Proteins are made of amino acids that can mainly be found in animal products (game, meat, fish, eggs, milk), but also to smaller extend in plants (such as vegetables) or nuts. Here are a few examples: 100g of beef contain about 27g of protein, 100g of salmon contain 20g, 100ml of milk contain about 3g, 100g of mozarella contain about 22g, 100g black beans contain 9g, 100g spinach contain 3g and 100g spirulina contain 4g.
Carbohydrates are made of simple and complex sugars: Natural sources are fruits and vegetables, but they occur - mostly in a lot higher densities - in more processed foods: grain products such as bread and pasta, refined sugars, sweets, soft drinks, etc. Here are a few examples: 100g strawberries contain about 8g of carbohydrates, 100g cucumber contain about 2g, 100g rye bread contain about 48g, 100g of pasta contain 79g.
Fat (fatty acids) can be found in many animal products (just as protein), but also in nuts, fruit (avocado) or vegetables (vegetable oils). For instance, 100g Macadamia nuts contain 76g, 100g avocado contain 15g and 100g lean beef contain about 13g.
You can figure out nutritional values from food labels, if applicable, or you can look them up on sites like nutritiondata.com: With these sources, can you figure out how much of the macronutrients your daily foods contain? How much of these macronutrients do you eat or drink a day?
2) Food quality
In the last nutrition post, we figured out which macronutrients our diet contains and in which foods these proteins, carbohydrates and fats occur. Today, we are going to touch on which sources are better than others. In other words: Which food sources should we pick to cover our nutritional requirements?
In general, we want to fall back on “the optimum diet for the human animal based on the nutritional requirements established during its evolutionary path to its present form (the modern homo sapiens).” This “biologically appropriate diet” is also called the Paleo diet. You can find a nice introduction to this diet here.
Overall, we should eat foods that our ancestors ate prior to agriculture as hunters and gatherers: Meats and vegetables, (tree) nuts, fruits, berries, eggs, etc. Foods to avoid are those that result from agriculture: grains, beans, legumes, sugar, fake foods etc. The reason for this are mainly the auto immune issues, hyperinsulinism and immune issues related to “neolithic foods” (foods that were introduced about 10,000 years ago). Keeping this in mind, here is where we ideally want our macronutrients from:
- Proteins: Wild game, meat and wild caught fish would be ideal, grass fed meat being an alternative - unprocessed. Chicken and eggs, free range. Avoid lentils and beans, partially because of lower protein content, but also because they contain antinutrients.
- Carbohydrates: Large variety of unprocessed, unstarchy vegetables. Leafy greens, fruits and berries, unprocessed. Avoid grain products (pasta, pizza, bread, cereal), rice, beans, other highly processed carbohydrates and sugars.
- Fats: Mainly from fruit (avocado, olives) and tree nuts (coconut, walnut, almond, hazelnut, pecan, macadamia). One of the very few suggested supplements is pharmaceutical grade (omega3) fish oil. Avoid highly processed oils.
- Liquids: Water. Enough said. (Coffee is not paleo, but widely accepted).
- Quite a few foods fall into more than just one category: Vegetables and nuts, for instance, contain also protein. However, because of the lower protein content, we categorize them as carbohydrates and fats.
With this in mind and looking at what you eat on a daily basis, can you identify which foods you should rather avoid? Do you have an idea how you could substitute these foods with better choices? With these adjustments, you may solve all your nutritional “problems” (body composition, health problems), right there. Don't miss out! Too much trouble, too hard? Think again: What do you really want in life?
3) Food quantity
While the food quality post was about the choice of the “right” foods, this one touches on: How much? As you will see, this is a lot about “balancing” the macronutrients of your meals. The underlying concepts here come from the “Zone” way of eating: By having certain amounts of carbohydrates, proteins and fats every meal, the body enters a state where it functions ideally. This means high energy levels, high level of mental alertness and physical capability and is mainly caused by balancing the hormones insulin (storage hormone, triggered mainly through carbohydrates) and glucagon (release hormone, triggered mainly through protein).
The “Zone” uses a “block” system to simplify the balancing: You should eat an equal amount of blocks of every macronutrient in each meal: If you eat 2 blocks of carbohydrates for breakfast, you will also have 2 blocks of protein and 2 blocks of fat. A block of carbohydrates equals 9g of carbohydrates, a block of protein equals 7g of protein and a block of fat equals 1.5g of fat. In case of said breakfast, you would have 18g carbohydrates, 14g of protein and 3g of fat in your meal. This “right combination” should give you access to the Zone benefits.
In total, men should consume between 16 and 25 blocks a day, women between between 10 and 14. You can download a pdf file with the chart from the CrossFit Journal. These block should be evenly distributed throughout the day between 3 bigger meal and 2 smaller snacks so that you get food every 4 to 6 hours. A 18 block male, for instance, could have 4 blocks each for breakfast, lunch and dinner and then 2 snacks with 3 blocks each. The Zone works great for fat loss and optimizing performance. Ideally, you want to combine it with high quality nutrition (see previous post and examples in upcoming posts). The fact that you need to weigh and measure your food is a mixed blessing:
- The Zone gives explicit instructions and precise guidelines on how much of the macronutrients you should eat in each meal. If you are unsure and looking for orientation that is a plus.
- You do not need to weigh and measure forever: Within about 2 weeks you usually get a good sense about food quantities for most foods you eat and can eyeball from then on in.
- If you really dislike weighing and measuring, to get some benefit of the Zone, you can “eyeball-Zone” to start with: Fill 1/3 of your place with a protein source, then fill the other 2/3 with vegetables and fruit. Add some fat. It is a good start in the right direction – especially with high quality foods.
- A huge benefit is that you can get by with measuring and weighing your food, if you do not always have high quality foods available and still get good benefits out of your nutrition.
Here is a link to an easy-to-use guide to use the Zone for yourself. Have a look here for nutritional data on most foods. With this information, can you figure out how many blocks of carbohydrates, protein and fat you had for breakfast, lunch or dinner? Can you figure out how to balance these meals out? Can you see how easily you can improve your life quality?
4) Putting it all together
So far, we have touched on:
- Which macronutrients you need from your diet and where you can get them from?
- Food quality: Which foods are better sources for these nutrients than others?
- Food quantity: How much of each of these nutrients would be ideal?
With this information, we can put together some easy to implement guidelines for meals:
- Have high quality protein in every meal. Ideally wild game, grass fed beef, free range eggs, etc.
- Add some high quality fat: Tree nuts, avocado, coconut or olive oil, etc.
- Complement with a large variety of (unstarchy) vegetables or fruit.
- If high quality foods are not available, try to get at least the proportions (quantities right).
Over the day:
- Have 3 to 6 balanced meals or snacks.
- Try not to stay without food for more than 4 hours.
- Stay hydrated and drink plenty of water.
- Fill your fridge with high quality foods so you have them readily available. No excuses!
As you can see, eating this way is not a very difficult thing to do. Do you have trouble with any of these guidelines and if so: Why? “I want my toast with jam in the morning!” is not valid, by the way - unless it is more important than what you really want in life. The upcoming posts will address possible obstacles you may be facing while adjusting your nutrition, as well as examples of how to easy implement these guidelines.
