Hi everyone!I’m Athena, and I am a fitness instructor/enthusiast blogging over at Fitness & Feta.
I’m honored to be here guest posting for Erin, the mastermind behind Creative Soul in Motion. I love that Creative Soul in Motion is not only about healthy living, but also about finding happiness, personal growth, and trying new things. I think this life outlook aligns perfectly with mine right now because I’m slowly realizing that life is not about finding yourself, it’s about creating yourself! I’m currently studying for my American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) personal trainer certification because I want to expand my knowledge of all things fitness related, and it’s thrilling to be learning so many interesting things about topics I feel so passionately about.
Since Erin has been focusing on diet and nutrition lately, I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to share some of the diet and nutrition information I recently learned at a three day ACSM certification workshop I attended at Salem State University. Please keep in mind that I am not a registered dietician or nutritionist. I am simply passing along some of the “science” as ACSM teaches it behind calorie counting, as well as my own spin on a realistic sense of how to healthily reach your weight loss goals. Enjoy!!
Nutrients
Anyone know the six classes of nutrients out there?
Carbohydrates
Proteins
Fats
Vitamins
Minerals
Water
ACSM recommends finding an appropriate balance between all of the nutrients listed above by eating a wide variety of foods, regularly consuming fresh fruits and vegetables, and trying to avoid eating the same things day in and day out. For the best training performance and health results, it is important to not think of any one nutrient as more important than the other.
Just ensure a balanced diet!
Dietary Recommendations
I’m willing to bet that most of you don’t know what percentage of your total daily calories should come from carbohydrates, fats, or proteins (the three “energy” nutrients). I know that I certainly didn’t until I attended my workshop! Go ahead, take a stab at it.
With all the mumbo jumbo out there nowadays advocating for no carb / low carb diets, would you believe that:
55-60% of your daily total calories should come from carbohydrates?
25-30% of your daily total calories should come from fat?
10-15% of your daily total calories should come from protein?
These percentages are what ACSM teaches to be in line with the American Heart Association’s guidelines for ideal energy (calorie) distribution.
This of course takes into consideration the difference between good carbs (whole grains), bad carbs (refined products), good fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) and bad fats (saturated and trans). For some good tips and ideas on how to fill your plate with better choices, check out the USDA’s My Plate website (formerly MyPyramid.gov). I’ve found this site really informative and interesting.
If it helps to calculate it out, give it a try:
Consider a 2000 calorie diet.
If 55% of your daily calories should come from carbs, just multiple 2000 by .55. That means you should consume 1100 carbohydrate calories per day. Follow the same calculations for fat and protein.
If 30% of your daily calories are coming from fat, 2000 x .30 = 600 fat calories.
Finally, if 15% of your daily calories are coming from protein, 2000 x .15 = 300 protein calories.
Pretty easy, huh?
You can also consider these dietary recommendations in grams with the following equivalents:
1 gram of carbohydrate = 4 calories
1 gram of protein = 4 calories
1 gram of fat = 9 calories
This comes in handy if you are big into food labels. In the same example of a 2000 calorie diet, we just figured out that 1100 calories per day should come from carbs. To calculate this in grams, just divide the 1100 calories by 4 to know that 1100 calories equates to 275 grams of carbs per day. And so on.
Caloric Considerations for Weight Management
Let’s continue with the science behind all of this. For weight loss, ACSM recommends a maximum of 1-2 pounds of fat per week for a healthy guideline. How can you accomplish this? By creating a calorie deficit!
Just increase your exercise energy expenditure while simultaneously decreasing your caloric food intake. In simpler terms, exercise more and reduce calories. Note I said reduce calories and NOT eat less! The two do not necessarily need to go hand in hand if you make the right choices.
For weight management, the first thing to keep in mind is that 1 pound of fat is equal to 3500 calories.If you take 3500 calories and divide that by 7 days in one week, you get 500 calories. What does that mean? If you burn 500 calories per day MORE than what you consume, you can lose 1 pound per week. If you are shooting for the 2 pounds a week, you will need to create a 1000 calorie deficit per day through dietary modification and exercise: -1000 calories/day x 7 days/week = -7000 calories/week.
Total Energy Expenditure
But how do you know how many calories you should be shooting for each day? Creating an energy deficit as discussed above truly depends on what ACSM teaches as “Total Energy Expenditure,” made up of three factors:
Resting Energy Expenditure: Makes up 60-70% of your total energy expenditure and is responsible for things like heartbeat maintenance, respiration, nervous function, muscle tone, and body temperature.
Physical Activity Energy Expenditure: Makes up 15-30% of your total energy expenditure and is responsible for work, leisure activities, exercise, and everyday movements such as fidgeting.
Process Food Energy Expenditure: Makes up 10% of your total energy expenditure and this is what supports your body’s ability to digest, absorb, and metabolize nutrients.
To figure out the total number of calories you need each day, you need to first estimate your resting energy expenditure from your body weight, gender, and age; then estimate your energy expenditure from physical activity, and finally calculate your total energy expenditure.
Let’s go through this process using me as an example. I’m 26 years old, weigh about 125 pounds, and would classify my activity level as moderate – heavy, probably closer to the heavier side of the spectrum.
First, convert pounds to kilograms by dividing by 2.2. For me, this means dividing 125 pounds by 2.2 to get 56.8 kg.
Then, plug your weight in kilograms into the appropriate equation, using this table as a guide.
For me the equation would be (14.7 x 56.8) + 496 = 1330.96. This number is the amount of calories I need each day just to sustain my basic life processes! This doesn’t take into account physical activity at all, so next you need to estimate the energy expenditure with physical activity.
Considering myself as a heavy category activity level, I would be a 1.9.
The last step is to multiply your resting expenditure (1330.96) by your physical activity expenditure level (1.9) = 2529. <—This is how I know what I should be basing my daily calorie amount off of as my total energy expenditure amount.
Keeping It Real
Ok, enough math & science!! Hopefully your heads aren’t spinning from all those equations. I promise they aren’t as bad as they look/sound! I am not normally in to counting calories and typically promote the ‘everything in moderation’ theory, but like I mentioned earlier I have been finding the science behind healthy living so interesting. Plus, I do think these are great tools for those of you starting out with your weight loss journeys, or are simply curious like me!
I’d like to finish up my guest post with some of my own personal tips for burning/cutting extra calories throughout the day. Aside from getting the recommended amounts of exercise in, just taking some minor steps here and there can truly add up and contribute to that caloric deficit that is so important!
Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
Park far away from the mall entrance, grocery store entrance, work, etc. Don’t waste time circling the parking lot for the closest possible parking spot. Walk further to where you need to be!
Do crunches or leg lifts while watching tv instead of just sitting on the couch.
Get up and walk around while talking on the phone. Maybe even do squats. Or lunges. Whatever your heart desires.
While brushing your teeth, balance on the right leg for 30 seconds, then switch to your left for 30 seconds.
Walk to your co-worker’s desk or office instead of calling or emailing.
Get a pedometer! Track your steps. Try to increase them each day.
Do calf raises while pumping gas. I love this one to see how many weird looks I get at the gas station.
Sit on an exercise ball instead of your couch at home or your desk chair at work. It will improve your posture, relieve back pain, and strengthen your core muscles. I love my Swiss Ball desk chair – it’s really done wonders for my back.
Stand and let someone else have your seat when riding the bus or subway.
And my personal favorite – smile and laugh often!!
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