THRIVE NUTRITIONAL GUIDANCE - Ann Arbor's Top Personal Training Facility

How much should I eat in a day, and what’s the most effective way to eat? Why am I not losing any weight even though I’m dieting?  These are questions that I hear all too often.

A proper nutrition plan consists of eating balanced meals throughout the day. It’s not just about the number of calories you consume per day, it’s also important to note the quality of the calories you consume, with proper macronutrient ratios, for optimal results. Consistency and balance with your daily macronutrient intake is also important. This will prevent binge eating, and you can structure your daily meals in a manner that works best for you and your goals/schedule.

In today’s food industry, it can be overwhelming to decide what to eat, when to eat, what’s good for you or what’s bad for you, and finding quality foods to eat. Sometimes we catch ourselves reading food labels and ingredient lists and start wondering what the in the world we’re even eating. That’s why reading food labels are so crucial. If we see anything inflammatory, preservatives, dyes/coloring, or genetically modified ingredients, it’s a sign to stay far away. 

Once we ensure we’re eating whole, organic, and clean foods, the next big step to your success will be tracking foods and macronutrients accurately. This will require a food scale to take the guess work out. Yes, it takes work. Sometimes hunger, cravings, or emotions can lead to overeating for no reason. FOOD IS OUR FUEL, IT IS NOT FOR COMFORT.

Tracking accurately will ensure your success in building quality lean muscle, without increasing unwanted body fat or health risks. You don’t need to track forever, but knowing where you’re at will simplify your eating in the long run and lead to more positive lifestyle changes. We want to enhance your metabolism and athleticism as much as possible, so the quality of the foods you're taking in are crucial.

What are macronutrients?

1)   Carbohydrates are the biggest variable we adjust.

The primary function of carbohydrates are energy production, and glycogen storage in the muscles, liver, and brain. It’s best to keep healthy carbohydrates in your body to prevent ketosis, which is a highly acidic and inflammatory process that only works for short bursts. It’s also important to avoid massive amounts of carbohydrates in one sitting, to prevent frequent insulin spikes as well. With carbohydrates we can keep our clients or athletes at an optimal performance level and glycogen uptake depending on activity levels. This is determined if the client decides to move more or eat slightly less. Another important note is that the types of carbs you consume matter as well. We don't want any processed junk.

2)   Proteins are the combination of 9 essential amino acids, and 11 non-essential amino acids, that can make up a COMPLETE protein. Proteins main functions are to repair damaged muscle tissue, and aid in lean muscle maintenance. Protein is required for the structure, function, and regulation of the body's tissues and organs. Proteins also help boost immunity, balance PH levels, and maintain a healthy level of fluid retention. Proteins stay steady for lean muscle increase and recovery.

3)   Fats are the major source of stored low intensity energy in the body. There are 4 types of fats, saturated, trans fats, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated. Unsaturated fats are the best for health reasons. Fats are necessary for many reasons including optimal hormone function, vitamin absorption, digestion, and more. However, excessive fat is unnecessary.

Fats typically stay steady in nutrition plans to monitor the rate of fat loss, while enhancing lean muscle mass.

Here are some simple rules to follow:

• Flexible Dieting works. There are many healthy options to choose from.

• Stay clear from processed foods, artificial sweeteners, seed oils (“vegetable oils), and high doses of “sugar” intake. Not carbohydrates, but sugar.

• We do not prescribe meal plans for anyone, they’re typically not sustainable and don’t work long term.

• We do not subscribe to any dogmas or fad diets.

• YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT. What I mean by that is that the food choices you make, determine how you feel

and perform on a day-to-day basis.

Where do we begin?

Start by tracking your food intake for 1 week. I use “My Macros Plus” for my food logging app, but there are many great ones to use. Take the total calories per day (everything you eat and drink), add up

the 7 days’ worth of calories, and divide that by 7. Depending on if you want to gain or lose weight, we set your macro

goals based off of this average number of daily calories, instead of guessing your macros and daily caloric intake. Everybody and their goals are different, so there are no "magic macro numbers" for everyone to use. Remember, It's not just about the number of calories you consume per day, versus the number of calories that you burn per day, quality is important. I’m here to tell you, eating 1600 calories of whole, natural, and unprocessed foods, will have you looking and feeling a lot different than If you are eating 1600 calories of donuts or junk food per day.

As a general rule of thumb, and a simple way to approach your nutritional plan for active people, you can start by using an approximate 40-40-20 rule. This can adapt and change based on your health and fitness goals. 40% of your daily caloric intake will be set for proteins, 40% carbohydrates, and 20% fats. We base this off of your initial weekly average calories, divided by 7. For athletes, we generally start by setting a protein goal of around 1 gram per pound of body weight. From there, If you want to increase body weight, you’ll add 250-500 calories per day to start. If you want to lose weight, you’ll decrease 250-500 calories per day on their daily caloric intake. Why 250-500 calories per day? 500 calories per day for one week = 3500 calories per week. 3500 calories = 1 lb. in calories. This way we can ensure a slow, steady, and healthy weight loss or weight gain plan depending on your goals. We don’t want extreme changes in weight every week, and you want to give your body, metabolism, and skin time to adapt to your new plan.

Here are some more tips:

-      Split up your macros as evenly as possible between 3-4 meals per day, so the portions aren't as large and you can eat throughout the day for fuel. Try to stay within 5 grams for each macronutrient.

-      Stay as consistent as possible with your macros for one week and re-evaluate every week. Take weekly photos (front, side, and back), and check your morning weight on an empty stomach once per week to track your progress.

-      Try to base 25-30% of your macros (especially carbs) 1.5-3 hours before training, and 25-30% within an hour after training for optimal lean muscle gain and energy. 

-      If you have “cheat meals” or re-feeds, make sure you still log them.

- You don't have to log forever, but it can be very beneficial to know where you're always at when it comes to your macros and nutrition, so you can make easy changes as needed.

• Try and stick to more solid, whole foods, versus shakes and bars. Use those only as supplements if you absolutely need them, to reduce inflammation and increase your metabolic response with digestion. Make sure you read the labels to avoid artificial sweeteners and preservatives.

Here are some sample food options so you can eat flexibly (there are many more healthy options to choose from):

Protein: Chicken, lean beef, tuna, steak, fish, egg whites, protein powder IF NEEDED, turkey, Greek yogurt, combination of beans and rice for vegans, etc.

Carbohydrates: Oatmeal, Sweet potatoes, potatoes, pasta or veggie pasta, Ezekiel bread, sourdough or organic breads, rice or brown rice, fruit and veggies, quinoa, Flex Lex Treats, etc.

Fats: Peanut butter, avocado, nuts, egg yolk, olive oil, dark chocolate, fats from protein sources like fatty fish or beef. 

Fiber Sources: Beans, whole grains, brown rice, nuts, baked potato with skin, berries, organic bran cereal, oatmeal, veggies (especially greens, eat a lot of them). Fiber is crucial for a healthy digestive system. Try and intake  at least 25-40 grams per day.

These are general nutrition guidelines for you to follow. I’m not a registered dietician, and if you have any medical conditions, it’s important to consult with a holistic registered dietician to guide you on your health and fitness journey. Nutrition plans work best when paired with a proper and consistent mobility, strength training, cardiovascular regimen. Spread the message to your friends and loved ones, and let’s take action to THRIVE together!

-Amir Rad