The timing of your eating and what you consume is dependent on your activity
levels. On days in which you go to work or have strenuous activities, the intake
of carbohydrates should be relatively higher compared to other nutrients. On a
day in which you may decide to be a little relaxed, foods high in good fats
should top your list and protein is a nutrient that you should have every day
regardless of your activity levels. Notwithstanding your aims, the intake of
whole foods cannot be over-emphasised.
What is weight loss? This is a situation that results when your daily intake of
calories is below your optimal consumption. For weight loss to occur, there
will be a deficit in your calorific intake. When folks want to lose some body
weight, they are not specific or have an idea of the type of load they want to get
rid of. However, what most people have in mind is fat. During the process of
losing this fat, there is always the loss of muscle mass too which most of us
don’t want to happen. So how do you prevent this from occurring? Your fat
reserves act as the shield here. Our bodies are designed to break down our
muscle mass which makes use of a lot of the calories we consume daily. This
begins to occur once there is a calorie deficit in your daily intake of calories.
To regulate the number of calories you consume, the “energy consumer” which this case is the muscle needs to go
This was not the situation aeons ago when man had to hunt and continuously
move around sourcing for food and shelter. The muscle was always put to
work as it determined their fate. Because a lot of us now are couch potatoes
and won’t even move a foot to save your life, our muscle mass is far lesser
compared to ancient men. With this in mind, it is vital to engage in physical
activities every day providing an incentive to our bodies to maintain our
muscle mass while we aim to cut down the adipose tissue. Muscle loss can
also be negated by gradually cutting down on your calorie needs to prevent
your fat deposits form been wiped out and your energy needs then turning to
your muscle. Going about it this way gives your body time to adjust to the new
calorie limit without a sudden shock to the system. Getting your body into a
caloric equilibrium is an individual task as we all have different calorie needs.
The calories are obtained from a well-balanced combination of food nutrients
mainly carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Getting an accurate idea of your daily
calorie needs are determined by your sex, age, health status and the type of
activities you engage in daily. You can also calculate your calorific
maintenance by noting the number of calories you consume daily for a few
weeks and checking your weight too. If you were adding or reducing body
weight, slight adjustments to your diets would bring about equilibrium in your
caloric maintenance and optimum body weight.
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