You Have To Fuel The Fire
So you're putting in a lot of hard work at the gym, and you know that what you eat is important. There's a chance you might not be eating enough to fuel your workouts and recover. This can lead to not achieving your body composition goals, or even dangerous health consequences.
First let’s say this, diet here refers to the pattern or style of eating you choose and there is no special diet that guarantees weight loss. Proper nutrition is different for every individual. Some people may respond great to a keto diet, others run better with a more plant based / higher carb nutrition program. Point being, whether your preferred eating style is all meats, all plants, or somewhere in-between, everyone has to travel a path of self discovery and find what works best for them. It starts with becoming aware of your diet, portions, and eating patterns. This is where a coach like Riley (nutritionist) or Catherine (dietitian) can really help guide you towards your goals faster.
The Common Scenario
“I tried dieting. Initially I lost weight, but then I stalled out and now I don’t know what to do.”
As coaches we hear this often. Any diet (specifically fad diets) work at first because you are restricting calories. Most fad diets have something that is cut out from your normal nutrition.
Let’s take keto again as an example. Say you start this diet and stop eating most/all carbohydrates. For every gram of carbs your body gets 4 calories to burn. Without those extra calories you begin to lose weight. However, maybe you are not paying attention to the total amount of calories you are now consuming and find yourself in a large caloric deficit. Initially you saw weight loss, but now your metabolism has slowed down to compensate for the lack of calories and your weight loss has slowed as well.
-Some signs that you are under eating (any of these sound familiar?):
-You are preoccupied with food and planning your next meal.
-Feeling tired and cranky (otherwise known as hangry).
-Poor sleep. A lack of calories and nutrients can be throwing off your sleep cycles.
-Your results have stopped or reversed
When you switch off the diet and go back to your prior eating habits, your body gains back the weight due to the combination of your metabolism being slower and the likely increase in your overall calorie intake. This is often referred to as 'the rebound effect' which can be frustrating for a number of reasons. Significant backtracking can occur after experiencing results if eating patterns aren’t sustainable and meeting the body’s needs. Also the rebound can lead to unhelpful thinking patterns when a person believes they aren’t able to be successful attaining the results they’re after. Further, restrictive diets can have negative impacts on immune system function, recovery from exercise, and the ability to find an eating pattern that one can maintain long term.
The New Plan
Begin by tracking what you are eating by either journaling or using an app such as My Fitness Pal. Start by noticing how different foods make you feel throughout the day. Are there times during your workouts that you feel sluggish? How did you sleep after that dinner? After a meal did you feel bloated or did your energy crash? Try a week without those foods and see if you notice a difference. it can be helpful to also learn more about your intake of carbohydrate, protein and fat. General recommendations tend to be 40 - 50% carbohydrate, 20 - 30% protein, and the remainder from fat. Continue the self experimentation and make tweaks gradually. Practicing observing your habits and learning more about how your body responds to different foods can give you a huge advantage as you work on supporting your body's needs for energy and nutrients while also making progress at the gym.
We know nutrition can be frustrating, but like fitness the best option is education and consistency. That’s why Inside The RIG does not recommend a one size fits all nutrition or fitness plan. You have to put in the work to find what’s best for you. Time improving yourself is the best investment!
If you would like to receive support in your fitness journey and dial in a sustainable program with a RIG coach, schedule a No Sweat Intro today.