This document provides information on basic nutrition and macronutrients. It discusses that there are 3500 calories in one pound of fat and losing weight requires creating a calorie deficit. Carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and alcohols all contain different amounts of calories per gram. Building muscle mass is the best way to increase metabolism rather than just cardio. Heavier people generally have a higher metabolism than skinnier people. The document then goes into detail about metabolism, basal metabolic rate, and how calories are used in the body. It also discusses the four main macronutrients - carbohydrates, proteins, fats, and water - and why each is important for survival. Sugar and its effects
7. False
The most effective way to raise
your metabolism is to increase
muscle mass. The more muscle
mass that you have the more
calories you will burn at all times.
Yes even while you’re sleeping!
9. False
Believe it or not a heavier person
will have a much higher
metabolism than a skinnier person.
Mostly because of the amount of
muscle mass needed to support
their heavier body mass. Once
again muscle mass is the biggest
driver of your metabolism.
13. 60%-75% of all of
your calories are
burned simply by
living
Only 10%-15% of
your calories are
used with daily
activity or often not
used and stored
15%-20% of your
calories are used
through the
thermogenic effect
of food
15-20%
14. BMR- Stands for Basal
Metabolic Rate- It is the body's
basic requirements to sustain
vital non-movement related
physiological activity. BMR
accounts for over 70% of the
energy we consume each
day. So if you lied perfectly still
in bed all day 70% of our
calories you consume would
be used just to keep you alive.
15. Here is my current BMR estimation
BMR-2195 Calories
16. Between my basal metabolic rate of
2195 calories and my current activity
level being working out at least 5 times a
week and being active during the days
my caloric needs are approximately
3450 calories daily to maintain my
current weight and body fat%
17. With this knowledge about my current
caloric needs I can determine in which
direction I would like to take my body and
make appropriate adjustments in order to
reach my goals.
Let Me Show You How!
18. Let’s say I would like to my goal to be to lose 8 lbs in the next month.
Knowing that there is 3500 calories in one pound of fat I need to
create a calorie deficit through diet that would make sense for my
goal and also keeping in mind that I don’t want to lose more than 2
lbs a week to avoid losing muscle.
I would need to create a deficit of 7000 calories a week in order to
elicit the proper response from my body. With my maintenance
calories being 3450 calories per day I can simply reduce my caloric
intake to 2450 calories per day and this should net me
approximately 2 lbs per week weight loss.
19. This of course is far from a perfect science and
although you have created a calorie deficit weight loss
can sometimes still remain stagnant. This is because all
foods are not created equally and they can often
determine whether or not your body chooses to release
the stored fat or not.
“You are what you eat!”
20. The macro nutrients that we will be
concentrating on are as followed:
Protein
Carbohydrates
Fats
Water
21. WHAT ARE MACRONUTRIENTS?
Macronutrients are nutrients that provide
calories or energy. Nutrients are substances
needed for growth, metabolism, and for
other body functions. Since “macro” means
large, macronutrients are nutrients needed in
large amounts.
22. While each of these macronutrients
provides calories, the amount of calories
that each one provides varies.
Carbohydrate provides 4 calories per gram.
Protein provides 4 calories per gram.
Fat provides 9 calories per gram.
23. This means that if you looked at the Nutrition Facts
label of a product and it said 12 grams of
carbohydrate, 0 grams of fat, and 0 grams of
protein per serving, you would know that this food
has about 48 calories per serving (12 grams
carbohydrate multiplied by 4 calories for each
gram of carbohydrate = 48 calories).
Besides carbohydrate, protein, and fat the only
other substance that provides calories is alcohol.
Alcohol provides 7 calories per gram. Alcohol,
however, is not a macronutrient because we do
not need it for survival. Duh!
24. WHY DO WE NEED CARBOHYDRATES TO SURVIVE?
Carbohydrates are the macronutrient that we need in the largest amounts.
According to the Dietary Reference Intakes published by the USDA, 45% - 65% of
calories should come from carbohydrate. We need this amount of
carbohydrate because:
Carbohydrates are the body’s main source of fuel.
Carbohydrates are easily used by the body for energy.
All of the tissues and cells in our body can use glucose for energy.
Carbohydrates are needed for the central nervous system, the kidneys, the
brain, the muscles (including the heart) to function properly.
Carbohydrates can be stored in the muscles and liver and later used for energy.
Carbohydrates are important in intestinal health and waste elimination.
Carbohydrates are mainly found in starchy foods (like grain and potatoes), fruits,
milk, and yogurt. Other foods like vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds and cottage
cheese contain carbohydrates, but in lesser amounts.
25. Fiber
Fiber refers to certain types of carbohydrates that our
body cannot digest. These carbohydrates pass through
the intestinal tract intact and help to move waste out of
the body. Diets that are low in fiber have been shown to
cause problems such as constipation and hemorrhoids
and to increase the risk for certain types of cancers such
as colon cancer. Diets high in fiber; however, have been
shown to decrease risks for heart disease, obesity, and
they help lower cholesterol. Foods high in fiber include
fruits, vegetables, and whole grain products.
26. WHY DO WE NEED PROTEIN TO SURVIVE?
According to the Dietary Reference Intakes published by the USDA
10% - 35% of calories should come from protein. Most Americans get
plenty of protein, and easily meet this need by consuming a balanced
diet. We need protein for:
Growth (especially important for children, teens, and pregnant
women)
Tissue repair
Immune function
Making essential hormones and enzymes
Energy when carbohydrate is not available
Preserving lean muscle mass
Protein is found in meats, poultry, fish, meat substitutes, cheese, milk,
nuts, legumes, and in smaller quantities in starchy foods and
vegetables.
27. When we eat proteins, our body breaks down the
protein that they contain into amino acids (the
building blocks of proteins). Some amino acids are
essential which means that we need to get them
from our diet, and others are nonessential which
means that our body can make them. Protein that
comes from animal sources contains all of the
essential amino acids that we need. Plant sources of
protein, on the other hand, do not contain all of the
essential amino acids.
28. WHY DO WE NEED FAT TO SURVIVE?
Although fats have received a bad reputation for causing weight
gain, some fat is essential for survival. According to the Dietary
Reference Intakes published by the USDA 20% - 35% of calories
should come from fat. We need this amount of fat for:
Normal growth and development
Energy (fat is the most concentrated source of energy)
Absorbing certain vitamins ( like vitamins A, D, E, K, and carotenoids)
Providing cushioning for the organs
Maintaining cell membranes
Providing taste, consistency, and stability to foods
29. Fat is found in meat, poultry, nuts, milk products,
butters and margarines, oils, lard, fish, grain products
and salad dressings. There are three main types of fat,
saturated fat, unsaturated fat, and trans fat. Saturated
fat (found in foods like meat, butter, lard, and cream)
and trans fat (found in baked goods, snack foods,
fried foods, and margarines) have been shown to
increase your risk for heart disease. Replacing
saturated and trans fat in your diet with unsaturated
fat (found in foods like olive oil, avocados, nuts, and
canola oil) has been shown decrease the risk of
developing heart disease.
30. 1 Piece of Cheese Cake 1 Apple
510 Calories 65 Calories
32 Grams of Fat 0 Grams of Fat
43 Grams of Carbohydrates 17 Grams of Carbohydrates
30 Grams of Sugar 13 Grams of Sugar
9 Grams of Protein
32. As you can see all of our macronutrients have a place in our diet.
The important thing to remember is balancing our diet and not over
consuming any one single macro.
A diet that strips away an entire macro group is a sure fire way to
failure. Each and every macro plays an important role in our bodies.
What’s more important is eating the right amount of food for your
current activity levels.
An athlete will demand more calories, carbs, and protein than
someone who works in an office environment.
Their diet would need to be designed to meet their needs just like
your diet should be tailored to your specific daily activities.
34. The 5 functions of water in our body
Cell life
Chemical and metabolic reactions
Transport of nutrients
Body temperature regulation
Elimination of waste
35. Cell life
Water is a carrier, distributing essential nutrients to cells, such as
minerals, vitamins and glucose.
36. Chemical and metabolic reactions
Water removes waste products including toxins that the organs’
cells reject, and removes them through urines and faeces.
37. Transport of nutrients
Water participates in the biochemical break-down of what we eat.
38. Body temperature regulation
Water has a large heat capacity which helps limit changes in body
temperature in a warm or a cold environment. Water allows the
body to release heat when ambient temperature is higher than
body temperature (1). The body begins to sweat, and the
evaporation of water from the skin surface very efficiently cools the
body.
39. Elimination of water
Water is an effective lubricant around joints. It also acts
as a shock absorber for eyes, brain, spinal cord and
even for the fetus through amniotic fluid.
Water is at the center of life. This is why nobody can live
more than 3 to 5 days without any water intake.
40. Now for the meat and potatoes
Well the potatoes anyways!
42. Sugar
Highly addictive, horribly debilitating, unfortunately pervasive, and
freaking delicious.
If I had to point to ONE culprit to our country’s expanding waistlines
and rapidly deteriorating health, it would be sugar. The amount of
havoc sugar and sugar substitutes have wreaked on our nation is
horribly depressing. Fear not, as I’ve come up with the perfect
solution!
Eat less sugar if you want to live longer.
The end.
Just kidding, there’s so much more to this story than that.
43. I’m sure you probably have a lot of questions about sugar:
Is sugar THAT bad for you?
Fruit has sugar! Is fruit bad for you?
Are certain kinds of sugar better or worse for you?
Can you really get addicted to sugar?
What about sugar alternatives that are used in drinks like Diet
Coke? What about natural sweeteners?
Let’s nerd out about sugar and find out what you can do to kick
your sugar habit and get your life back on track.
44. This might be the most telling statistic relating to sugar, especially when
that close to 70% of America is overweight with a THIRD of the
nation obese:
1822: Americans consume 45 grams of sugar every five days, or the
amount of sugar in a can of coke.
2012: Americans consume 756 grams of sugar every five days, or 130
POUNDS of sugar a year.
As we have grown as a country (in more ways than one), sugar has
continued to play an increasingly more prominent role in our food. It’s
not just sugary foods like candy and cookies either, but sugar has
made its way into practically EVERYTHING we eat.
Unfortunately, it’s not just sugar that’s killing us, but scientifically
manufactured “sugar” as well.
Now, we all know that correlation does NOT prove causation, so let’s
dig into the science behind why sugar is ruining our bodies.
46. When you consume sugar, your body has two options on how to
deal with it:
Burn it for energy. WEEEEE!
Convert to fat and store it in your fat cells. BOOOOO!
Depending on your genetic predisposition, your body might be
better equipped to process sugar as energy, or you might be more
likely to store it as fat. Think of this like you think of people with faster
metabolisms vs. people with slower metabolisms.
Problem is, there’s a LOT more room for fat storage, and a lot less
room to burn the sugar as energy.
47. So, we have this sugar in our body and blood stream. What happens
next?
When your pancreas detects a rush of sugar, it releases a hormone
called insulin to deal with all of that excess sugar.
Insulin helps regulate that level of sugar in our blood; the more sugar
in the blood stream, the more insulin is released. Insulin helps store
all of this glucose in the liver and muscles as glycogen and in fat
cells (aka adipocytes stored as triglycerides).
Now, oftentimes our body struggles to get that balance right (with
us putting way too much sugar in our system very quickly). TOO
much insulin is released, which ultimately results in our blood sugar
dropping below normal levels.
48. This is called hypoglycemia, essentially a sugar
crash: Our bodies respond by telling us: WE WANT
SUGAR.
So we cram sugar down our throats and the process
starts again.
Unfortunately, the more often this process takes place
(the more sugar you consume), the more severe the
blood sugar spike is, and the more insulin is required. This
means it becomes easier and easier to skip using sugar
as energy, and go straight to extra insulin and fat
storage.
49. This is best explained by this three minute video,
which is definitely worth watching: Why You Got Fat:
51. Now, you might be thinking: I’ll just eat less
sugar and won’t have this issue, right?
Well, that’s a good start, but that’s only half of
the battle. You see, our bodies actually
process certain types of carbohydrates in a
very similar way to processing pure sugar.
Believe it or not, there is an entire area of
scientific research on how our bodies process
certain foods.
52. You’ve probably heard of the Glycemic Index, and its lesser
known associate: Glycemic Load.
The Glycemic Index is the calculation of how quickly a particular
type of food increases one’s blood sugar level, on a scale from
1-100 (100 being pure glucose). Harvard researchers have found
that things like white bread, french fries, and other
simple carbohydrates have nearly identical effects on our blood
sugar as glucose.
Generally, the more refined (processed) the food, the more
likely it’ll be to get converted quickly to sugar in our body for
processing.
What about fruit and fruit sugar? Let’s find out!!
54. So, we’re learning that sugar is bad for us.
That’s nothing new, and it’s not a shock to companies that
manufacture food. For that reason, companies have
started to disguise the sugar in their foods, so it’s not as
apparent how much sugar you are consuming. Here’s a
quick list of what sugar can be listed as on a label:
Agave nectar, Brown sugar, Cane crystals, Cane sugar,
Corn sweetener, Corn syrup, Crystalline fructose, Dextrose,
Evaporated cane juice, Organic evaporated cane juice,
Fructose, Fruit juice concentrates, Glucose, High-fructose
corn syrup, Honey, Invert sugar, Lactose, Maltose, Malt
syrup, Molasses, Raw sugar, Sucrose, Sugar, Syrup.
55. Why do they change the name of sugar? Because nutritional
labels are required by law to list their most prominent
ingredients first. By putting two or three different types of sugar
in the food (and calling them each a different name), they
can spread out the sugar across three ingredients and have it
show up much further down the list! Tricky tricky tricky!
To be sure, READ THE LABELS OF FOODS THAT YOU CONSUME!
If you’re curious how much sugar you are consuming, check
out SugarStacks.com, which gives you a simple visual aid as to
the amount you’re pumping into your body through surprising
meals.
57. Ahhhh, the great “is fruit sugar bad for you” debate…
Honestly, I’m quite torn on fruit and fruit sugar. I’m a big fan of
the Paleo Diet, and I know a LOT of fruit can contain a lot of fructose
(and thus a lot of sugar).
That being said, I believe the consumption of fruit can be beneficial.
When you consume fruit, you are not only consuming fructose (in its
natural state), but also consuming fiber and lots of vitamins and
minerals. Yes, fruit can have an effect on your blood sugar, it IS
sugar. But generally fruit will cause less of a blood sugar spike
compared to nutrient-void table sugar or high fructose corn syrup.
Along with that: Fiber is an important part of a balanced diet (ask
your bowels), and fruit can contain a lot of it!
58. Here’s my official stance on fruit: Consume fruit
that has a low glycemic index/glycemic load to
reduce blood sugar spikes and insulin
secretion. Consume organic fruit when possible.
If your main goal is weight loss, and you need to
keep your carb intake low, minimize fruit
consumption and instead load up on
vegetables.
However, if your choice is between processed
foods, sugary drinks, candy, or fruit…GO WITH THE
FRUIT.
60. So, we’ve established that fruit can be healthy if consumed properly.
Unfortunately, fruit juices don’t really fit into that bill. Here’s why: When you
consume fruit juices like orange juice, apple juice, or cranberry juice, the juice is
squeezed, giving you all of the juice but very little of the fiber or nutrients that get
left behind in the process.
For this reason, many fruit juices should probably be called “sugar water.”
Here is a typical amount of sugar for four popular beverages
Orange juice - 21g of sugar
Apple juice - 28g of sugar
Cranberry juice – 37g of sugar
Grapejuice - 38g of sugar
For reference, a can of teeth-rotting, insulin-spiking, fat-inducing Coca-Cola has
40g of sugar.
61. Want to know an even worse offender? Naked
Juices! The “Green Machine” variety, with “NO SUGAR
ADDED” and promised to be “ALL NATURAL” has 28
grams per serving…and there are TWO servings in those
little tiny bottles. That means when you consume one
small bottle of this “healthy” smoothie, you’re getting
almost 60 GRAMS of sugar.
Brutal. Shame on you, Naked.
If you’re going to eat fruit, get it in FRUIT form, not juice
form.
If you’re going to drink juice, squeeze it yourself, and
even then consume it in small quantities.
63. There are a few main sugar alternatives that I want to cover, and
allow you to make up your own mind:
Honey - Is Winnie the Pooh onto something here? Is
honey a better alternative than regular sugar? The
appeal of honey is that it’s not just fructose or glucose,
but a mixture of all sorts of compounds, minerals, and
more. A study comparing honey to various types of
compounds resulted in good results for the sticky stuff:
“Overall, honey improved blood lipids, lowered
inflammatory markers, and had minimal effect on blood
glucose levels.” Along with that, honey resulted in a lower
blood glucose spike in rats compared to other types of
sugar.
64. Agave Nectar: This is the most recent darling of the fake “healthy
food industry.” Unfortunately, despite the fact that it comes from a
cactus (which is natural!), this stuff is so processed and refined, and
contains an absurd amount of refined fructose (90% fructose and
10% glucose). Also, the process to create this stuff is similar to the
process used to create high fructose corn syrup.
Aspartame: So, many people have switched to diet soda because
they heard regular soda can be bad for you. I would guess that 90%
of diet sodas out there contains aspartame, a laboratory-created
sugar alternative. NutraSweet also contains aspartame and should
be avoided. Studies on this stuff have proven inconclusive and
wildly different. Although some studies cite an increased link with
aspartame and cancer, I believe more research needs to be
done. Even still, I have made the decision to avoid aspartame until
more conclusive studies surface.
65. Sucralose is an artificial sweetener that is non-caloric as the body
struggles to break it down. Sucralose is approximately 600 times
as sweet as sucrose (table sugar), and thus can be consumed in
smaller quantities to get the same desired “sweet” effect as
sugar. Sucralose is available in things like protein powders, Splenda,
and other products reliant upon remaining low-sugar or low-carb.
Allegedly, sucralose has a negligible effect on blood glucose
levels.
Stevia is a naturally occurring sweetener from the Sunflower family. It
is approximately 300 times sweeter than table sugar, and allegedly
has a lower effect on blood glucose levels. As you can read about
here, Stevia has had an interesting history in the United States (for
political reasons), but appears to have been used in Japan and
South America with minimal adverse effects.
66. Saccharin is another artificial sweetener, created back in the
late 1890s, that is much sweeter than table sugar and thus is
consumed at lower quantities. It was linked to increased risk of
cancer within laboratory rats and labeled as dangerous by the
US, though this label was removed in 2000 due to the fact that
the results couldn’t be replicated in humans. That being said,
more studies need to be conducted.
If you’re going to eat sugar, get it from fruit or naturally
occurring sweeteners. With that being said, to minimize the
effect on your blood sugar, minimize sugar consumption across
the board if your primary goal is weight loss.
68. Is this stuff addictive? Short answer: YES.
Long answer: Sugary foods can be as physiologically addictive as many
drugs. You can legitimately become addicted to sugar and sugary
foods.
Study about sugar
In most mammals, including rats and humans, sweet receptors evolved
in ancestral environments poor in sugars and are thus not adapted to
high concentrations of sweet tastants. The supranormal stimulation of
these receptors by sugar-rich diets, such as those now widely available
in modern societies, would generate a supranormal reward signal in the
brain, with the potential to override self-control mechanisms and thus to
lead to addiction.
In other words: We are not genetically designed to consume the
amount of sugar that we are currently eating. For that reason, our
brains get that ‘happy feeling’ from sugar and it can override the “I’ve
had enough” mechanism.
69. It’s why your concentration goes to astray when you
eat a chocolate chip cookie and there is an
additional plate of them in front of you. Suddenly it’s
the only thing you can think about until you’ve eaten
them all! Or you eat a Peanut M&M, and suddenly
you’ve polished off a family-sized bag.
Do this repeatedly, and like Pavlov’s dog, your brain
will start to anticipate this sugar rush and get
prepared for it…even when you’re merely thinking
about food!
70. Now back to the “meat and potatoes” analogy
Here comes the beef!
71. Simply put, there is no miracle weight loss pill, drink, and yes I’m
going to say it……..fasting is stupid!
Losing weight is actually pretty simple if you’re willing to actually
commit and educate yourself on doing so. And I’m not talking
about reading magazines or watching infomercials at 5 a.m.
Losing weight can be simple if you simply follow a few rules and of
course consistency is paramount.
I’m not going to throw anymore technical information at you, I’m
simply breaking it down into it’s simplest parts.
Are you ready?
72. Weight loss begins by creating a calorie deficit and more simply put,
eating less food than our bodies are burning.
Here are my general rules and we will go over them in some detail.
1. Long term weight loss is achieved by making lifestyle changes and
not from dieting. Don’t diet…..DO make changes that will stick.
2. All (here’s the dirty word) diets are not created equally and a 1200
calorie diet may work great for Jill Shmoe but Joe Shmoe will likely do
more harm then good on the same calorie set.
3. Less is not always more. I’ll explain in a minute.
4. Don’t remove entire macro’s from your diet. (No Carb, rrrrrrrr!)
5. Make small changes and don’t try to do it all at once. Build up to it!
