Science Of Nutrition And Meal Planning

May 18, 2011 by Tatianna

 

Everyone knows that if you are trying to get results from your workouts, there is a way to schedule your meals to make your body work at it’s maximum fat burning power. Nutrition is 80 percent of your effort, it’s not how much you workout, but how well you schedule your meals and what you eat. So many people give up on getting into shape because they don’t see the results they want right away, or as fast as they like. It’s not just dieting or cutting down on fat, junk food or carbohydrates.
Years ago I use to think that if I just eat better and exercise more, I will get the body I want really fast. But it took years of experience and listening my own body to learn how it worked.

People who know how to get them selves in the the shape they want, are those who learned how their own body works, and then manipulate that to their advantage.

Nutritional timing is one of those manipulations. Nutrition is a Science on it’s own. The timing in your Nutrition is Key to Success in health, weight loss, or muscle gain.

I know we don’t live in the perfect world and sometimes it’s not that easy for everyone to schedule their meals at specific times. But it’s not impossible either. I know many people who have a full time job, go to school, workout out and are able to eat at specific times. After a while, your body develops a clock of it’s own, and you won’t have to look at the time to see if you have to eat or not, you will just know.

A good way to keep your nutritional schedule on time is to always make snacks, and take them with you everywhere you go. I have a post about healthy snacks HERE. Everyone has a few minutes in our busy lives to eat a quick snack :).

The reason we have to do that, is to keep the blood sugar levels at the mid level, this way you don’t feel like eating junk foods and it is easier to stick with your program.

I think many people think of loosing weight as cutting down on food, but it’s exactly the opposite of what you have to do. You have to add more food, and at the right time, this way your won’t feel deprived and loosing weight will be much easier.

This is the daily regimen for a beginner. You can change the time to fit your own schedule. If you are just trying to loose weight, you should be eating the right foods, with this timing:

 

Wake up – 7 : 00 am

Meal # 1 – 7 : 30 am ( follow 1-2-3 ratio, 1-fat, 2- protein, 3 Carbs )

Meal #2 – 10 : 30 am ( 1-2-3 Fat – Protein – Carbs rule )

Meal #3 – 1 – 30 pm ( 1-2-3 Fat – Protein – Carb rule )

Meal # 4 – 4 : 30 pm ( Low – glycemic meal, you can read about Low – glycemic foods here )

Thirty minutes before your workout have a Whey Isolate Protein shake.

( Always do strength training first, then do your Cardio )
Directly after the workout have another Whey Isolate protein shake. Whey Isolate helps your body to begin rebuilding, and muscles need glycogen replenishment. If you don’t have an appropriate amount of nutrition right after your workout, the body enters a Carbolic effect and begins to break down muscle, instead of fat. This is where you either get results from all the hard work you put into your training, or you don’t. Whey Isolate is a perfect protein for right after a workout ( you can read about Whey HERE )

Your last meal should be at least 3 hours before bed time, but this time you are going to follow a 1- 2 – 2 rule of Fat – Protein – Carbs. Dinner should be the smallest meal of your day.

If you are at Intermediate level and trying to reach the next level of fitness as well as building more muscle, you would add 2 more protein shakes additionally to the plan above – in between meals, you will also add a half cup of cottage cheese before bed time. As I wrote before Cottage Cheese contains Casein protein, which helps your body to build during sleep, it is really important if you are trying to gain more muscle.

Our body is a machine, and we can learn how to use it. If you listen to your body it will respond. When it comes to Nutrition, Health and Weight Loss, there is no gimmicks, it’s as simple as eat the right foods, at the right time and listen to your body.