and many of you may have experienced as soon as you quit - you put those pounds right back on - usually adding 2-3 more and you sure as heck don’t add or keep any muscle. We are all busy, that’s a part of life in this day and age and it’s easy to just grab something at the drive-thru or just eat a granola bar, some yogurt, whatever’s quick. Unfortunately, this kind of eating is exactly what is impeding any progress you might have with regard to losing weight and still keeping some muscle tone. At the end of the day if you look back at what you ate and realize that you ate very little and the majority of it was carbs - well guess what? I don’t care how fat free your diet was - that was not a good day! I would have to say a good 85-90% of the ladies that decide to go on a “diet” are eating WAY too little and certainly not meeting their nutritional needs.
The first thing you need to do is determine exactly what your goal is. Where are you now vs. where you want to be - and be realistic. Second, determine what your basic needs are in order to achieve this goal. What should your protein, carbs, fat, caloric intake be? This may take some time; you may need to play around with the formula to see what your body responds best to. For example, I can eat up to 1,800 calories per day when I first start a diet and still lose weight as long as those calories come from mostly a protein/fat source (meat, fish). My body is carb/insulin sensitive, I can burn fat effectively but I tend to store carbs. For some people it is just the opposite and then there are those that have to closely watch both fat and carbs. Your body will tell you what it needs and every diet needs a tweak or two before things kick in and you start seeing results. Don’t be afraid to consult a professional to assess these needs.
If you have never paid attention to nutrition before start out by setting some goals. Basic goals would be:
- Start out with a good breakfast to get your metabolism rolling.
- Strive to get in 5-6 well-rounded meals in each day.
- Absolutely make sure that you get a protein source in each meal - a piece of fruit or a granola bar just don’t cut it.
- Keep a log of what you eat, include in that log the numbers regarding protein, carbs, fat and calories so that it’s all right there on paper. You can buy a book that contains these breakdowns at any bookstore.
- Be Patient - pay attention to your body and make changes to your diet and training accordingly.
Finally, educate yourself, stay away from the fads, stay away from all those pre-packaged foods that falsely advertise low carb or low fat - learn to read labels and monitor what you are putting into your body. Optimize your nutrition in order to see results!
* Article by Dawn Henry, www.FitChics.com.
* Back to This Issue's Frontpage
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