Use these helpful tips and foods to help lose weight and fat from your body.
First up, an important question. What are macronutrients?
Macro nutrients are the building bricks of your nutrition. Carbs, proteins and fats are the basics that give you fast energy, help to sustain energy and keep an eye on your blood flow and metabolism. Each different macro nutrient performs various different functions in your body.
Carbs 4 calories per 1 gProteins 4 calories per 1 gFats 9 calories per 1 gCarbohydrates
They provide energy for high intensity activities, like your training. Carbs are one of the cases when it is necessary to distinguish between good and bad guys.
Basically, in nutrition you can find three types of carbohydrates: simple carbs, complex starchy carbs, and complex fibrous carbs.
Simple sugar can be broken down to table sugars, fructose and lactose. Table sugar is the one we should avoid. We can find it in regular sugar, candies and also sweetened drinks. Complex carbs can be found in fruits, vegetables, whole grain products, cereals, rice They contain vitamins, fibre and minerals.
The right choice of carbohydrates can also help your digestion system work well. It is important to remember that vegetables contain carbohydrates, and not just foods like rice, pasta or bread that are more generally presented as carbohydrates in mainstream culture.
Protein is basically a group of amino acids which are inevitable for building and maintaining muscles. Proteins also help with muscle recovery and tissue repair and support immune system.
They are divided into three categories: essential, semi-essential and nonessential.
Our body is not capable of producing essential amino acids on it own, thats why we have to pay special attention to the nutrition when it comes to getting some proteins.
Great natural sources of proteins are meat, fish, diary products, eggs, nuts
Fats are another part of nutrition that must be carefully distinguished between what is good and what can cause a harm. There are three types of fats: saturated, unsaturated and trans fats.
Trans fats are the ones you should forget. They are contained in all those fast food yummy but super unhealthy meals and can cause many problems including diabetes, stroke and hearth disease. Healthy fats on the other hand bring dozens of benefits.
8 Foods to Add into your Nutrition
Cayenne peppers are a type of chili pepper. They belong to the nightshade family of flowering plants and are closely related to bell peppers and jalapeos.
They were originally grown in Central and South America, but brought to Europe in the 15th century by Christopher Columbus.
Cayenne peppers are a popular spice used in many different regional styles of cooking, and they have been used medicinally for thousands of years.
These peppers boast an impressive nutrition profile, which includes a variety of antioxidants that are beneficial for your health.
One tablespoon (5 grams) of cayenne pepper contains the following (1):
Calories: 17Fat: 1 gramCarbs: 3 gramsFiber: 1.4 gramsProtein: 0.6 gramsVitamin A: 44% of the RDIVitamin E: 8% of the RDIVitamin C: 7% of the RDIVitamin B6: 6% of the RDIVitamin K: 5% of the RDIManganese: 5% of the RDIPotassium: 3% of the RDIRiboflavin: 3% of the RDICapsaicin, the active ingredient in cayenne peppers, is what gives them their medicinal properties.
It also gives them their hot taste. In fact, how hot a cayenne pepper is depends on its capsaicin content. The more capsaicin it contains, the hotter it is.
Of all the super healthy greens, kale is king.
It is definitely one of the healthiest and most nutritious plant foods in existence.
Kale is loaded with all sorts of beneficial compounds, some of which have powerful medicinal properties.
Here are 10 health benefits of kale that are supported by science.
It is a cruciferous vegetable like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, collard greens and Brussels sprouts.
There are many different types of kale. The leaves can be green or purple, and have either a smooth or curly shape.
The most common type of kale is called curly kale or Scots kale, which has green and curly leaves and a hard, fibrous stem.
A single cup of raw kale (about 67 grams or 2.4 ounces) contains (1):
Vitamin A: 206% of the DV (from beta-carotene)Vitamin K: 684% of the DVVitamin C: 134% of the DVVitamin B6: 9% of the DVManganese: 26% of the DVCalcium: 9% of the DVCopper: 10% of the DVPotassium: 9% of the DVMagnesium: 6% of the DVIt also contains 3% or more of the DV for vitamin B1 (thiamin), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B3 (niacin), iron and phosphorusThis is coming with a total of 33 calories, 6 grams of carbs (2 of which are fiber) and 3 grams of protein.
Kale contains very little fat, but a large portion of the fat in it is an omega-3 fatty acid called alpha linolenic-acid.
Given its incredibly low calorie content, kale is among the most nutrient-dense foods in existence. Eating more kale is a great way to dramatically increase the total nutrient content of your diet.
Chia seeds are tiny black seeds from the plant Salvia hispanica, which is related to the mint.
Chia seeds were an important food for the Aztecs and Mayans back in the day.
They prized them for their ability to provide sustainable energy. In fact, chia is the ancient Mayan word for strength.
Despite their ancient history as a dietary staple, chia seeds became recognized as a modern-day superfood only recently.
In the past few years, they have exploded in popularity and are now consumed by health conscious people all over the world.
Dont be fooled by the size these tiny seeds pack a powerful nutritional punch.
A one-ounce (28 grams) serving of chia seeds contains (1):
Fiber: 11 grams.Protein: 4 grams.Fat: 9 grams (5 of which are omega-3s).Calcium: 18% of the RDI.Manganese: 30% of the RDI.Magnesium: 30% of the RDI.Phosphorus: 27% of the RDI.They also contain a decent amount of zinc, vitamin B3 (niacin), potassium, vitamin B1 (thiamine) and vitamin B2.This is particularly impressive considering that this is just a single ounce, equalling 28 grams or about two tablespoons. This small amount supplies only 137 calories and one gram of digestible carbohydrate.
Interestingly, if you subtract the fiber most of which doesnt end up as usable calories for your body chia seeds only contain 101 calories per ounce (28 grams).
This makes them one of the worlds best sources of several important nutrients, calorie for calorie.
To top things off, chia seeds are a whole-grain food, usually grown organically. Plus, theyre non-GMO and naturally free of gluten.
Brussels sprouts are high in fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, making them a nutritious addition to your diet.
They may also come with added health benefits, including the potential to reduce the risk of cancer, decrease inflammation and improve blood sugar control.
Adding Brussels sprouts to a balanced diet thats rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains has the potential to make a major positive impact on your health.
1. Source of beneficial amino acids2. Good for digestion and gut health3. May support immune function4. Supports the production of anti-ageing molecules5. Support weight loss6. May support joint health7. Might help you to get to sleep
What is bone broth?
Bone broth is the clear, protein-rich liquid obtained by simmering meaty joints and bones in water. It distinguishes itself from stock due to its lengthy cooking time. Much like stock, it can be used as a base for soups, stews and risottos.
Ok, so you might be a bit new to this, but thats ok. Macros is short formacronutrients:
There is technically a 4th, alcohol, but Im not going into that one specifically. However if you drink alcohol, you should know that 1 gram of alcohol has 7 calories and they do count. They just wont build muscle.
When setting up a macro goal, this can be for 2 reasons:
Whats important, is to actually find out how much youre eating now. This can simply be done by keeping track of your food intake for 2-4 weeks. An excellent tool for that isMyFitnessPal. Weigh yourself before and after.
Did you lose weight? Then you are not eating enough. Did you gain weight? Then you are eating too much. No change in weight? Then you are eating enough (but Im sure you figured that out by now)
In all cases its handy to calculate your daily caloric intake. Simply add up all the calories youve consumed and divide them by the days. This will give you a daily average.
Also, by documenting your current eating habits, you can assess more easily what types of changes you need to make, or find out if you were already on the right track.
A BMR is the Basic Metabolic Rate, this is the amount of energy your body needs to survive each day. This energy is needed for breathing, your heart beating, nails growing, digestion, you get the idea.
On top of that, you need energy for daily activities, like walking, weightlifting, running, etc. These 2 combined are called the Total Daily Energy Expenditure, TDEE. This is different for everyone, since it depends on gender, height, weight and activity level.
There are easy tools to help you calculate these numbers. The one I like is1percentedge.com. This tool is pretty accurate with calculating the BMR & TDEE.
Why still calculate this you ask?
If you compare the numbers in step 1 with the numbers in step 2, you can get the most accurate number possible in order to set your macro goals. Its simply eliminating as much error as possible.
This depends on your goal in step 1. The drop-down in the tool will give you options. The or+ numbers indicate how much % you need to be below or above your TDEE. The tool will do the calculating for you, dont worry.
Which option to choose? Again, this depends on you goal, but good options are:
Both options are in a safe range,Weight Losswill cause a slower, gradual weight loss,Lean Massingwill ensure a slower gain without too much fat gain.
This is where it really starts. Assuming you are using MyFitnessPal, you can enter the desired calories, protein, fats & carbohydrates in your profile:
Now its up to you to track what you eat every meal, every snack, every day.
This may sound tedious, but after a few times this becomes a habit quickly.
You may have guessed it, but if you want to be as accurate as possible, a kitchen scale is an essential tool. At some point you will get better a estimating portions without the scale, but in the beginning you will need one for sure.
There are of course multiple tools out there to keep track of your food intake, but MyFitnessPal is used by most peaple (including athletes), has a huge database of foods (that you can scan the barcode of as well) and also provides an overview on how your progress is during the day and if you are on the right track:
The graph on the left gives an easy overview on the macro intake during the day, the summary on the right gives a more detailed overview of both macro- and micro-nutrients.
This way you can tweak your food intake as you go along, and you wont run into surprises at the end of the day, when you might have gone over your target, or perhaps are still way under.
This is very important to define right from the beginning. How are you going to measure your progress? If you want to lose weight, the scale is a logical option, but should not be the only way to measure your success. The scale can give conflicting results as well.
For example, if you are also doing weight training, you will gain muscle mass, which results in more bodyweight.
To make sure you can truly see results, do the following:
So get out a measuring tape and measure up. The most common areas to measure:
Another way to really see results, is by measuring body fat. This should be done by a skilled person, and is usually done with calipers. The skin fold will be measured on several parts of the body, and the average body fat percentage is calculated.There will always be a discrepancy, for more accurate body fat measurements you can do a DEXA scan, hydrostatic weighing or a bodpod, but these are often not always available everywhere and are more costly.
The tutorial above is intended for those that have a specific goal in mind, whether that is losing fat, gaining muscle mass or both, but isnotintended to turn you into an obsessive calorie counter. But to be realistic, calories DO count.
The fact of the matter is, that in order to achieve a certain goal, you need to define the path towards it and this can be a way for you to do that.Simply saying I want to lose weight, so Im going to eat less will perhaps work for a while, but sooner or later you will hit a plateau and without insights into your eating habits, things could get a lot more difficult. To be honest, the more I talk to people about nutrition and calories, the more I realize that most people have no clue on how much theyre eating. This study comes to an interesting conclusion on that very issue.
Educating yourself in what your numbers are, what the caloric value of food is and how to implement it in your life will make the road to achieving your goals a lot easier.
At some point, it simply wont matter how talented you are, how much time and effort you put into sweating at the gym, programming your workouts and analyzing the weaknesses in your training if you dont have the nutritional side covered as well.
Fancy name and hype aside, superfoods dont have to be exotic or expensive youll be surprised how many of these multi-talents youre already eating.
This beverage isnt only good for hydration levels (and making you feel like youre on a miniature vacation).Coconut water is the perfect solution to get back on track after a tough WOD:
Like a primal, healthy version of Gatorade, it will give back the electrolytes you lost sweating. The natural coconut sugar is a great way to quickly replenish the glycogen (= energy) deposits in your muscles, paving the way for efficient muscle recovery and growth.
Coconut water: helping you to pretend to be on holiday, and get in shape
Ever wondered why the Crossfit Dottirs are so successful?
It might be because of a special sort of Icelandic dairy, Skyr. Made from four times the amount of skimmed milk used in yoghurt, it packs a huge amount of calcium and proteins, with next to no carbohydrates and fat, which makes it a perfect fit to hit your protein goals.
skyre: Food for champions
As an athlete, you require a lot more anti-oxidants than the sedentary population. Berries and Cherries provide them in abundance, while also catering to your sweet-tooth in a clean way.
Cherries are especially great if youre working on your endurance: Studies have shown that endurance athletes that drink cherry juice recover more quickly and measurably increase their performance. Way to improve those cardio-WODs!
Indulge your sweet tooth in the best way possible!
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14 Healthy Foods and Drinks to Help you Lose Weight and Fat from your Body - BOXROX
