Saturday, February 4, 2012

Your Nutritional Plan Must Compliment Your Activity

When your goal is to lose body fat, tone existing lean mass, or increase lean mass; commitment and dedication in the gym will determine how fast you reach your goals.  For some people, working out becomes simply a new hobby.  While enjoying the commitment to a workout regiment you begin to realize you are not getting the results you want.  Working harder is not the answer.  You must also remember not to over train by extending your training duration. 

So what will get you results?  Consider how many calories you are consuming a day compared to the calories you are burning.  The fact that your body needs energy to support your activity is very important in increasing the rate at which your body burns calories. Without the proper levels of macro- and micro nutrients your body cannot assist you in reaching your goals.  Working out too long or on no energy will only work against you.  You must remember that your body has daily requirements for energy during moderate and even no activity levels.  On days that you workout, you must consume ample amounts of energy to support whatever goals you want to achieve. 

No one wants to hear someone tell them that they are not eating enough, but in most cases this is true.  The idea that your fitness plan must also entail a restriction of your total calorie intake will only mislead you.  More activity and calories burned means more calories needed.  Your body needs you to replace energy lost.  The fact that consistent activity over time will increase the rate at which your body processes energy mean that you need more frequent meals.  If you do not support your lean mass needs then your body will go into survival mode.  Your body will begin to burn away muscle for energy and also store more fat tissue to support a lack of energy supply.  To avoid this, you must enjoy eating as much as you enjoy working out.  They compliment each other! 

You should focus on the quality of food you are eating rather than the quantity.  Minimizing saturated fat in your diet and eating more natural foods would be a great compliment to making progress towards your fitness goals.  Protein is important in rebuilding lean mass and building more muscle.  No matter what type of body you want, your nutritional plan must compliment your activity level.  Once your fuel intake begins to support your exertion levels, your body will have what it needs to maintain a high metabolism and support your lean mass.  A nutritional plan based on your performance, with respect of the goals you are trying to maintain, will only lead to increased fat burning and muscle maintenance.

No comments:

Post a Comment