Why Should You Care About Nutrition?
• Each day’s food choices may benefit or harm
our health only a little, but when these
choices are repeated over years and decades,
the rewards or consequences become major.
• Common symptoms of nutritional deficiency
– fatigue, lethargy, anxiety, muscle pain and
weakness, cramps, joint pain, restless sleep,
poor concentration, headaches
• Conditions associated with nutritional
deficiency – osteoporosis, 17 varieties of
cancer (including breast, prostate and colon),
heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity,
diabetes, arthritis, gout, depression,
Alzheimer’s Disease, chronic fatigue
syndrome, chronic pain
Understanding Energy Balance
• Weight gain and weight loss boils
down to energy balance
• Body weight increases during periods
of positive energy balance and
decreases in response to negative
energy balance
• A calorie is a unit of energy. Food is
usually measured in kilocalories (kcal).
Although not technically correct,
calories and kilocalories are used
interchangeably in non-scientific,
everyday language
What Are Macronutrients & Micronutrients?
• Nutrients are substances that allow your body to make energy, build and
maintain tissues and regulate bodily processes
• The six classes of nutrients are: Carbohydrate, Fat, Protein, Water, Vitamins
& Minerals
• Three of these six classes of nutrients are referred to as macronutrients
because they are required in large quantities
Protein: 1g = 4 Kcal
Carbohydrate: 1g = 4 Kcal
Fat: 1g = 9 Kcal
• Vitamins and minerals are classified as micronutrients since they are
required in small quantities… but they are very important!
• Water is vital to life itself; it constitutes approximately 60% of the adult
human body by weight. Whereas deficiencies of nutrients such as the
macronutrients, vitamins, and minerals may take weeks or even years to
develop, one can only survive for a few days without water.
But Eating Food Provides More Than
Just Nourishment…
• We decide what to eat, when to eat,
and even whether to eat in highly
personal ways, often based on
behavioral or social motives rather
than on an awareness of nutrition’s
importance to health
• Personal preference, habit, ethnic
heritage, tradition, social interactions,
ethics, celebration, festivals,
convenience, economy, emotions and
our body image are a few factors
which determine our eating habits
Why You Must Be Skeptical
• The fitness, health, nutrition and
supplement industries are an
unregulated mess
• Anyone can call themselves a
‘nutritionist’
• Anyone can write a book, article or a
blog on nutrition
• The media is notorious for
sensationalizing scientific research
• Bias, emotion and personal anecdotes
are disguised as science and evidence
• People die!
Red Flags Of Nutrition Quackery
• Recommendations that promise a quick fix, claims that sound
too good to be true
• Dire warnings of danger, scare tactics and fear mongering
• Simplistic conclusions drawn from a complex study
• Recommendations based on a single study (cherry picking)
• Statements refuted by reputable scientific organizations
• Lists of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ foods (absolute/ black & white claims)
• Recommendations made to help sell a product
• Recommendations based on studies not peer reviewed
• Recommendations that promote methods and ignore principles
• Recommendations from studies that ignore differences among
individuals and groups
• WhatsApp messages with phrases like “Forward this to
everyone you know”, “This is not a hoax”
• Conspiracy theories
• Recommendations based on personal experience, emotional
hooks and logical fallacies
Why Do Most Diets Fail?
Because they look like this…
Food Item Quantity Fats(gms) Carbs(gms) Protien(gms)
Upon Waking up
5gm Glutamine(optional)
Pre Workout
Strong Black Coffee
Post Workout
Whey 2 scoops 4 6 46
1 hour after workout
Chicken 150gms 8 0 37
Ghee/Butter 0.5tbsp 7 0 0
Onion 0.5
Broccoli 100gms
Lunch
Chicken 150gms 8 0 37
Onion - medium 0.5
Ghee/Butter 0.5tbsp 7 0 0
DInner
Chicken 150gms 8 0 37
Ghee/Butter 0.5tbsp 7 0 0
Total Macros 45 3 157
Alan Aragon’s 10 Essentials For A Successful Diet:
1. Respects personal taste preference
2. Supports physical and mental
performance goals
3. Covers macronutrient and micronutrient
needs
4. No unnecessary/ scientifically
unfounded food restrictions
5. Respects medical intolerances/ allergies
6. Convenient
7. Affordable
8. Socially acceptable
9. Compatible with personal ideologies
10. Sustainable in the long term
How To Plan Your Diet – 7 Steps For Success
1. Calculate your maintenance calories
(TEE)
2. Calculate your protein, carbohydrate
and fat requirements
3. Cover your micronutrient and
performance requirements, supplement
where necessary
4. Be flexible and have a backup plan –
respect your taste buds & preferences
Use the 70/10/10/10 rule
5. Orient meal timing and frequency
around convenience and lifestyle
6. Prime the eating environment for
success
7. Aim for consistency, not perfection
Success = Consistency + Patience +
Persistence
How To Calculate Your Maintenance Calories?
Step 1. Weight (lb) x 10 OR Weight (kg) x 22 = RMR
Step 2. RMR x activity factor (see Table) = TEE
Example: Heavily active 180-pound man
Step 1. 180 (lb) x 10 = 1,800 RMR
Step 2. 1,800 (RMR) x 2.1 (activity factor) = 3,780 calories expended per day (TEE)
How To Calculate Your Macros?
Step 1:
Do you want to lose, gain or maintain weight?
Make adjustments to your maintenance
calories accordingly (5-25% deficit, 5-10%
surplus)
Step 2:
Set protein as 1.8 – 2.2 g/kg body weight
Step 3:
Set fat as 15-35% of total calories
Step 4:
Remaining calories will be allotted to
carbohydrate
How To Calculate Your Macros?
Example: 70 kg Female Goal: Weight Loss
• Maintenance calories = 70x22x1.5
= ~ 2300 kcal/day
• Selecting a 15% calorie deficit
= ~1960 kcal/day
• Protein set at 2g/kg BW = 140 g/day
• Fat at 20% of total calories
- 20% of 1960 = 392 kcal
- 392/9 = 45 g/day
• Carbohydrate = 1960 – [(140x4) + 392]
= 1000 kcal/day = 1000/4 = 250 g/day
How To Cover Micronutrient Requirements?
• Have a cup of cooked legumes everyday
• Have a handful of nuts and seeds daily
• Eat a cup of cooked veggies twice a day
• Have a piece of fruit daily
• Supplements worth considering: Vitamin D
& B12, omega 3, multivitamin (perhaps)
Before purchasing a supplement, make sure
it is:
- Safe
- Effective
- Goal specific
- From a reputable company
What Do You Do When You Have To Eat Out?
You Adjust…
Questions?