Dieting for your Sport or Goals

There are so many different diets out there depending on your sports or goals and some do work but some don't. The main thing I want to talk about today is the three macro-nutrients:

Protein

Carbohydrates

Fats

Protein is the main building blocks of muscle and helps for growth and repair after those long tiresome sessions in the gym. Made up of amino acids protein will help give you lean muscle, helps your gain strength and size, help you recover for your next session and keep you fuller for longer. If you are training for endurance events etc you should be looking for 1.2g of protein per kg of body weight. For strength you need 1.4-1.6g per kg of body weight and for hypertrophy you will need 2g per kg of body weight to support your needs.

Carbohydrates are you main energy source. This will help supply your muscles with the energy to power your workouts and help to get the protein to your muscles after a workout and throughout the day. Just make sure you are using low GI carbs. High GI carbs like chocolate, sweets, crisps and even white bread and white rice have a high GI index. Now the GI index is the speed at which the energy from the food is dispersed to your body. If  you eat a lot of white bread for instance or potatoes and you aren't exercising and using the energy then you body will store the excess energy as fat! We need low GI foods like oats, wholemeal or even better wholegrain bread, wholegrain brown rice, wholewheat pasta and sweet potatoes to release energy slowly through the day to keep you fueled. The only time good for High GI carbs would be after a workout to help restore your glycogen levels for your next session. This doesn't mean a big ice cream binge though. A banana and a protein shake will do nicely. If you do long endurance events remember you will need more carbs to keep you fueled but if you are only doing 60 minutes in the gym 3-4 times a week and are going for that ripped look you wont need energy drinks with excess sugar and you don't need excess carbs throughout the day. Try to get your carbs in at morning and lunch and a palm size portion if needed at dinner. 

Fats are important in getting you lean. You need to get good fats though. You need to support your body with good fats for a healthy heart, immune system, skin and if you are reducing your carbs they will help to fuel your workouts so protein wont be used. Just make sure they are monounsaturated fats that you will be having and a few polyunsaturated fats. Good sources of these are nuts, avocados, olive oil, olives, and oats. Monounsaturated fats have also been shown to help reduce abdominal fat and reduce the risk of heart disease in later life. Other good sources are fish as they contain the heart healthy omega 3. Omega 3 helps you get good skin and again can help you lose abdominal fat so make sure you get 3-4 servings of fish a week to help your training.