When you become a coach, you become obsessed with every little nuance in the field of health and fitness. Passion stems into areas that have little effect on a person’s life. Now as much as I love to discuss the little details of the different kinds of sea salt to put in your water for the morning, or the creamers and sugars that might dramatically affect your metabolism, these things are, just details.
So let’s talk about covering your nutrition bases, so that when we discuss the details it can make that much more of a difference.
So what are your bases?
Say hello to Macronutrients and Micronutrients.
Macronutrients make up the bulk of your energy and allow your body to do all the fun fabulous things you like to in life. From working to playing tennis, golf, or doing activities with your kids, Macros give us all the goods to partake in any of these things and more.
Macros are broken down into three separate categories: Protein, Carbohydrates, and Fats.
So why are these Macros important? well….
Protein, helps the body repair itself. (Eggs, meats, fish, legumes)
Carbs are a quick source of energy stored in the muscles themselves.(Vegetables, rice, grains)
Fats, promote hormones and other important systems of the body for daily function.(Olive, coconut, avocado oil, butter).
While diet varies from person to person, a balanced meal approach can be used to help determine what works for you vs. what doesn’t. All these Macros have a purpose and should consumed at each meal when possible to keep the body functioning well. (Just know that the quality of your food matters as well when trying to get Macros. Mcdonalds, while it fulfills these standards, it is of the lowest quality and typically doesn’t give you the most Macros but rather a ton of calories).
Now for Micronutrients.
Micronutrients like macros help the body function. While they don’t make up the majority of the food we eat, they serve as a means to keep other systems of the body running smooth and polished so that the body can operate without delay. When a person lacks micronutrients the body feels sluggish and has adverse effects. Again these things vary from person to person.
Just know that when you lack a micronutrient your body is more susceptible to certain illnesses and health problems for the long term.
Now there are a slew of Micronutrients in the human body. Some examples are phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, selenium, all the vitamins we get and many many others.
So where do we get the bulk of these things?
VEGETABLES. Last week I wrote a blog on how to Eat the Rainbow(http://www.coreprinciples-sc.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=4904&action=edit ). It is loaded with information on how to increase veggie consumption and get the most nutrients into your body.
Remember the goal here is to cover your bases. In doing so, I want to leave you with an action step on how to begin to do this.
Action:
Pick one meal, on one day, to try and dial in all these things I have laid out.
For me it is breakfast. A pic of my breakfast is here.
What you notice is that I get my protein and fat through the eggs and bacon and as a carb and micronutrient filler I use peppers. This meal starts my day off right with all the Macros and Micros I need. I have been consistent with this meal for 6 months and have it every single morning.
However, it didn’t start out that way. I started with one day, with just breakfast. Now I have had the practice and consistency to slowly introduce it to everyday. When I can, I try to apply this all my other meals, but if I don’t, I know that at least have my bases covered with my breakfast.
For example look at my lunch today. Again fills all the nutrient standards we are striving for.
For more info on this, feel free to email us at Info@coreprinciples-sc.com or hit us up on FB at Core Principles Strength and Conditioning.
Ciao!!!!
Coach Jim
