Blog Layout
Feb 23, 2024

Introduction to Nutrition

How you fuel your body matters

The Basics

Nutrition seems daunting when you first approach it, but it’s one of those things that people think is complicated because they’ve been told it’s complicated. In reality, eating healthy can be pretty simple, you can get complex with it, but you don’t have to. 


At its most basic level weight loss (and fat loss) is calories in vs. calories out, in other words, how much you eat vs. how much you burn. To lose weight you can adjust either side of this equation, you can take in fewer calories (eat less) or you can burn more calories (physical activity), or you can do a bit of both. Just know, without being in a calorie deficit (expending more than you take in) you cannot lose weight. And remember, this is a very basic explanation. Keep reading and I will go into a bit more detail while trying to keep it uncomplicated. 

Calories Out

I’ll start with calories out because I think there’s some confusion here, but also because calories in will be a bit more expansive. Calories out has multiple aspects which consist of the following: basal metabolic rate (BMR), non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT), physical activity, thermic effect of food, and a few other lesser factors like genetics or environment. Let’s break each of these down a bit.

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

BMR is where the majority of your calories go. BMR is the calories your body uses to keep you alive and breathing, it’s the number of calories you need if you just sit on your couch and do nothing all day. This, typically, accounts for about 60-70% of your total calories out. You can increase this number by increasing body mass, either muscle or fat, if you weigh more you will burn more. It’s important to recognize that goes both ways, as you lose weight, the amount of calories you need will go down, meaning you will need to eat less to continue losing weight (or increase your calories out in another way).


Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT)

Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis is just a fancy way of saying “all the stuff you do that isn’t exercise”. This category includes everything from typing on your computer, to getting off the couch to use the bathroom, to bouncing your feet around because you’re bored, and everything else that isn’t “exercise”. Generally speaking, these actions occur subconsciously or as a part of life. Usually these activities will decrease as you have less and less energy from eating less or exercising more, this too is usually a subconscious change. NEAT accounts for roughly 15% of calories burned in a day.

Physical Activity

Physical Activity refers to any intentional physical activity. This includes things like lifting weights and running, but also things like playing a sport or doing yard work. This category can have a wide range of effectiveness based on how much activity is conducted, how intense it is, what type of job you have etc. So someone who works in landscaping will burn more calories than someone who has a desk job, assuming other aspects of their life are relatively similar. With that in mind, this category can account for about 15-30% calories burned, depending on the above factors. 

Thermic Effect of Food

The previous categories are relatively common knowledge, but this category is a bit less known. The thermic effect of food is how much energy your body needs to use to digest and use the food you eat. This is affected by the amount and type of food you eat. Highly processed foods are very easy for our body to convert to energy, and thus fat. Less processed food takes more for our bodies to break down and use. Also of note, protein, carbs and fat each take slightly different amounts of energy to utilize. Protein has the highest thermic effect because a large portion of the calories from protein is used to convert protein into a usable form and transporting it to the location it will be used. Carbs are the next highest, and fat is the lowest. This is part of the reason high protein diets are recommended for weight loss. The thermic effect of food accounts for around 10% of calories out, on the high side. 


Other Factors that Affect Calories Out

A number of other variables can affect how many calories you burn, these things include but may not be limited to the following: age, gender, weight, height, muscle mass, genetics, medical condition, environmental effects, and likely more.

Calories In

Calories-in is much simpler, it’s everything you eat and drink in a day. The issues usually come from people not knowing how many calories are in their food, or how to actually measure what they’re eating. 


First, some basics about food. Food is broken  down into macronutrients and micronutrients. Macronutrients are carbs, fat, and protein. Micronutrients are your vitamins and minerals. There's also alcohol, which doesn’t really fall into either.

Macronutrients 

Macronutrients are where all of your calories come from, and alcohol, alcohol has calories. Let’s break down each of the macros and a little bit of how they act in the body:


Protein: this is the big macro that is important in everything your body does, from building muscles to sending signals, and a whole bunch of other functions. We don’t need to get into the science of it though. The important information is that every gram of protein is 4 calories, so if you eat 25 grams of protein it’s 100 calories. Also of note, your body uses about 20-30% of those calories to get the protein into the form it needs to be in and to use it. So you actually burn some calories to get calories from protein (this is the thermic effect of food mentioned earlier). Protein is also highly satiating (makes you feel full), so they’re great when trying to lose weight so you don’t feel so hungry all the time. Sources of protein include, but are not limited to: chicken, fish, beef, eggs, cheese, rice, some vegetables, protein powder, and many more. 


Carbs: carbs are the energy source your body needs for high intensity work. If you plan to lift weights, do sprints, or run a longer race, you will need carbohydrates. You can survive without the (low carb diets, carnivore diet, keto diet, etc.), but life will probably suck, because carbs are delicious. Just like protein, carbs are about 4 calories per gram. Unlike protein, the thermic effect of carbs is only about 5-10%. Carbs are not generally as satiating as protein, however there are some exceptions. Potatoes for instance have been determined to be the most satiating food. Sources of carbs include but are not limited to: fruits, vegies, grains (bread, rice, oats), and sweets (although less ideal). 


Fats: fat is your energy source for low intensity exercises, like walking. Fat is also important for hormone balance within the body, so getting to extremely low levels can be dangerous. At 9 calories per gram, fat is the most energy dense macro. Additionally, fat's thermic effect only uses 0-3% of its calories. Fat is also the most easily stored as fat, because it’s fat…… makes sense right? So excessive consumption of fat is more likely to lead to increased stored fat, as opposed to excessive protein. 


Alcohol also has calories. Alcohol has around 7 calories per gram, but it has no nutritional benefit. I’m not saying to stop drinking, if you enjoy it, you can fit it into your diet. However, just be conscious that it is high in calories and will mean being able to eat less if you want to reach your goals. Personally, I believe if you are pursuing a healthier lifestyle through improved diet and exercise, then one of the first things you should do is remove alcohol from your diet. I refer back to the fact that it provides no real benefit, and if you feel you need the mental relief that alcohol provides then your time is likely best spent addressing the issues that cause you such high levels of stress before pursuing other forms of health improvement. One of my favorite sayings in fitness is, you can’t outrun a bad diet. It also stands to reason that you can’t out-exercise mental duress. So, deal with your stuff, get your mental health in order, then pursue physical health. Or, better yet, do them at the same time. 


Micronutrients 

Micronutrients are all of your vitamins and minerals. If you want to know every vitamin and mineral, just google it. Realistically, all you need to know is that they are important for your body to do all the crazy complex things it does, and they are important for your health and recovery. Macronutrients are relatively easy to track, they can literally be counted (although that’s pretty tedious), but more realistically there are numerous apps that can help you track them. Micronutrients, on the other hand, are much harder to track. Luckily, a multivitamin and a balanced diet should cover you pretty well. 


Processed vs Whole Foods
There is a large debate lately around processed foods and whole foods, about how processed foods are terrible for you and whole foods are all around better, but also how fruits and meats are full of pesticides and antibiotics, and blah blah blah. Before I continue, I want to make it clear that this is my opinion. Though it is based on my sports nutrition certification, personal experience, and hours upon hours of study, it is still just my opinion based on the currently available information. Whole foods are fine. If you can afford it, organic food is fine. Processed foods are fine, especially if it fits within the limits of your current nutritional goals. If you need some quick lean protein, deli turkey lunch meat is a fantastic option. Whatever you can make work for your goals, is great. There is no one size fits all solution, because everyone has different budgets, different time availability, different goals, and preferences. If you want help figuring all of this out, I'm glad to help just check out our options here.

Junk Food

Now, personally I think super processed highly palatable foods should be avoided, this is food that is generally referred to as “junk food”. Junk food tastes great, sometimes makes us feel good, and has basically no nutritional benefit. Junk food is not the same as processed food. Now, I say it should be avoided, but that doesn't mean you should cut it out entirely. Like with everything, if it fits within your goals, great, eat it. And every so often, even if it doesn’t fit your goals, enjoy it anyway. I suggest not using sweets and treats as a crutch for a stressful day, as that can lead to some bad eating habits. But sometimes you just get a craving, give in then get back to eating less junk-y food. And don’t stress so much over doing everything just right, stress can slow weight loss, and even result in weight gain.

Whole Foods

Whole foods are great, if you have the time, money and patience. Whole foods usually take more time to prepare, as well as knowledge and skill in how to prepare them in a way that is pleasant to eat. After all, if you don’t like how the food tastes, it doesn’t matter how healthy it is, you won’t eat it. Personally, I have found that learning to cook made a huge impact on my health and enjoyment when losing weight. I have been able to make healthy, delicious food that is super filling. It does take more time initially, but I believe the time investment is well worth it in the long run. See the Free resources page for a few of my favorite recipes.


Final Thoughts

Basically, weight loss and nutritional health comes down to daily choices. You don't need to eat perfectly "clean" to be healthy, and eating a cookie every now and then won't ruin your diet. Your goal with eating should just be to eat a little less junk and little more fruits and veggies whenever you can. If you have specific weight loss, weight gain, or muscle gaining goals, you can schedule an appointment here and we can help you achieve those goals. Otherwise, I hope this information has helped you on your Fitness Journey, even just a little.

Share by: