So last week I left a link for you all to read about how important nutrition is when you are exercising. I hope you all enjoyed that link. I want to put my own insight on that today.
I don't think people realize just how important nutrition is. I firmly believe, nutrition is 85% of success in the gym . If you go into a gym and had just eaten a Big Mac you are not going to have your best workout. At the same time, if you have a good pre-workout meal, go to the gym, then have that Big Mac after the gym, you pretty much just wasted an hour of lifting due to poor post-workout nutrition.
I hear and see it everyday, people want to lose weight. If I had a dollar for everyone who came up to me at my gym telling me that they want to drop a few pounds, I could open my own gym and not work. I am glad they have the initiative to get started on a program, but I really don't think most people understand what it takes.
You CAN'T come into a gym a few times a week and glide on the elliptical for 20 minutes while reading a magazine and expect results. It is simply not going to happen. I have already gone into several ways to exercise whether it be strength training, HIIT, or tabata. Today, I want to focus on the nutrition aspect.
What are the two most important meals of the day? If you said breakfast and post-workout meal you are correct. That is not to say that the rest of them are not important, it just means that those are two most important ones. Think about it. You go daily eating every 2-3 hours. Then you go to sleep for 6, 7, maybe 8 hours or more. You aren't giving your body any nutrition. The first think you do after you wake up is eat, your body needs food first thing in the morning.
Next, is workout time. So, you go into the gym feeling good. You perform a full body workout and even surpass you previous record on the deadlift. Excellent! Now you go home, and don't eat for 2-3 hours. After 2-3 hours you go out with your buddy and go to the local convenience store. You grab a week old sub with bologna and mayonnaise and a Redbull. Well, my friend, everything you just did in the gym a few hours ago is wasted just because of poor nutrition.
So, focus on those two important meals. Make sure you get an ample amount of protein and carbohydrate both for breakfast and post-workout. That will help you to maximize your gains and recover quicker for your next workout.
Another big misconception for people who want to lose weight is they need to eat next to nothing even if they are weight lifting. That is crap! When you are doing resistive exercise you must consume more calories. If not, you are going to be sore for a longer period of time, not get stronger, and not get any gains in size.
Yes, it is true to lose weight you must cut some calories. However, there is a common mistake made with most people. They drastically cut there daily caloric intake by 500+ calories a day. At first, yes, they will see results. However, after about two weeks your body is going to react to it. It is going to go into a starvation mode and hold onto everything. That means your body won't burn as much calories or fat and your metabolism will come to a screeching holt. So, to lose weight eat smaller portions but more frequently, eating every 2-3 hours. This will keep your metabolism going good. When you cut calories do it slowly. Maybe the first week start with 200 less calories a day and slowly build up each week. Eventually you should get to a point where you are losing 1-2 pounds a week. Anything more then that is not the best way to go about it because it will come back a lot quicker and easier.
In conclusion, if you want to succeed in the gym you have to eat. You simply will not grow or get stronger if you don't eat. Think of food as fuel. If you don't put gas in your car it is eventually going to hit empty. It is the same thing with your body. Don't let your body go on a shortage of food or it will stop running smoothly. The last pointer I have for you is don't be afraid of food. Like I said, food is fuel, we all need it. It is just a matter of how much to eat depending on your goals, what to eat, and at what times.
Its a very busy week for me with finishing summer classes and internship so I might not be able to post much more this week.
If you ever have any questions or comments for me, please don't hesitate to send me an e-mail.
Have a good week.
Best,
Big D.
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