Working out is only part of the fitness solution. In fact, it's arguably not even the most important part of it.
So what's the most important part? Answer: your diet.
As I explain in my 6 mantras to keep in mind when working out, 'getting fit' is like fine-tuning a car. For some, the most important part of the process is improving the car's speed, for some it's making upgrades to the body work. In both cases, neither of these goals can be achieved without the right tools.
The tools are your diet. Without the right amount of calories, protein, carbohydrates, fats, fibre, vitamins, minerals, and water, working out is only going to get you so far.
In this fourth and final part of the 'Build Your Ideal Diet' series, I will cover some of the finer details that are often overlooked when building a diet plan.
Before you continue, I would recommend reading part 1: Estimating You Energy Needs, part 2: Calculating Your Macronutrients, and part 3: Choosing the Right Foods.
The finer details
For many in the fitness industry, macronutrients are the be-all and end-all. And to a point, they're correct – macronutrients, after all, should make up the majority of where we obtain our calories.
However, there are other just as, if not more, important factors to be considering outside of simply carbohydrates, proteins and fats. In this article, I will go through other key parts of our diet that are often overlooked.
Fibre
Also known as non-starch polysaccharide, fibre is a type of carbohydrate that is incredibly beneficial to the functioning of our digestive system. Fibre comes in both soluble and insoluble forms, the discerning factor between the two being whether it dissolves in water or not. Neither form can be digested by the body (which is a lot more beneficial than you might think!).
Soluble fibre forms a kind of gel when combined with water which slows down the emptying of the stomach. This has multiple benefits: it gives more time for digestive hormones to be released; slows down the digestion of carbohydrates and prevents blood sugar spiking; and helps you feel fuller for longer.
In addition, the gel soluble fibre forms with water has been shown to reduce cholesterol by mopping up bile and leading to its excretion. Bile contains cholesterol and is usually reabsorbed by the liver so by increasing its excretion, cholesterol levels in the blood fall.
Soluble fibre has also been shown to be a valuable counter to insulin resistance – the primary cause of type 2 diabetes. This is due to its ability to make you feel fuller for longer, reducing your food intake and reducing your amount of visceral fat (fat that surrounds the organs). High levels of visceral fat are directly linked to insulin resistance and therefore type 2 diabetes.
Insoluble fibre, also known as roughage, cannot be broken down by digestive enzymes. As a result, it promotes regular and healthy bowel movements, lowering the risk of bowel issues.
Best sources of fibre: wholegrain and wholewheat starchy carbohydrates, oats, barley, rye, potatoes, apples, pears, berries, citrus fruits, carrots, tomatoes, nuts, seeds, beans, and pulses
Vitamins and minerals
Both vitamins and minerals naturally occur in the foods we eat and are essential to our health.
Vitamins are involved in a vast array of processes within our body that lead to normal growth and development, including the production and maintenance of healthy cells. They can be split into two types: water-soluble and fat-soluble vitamins.
Water-soluble vitamins include the B (1,2,3,5,6,7,9, and 12) and C families. Due to their water-solubility, these vitamins are excreted from the body if not used. They therefore need to be consumed daily.
Fat-soluble vitamins include A, D, E and K. Unlike water-soluble vitamins, excess fat-soluble vitamins are stored (you guessed it) in fat and therefore do not require daily consumption.
Like vitamins, minerals have multiple essential roles within the body, including hormone function, tissue and bone structure, and immune system regulation. Minerals are classified as either macro- or microminerals.
Macrominerals are minerals we need in larger amounts (>100 mg per day) and include calcium, phosphorous, potassium, sulphur, sodium, chloride, and magnesium.
Microminerals are needed in much lower amounts (<100 mg per day) and include iron, zinc, copper, selenium, iodine, and flourine.
As well as their various roles within the body, some vitamins and minerals serve as guardians against cell damage and disease by acting as antioxidants. These include the 'ACE' vitamins (A, C and E, just to be clear), copper, zinc, selenium and manganese.
Antioxidants decrease oxidation – a process that occurs when a free radical oxygen molecule 'steals' a hydrogen ion from another molecule. If enough oxidation occurs, cells and tissues can become damaged leading to dysfunction and disease.
Best sources of vitamins and minerals: pretty much any whole food!
Water
In recent years, there's been a real push into drinking more water. And there's a reason why: almost everything in our body is improved with water. To name a few:
Our digestive system breaks down foods and separates the good elements from the bad more efficiently
The nutrients we get from food are more likely to be utilised where they're needed
Our joints and are organs operate better and more fluidly (no pun intended)
Vital physiological factors that determine our wellbeing (e.g. body temperature) are managed more effectively
Although the common estimation of how much water we should drink per day is 2 litres, the ideal amount of water actually varies considerably from person to person.
For every calorie we burn, we should be consuming 1 ml of water. So for your ideal water estimate, take your estimated energy needs calculated in part 1 and directly translate that into a fluid amount. For Anna (our example used throughout the series), her daily calorie intake estimation was 2438 kcal, therefore she should be consuming 2.4 litres of water a day.
Although this might seem an intimidating amount, you more than likely consume more water than you realise. A mug for example usually holds between 250–350 ml and the bottles of water you buy as part of a meal deal at Tesco are 500 ml.
What also takes the edge off this number a bit is that all non-alcoholic drinks contribute to this amount. So yes, that means tea, coffee, fizzy drinks, juices, milks and squashes all count towards your daily water needs. However, all of these alternatives have downsides to them:
Tea and coffee contain caffeine which affects your heart rate; tea also contain tannins that affect the amount of iron your absorb from food (so try not to drink tea with meals); and they are both diuretics, meaning they lead to more frequent water loss
Fizzy drinks, juices and squashes can contain high amounts of sugar which can contribute toward tooth decay as well as high blood sugar levels
Milks, although high in many essential vitamins and minerals, also contain natural sugars
Tip: gradually increase your water intake over time – drinking a lot more water from the get go will just lead to more frequent visits to the loo!
Alcohol
We all know the consequences of alcohol abuse: weight gain, organ damage, increased risk of cancer and mental deterioration, to name a few. Really, because of these health risks, the ideal amount of alcohol we should be consuming would be zero. However, for many people, this is an unrealistic proposal.
Until 2016, guidelines stated that men should not consume more than 3–4 units of alcohol per day, and women should not consume more than 2–3 units per day. The Department of Health has since revised these guidelines however, providing a weekly estimate of no more than 14 units per week for both men and women. In addition, this amount should be spread over at least 3 days.
The difficulty with this recommendation is the term 'unit'. A unit actually refers to the amount of pure alcohol you consume, rather than the amount of an alcoholic drink. Specifically, 1 unit equates to 10 ml or 8 g of pure alcohol.
To calculate the amount of alcohol within a drink, you simply multiply the alcohol percentage within a drink by the amount of the drink you are consuming. So, for 1 pint of 4% beer your calculation would be as follows:
0.04 (4%) x 568 (1 pint in ml) = 22.7 ml
Drinking 1 pint of 4% beer would therefore mean you are consuming just over 2 units of alcohol.
Alcohol and weight management
As we discussed in earlier in this series, 1 g of carbohydrates, proteins and fats equate to different amounts of calories (4 kcal per gram of carbohydrates and proteins, 9 kcal per gram of fat).
Similarly, 1 g of pure alcohol equates to 7 kcal. This means that yes, alcoholic drinks do contribute to your daily calorie intake. If you are trying to keep an eye on your weight, it is therefore recommended to limit your alcohol intake as much as possible.
Calculating the amount of calories in an alcoholic drink is done in a similar manner to how we did it in part 2, but with some extra steps:
Step 1: Calculate the amount of pure alcohol in an amount of alcoholic drink (shown in the example above)
Step 2: Convert the amount of pure alcohol in the drink to units and then into grams
Using our example above, 1 pint of 4% beer contains 22.7 ml of alcohol
As we know 10 ml of alcohol equates to 1 unit, our drink contains roughly 2.3 units
We also know that each unit equates to 8 g of alcohol, therefore our drink contains 18.4 g of alcohol
Step 3: Convert the number of grams of alcohol to calories
1 g of alcohol equates to 7 kcal, so in 1 pint of our drink, there are 129 kcal
As you can see, 1 pint of a relatively light beer contains over 100 calories. Consuming multiple. This means that consuming just a few pints of this drinks per night can make a considerable difference to the amount of calories you consume within a week.
If you are unsure whether your current intake of alcohol is healthy or not, you can fill in an AUDIT form here. This was developed by the World Health Organisation as a screening tool for the NHS
Now we come to the end of the 'Build Your Ideal Diet' series. At this point, you should have enough information to craft your ideal diet plan. I will be posting more diet advice in future so please do keep your eye on this blog. For the time being though, good bye and good luck!
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or medical professional. The information I provide on this website is based on my personal experience and my experience as a Personal Trainer. Use of this information is strictly at your own risk. In addition, the information provided on this website is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Never disregard professional medical advice, or delay in seeking it, because of something you have read on this website. Never rely on information on this website in place of seeking professional medical advice.
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