After coaching Nutrition for 5 years, and coaching fitness for over 10 years. I have noticed a VERY consistent trend when it comes to what people are damn near ALWAYS missing. So I am going to give you these 3 things and some quick strategies to start fixing them!
Lack of Adequate Protein
In the last nutrition challenge I ran, the first week was all about tracking your food and reflecting and making notice about what YOU believe could be improved. I start the nutrition challenge there because it empowers people. If I tell you what’s wrong it doesn’t resonate quite as well as when you make the observation for yourself.
Most people made the correct observation that they weren’t eating enough protein… And I looked through and can confirm…. 100% of the individuals needed to consume more.
The USDA will lead you to believe that 10% of your caloric intake is adequate This is about 50g for a 2,000 calorie diet… and it is bulls***
Why? Much of the research supporting this number has very little to do with improving the health and weight and strength and performance of a person, and really has everything to do with survival.
In today’s world… I am not looking to survive. I am looking to THRIVE.
I don’t consider myself the absolute EXPERT when it comes to nutrition. But I am much more educated than most and have people I defer judgment to those who have much more experience than I. The conclusions are all the same. What is the healthy body weight for a person of your sex and height? Get 1 gram per pound. That’s it, unless you have a kidney or liver issue, it is well studied that those that consume this much protein are and set up for success in both fitness pursuits and weight management.
Your body will burn about 40% of the calories consumed from protein just in the digestion and utilization of the macronutrient. This is why people can perform studies that show eating more calories can still lead to weight loss. Unlike fat and carbs that are between 2-10% burned in the digestive process. Someone can go from 2000 calories to 2200 calories and LOSE weight when the extra 200 calories comes from protein. Protein will almost NEVER get stored as fat either.
Let’s think of it logically too. Every single cell in your body is made up from protein in some way. If you want to look young as long as possible, then you better give your body what it needs to continue generating tissues! It also makes sense when you are active. You tear down more muscle when resistance training to encourage more muscle protein creation, and if you don’t have plenty, then it won’t work very efficiently at all!
I am a male, 5’9.” A healthy body weight with substantial muscle is between 160 and 180lbs for me. So I want my protein to sit between 160-180g ever day.
My wife is a 5’5.” A healthy body weight for her is between 130-145lbs. She feels and looks best when she consistently consumes 130g per day.
Notice that a healthy body weight is not what models walk around at (90-120lbs at 5’9” for ladies… which is borderline criminal as far as the muscle capacity and resistance to injury and aging is concerned).
Here are a few strategies to get more protein in.
- Take your total protein goal, and divide that by how many meals + snacks you eat per day. Goal = 180. I eat 3 meals + 1 snack. 180/4 = 45. I need 45g per meal
- Try to make your breakfast where you pack in the most protein. A common goal is 50g by 10AM.
- Know your main protein sources and eat more of them. Meat, eggs and some cheeses or dairy products are the best bang for your buck. Every oz of meat is about 7g of protein. So I aim for about 5-6oz of meat per meal, and fill in the rest with my carb/fat sources that also have protein.
- Supplement with a protein shake. I know it is processed, but they are well studied and work well as long as they do not irritate the gut.
- Protein forward snacks like jerky or cottage cheese work great too!
- Last one is more mindset… I hear “it is soooo hard to eat that much protein” all the time. And that is the story you have sold yourself. And at CrossFit Magni everything begins with a belief because actions follow beliefs. Stop saying that and just accept the new you that eats protein all the time.
Know your Fiber
The next observation in nutrition I have made is that most people do not only have no idea how much fiber they should eat, but they also don’t have a clue where to start!
My first recommendation around fiber is that your total fiber should equal 20% of your total carbs for women up to 150g of carbs and for men up to 200g of carbs. If your diet requires more carbs (because you have a hard time adding and maintaining muscle because your metabolism is so high) then it caps out there. That’s a CAP of 30g of fiber for ladies, and 40g of fiber for men.
Here is why I make these recommendations. Fiber is a type of carbohydrate that aids in the digestive process and makes your gut a machine! There is a ton of correlation between adequate fiber intake and lowering cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugars. These just so happen to be the main metrics for the absence of chronic disease, which just so happens to be the MAIN KILLER.
When you aim for this 20% rule, you will find that the foods you eat need to be whole foods in order to hit it. Processed carbs have almost ZERO fiber.
Which leads me to my next point. Your fiber intake should NOT be supplemented unless your doctor tells you to (and that might be because of some other reason but if they are prescribing a fiber supplement because you are too lazy to eat real food then that’s a different story and you should see a therapist). If a processed carb has adequate fiber… RUN.
Spread out your fiber intake to manage insulin levels! 30g divided by 4 meals = ~7g. That’s actually pretty easy if you are eating the right stuff!
There is a lot more to fiber, but really, this is the foundation to start with, most anything else might just be overthinking it!
Here are some good sources of fiber to get more of…
- Nuts and Seeds. (Seriously… no one eats these and it is in the 100 words of fitness from CrossFit Founder Greg Glassman. “Eat Meat and Veggies, Nuts and Seeds, some fruit, little starch, and NO SUGAR.”)
- That quote covers this too…. Green leafy veggies
- Colorful grown food.. a variety of colors!
- Sub the sweet potato for the regular potatoes.
- Beans… “the magical fruit”
- Most fruits!
Eat a Consistent QUANTITY
The last observation I have made countless times is just that people are VERY inconsistent with their food when it comes to quantity. And maybe it is the circle I run in, but most people are actually under-eating too much making it impossible to manage weight because their body is never healthy enough for long enough to lose weight reliably.
First you should know what BMR (basal metabolic rate) is and what that means for you. BMR is the amount of energy (calories) you should burn through just to maintain optimal energy for everything to work without thinking or doing anything. Next you have to add how much you do in a day. There are plenty of online calculators that do all this for you, but the Inbody is even better and is a more precise measurement taking into account your muscle tissue and fat tissue.
Most women will be between 1800-2200 calories for healthy weight management (meaning you probably won’t lose or gain weight). Most men will be between 2400-3200 calories.
This article is not about losing or gaining weight, so I am not going to go there. You have to be consistent with your quantity BEFORE you can do anything like that anyways.
So how can you be consistent with nutrition?
- Meal planning. This is where you sit down, usually on Sundays, and plan what you will eat for ALL meals AND snacks and consider your social engagements and commitments.
- Meal Prepping. This is non-negotiable in this society. I haven’t seen even ONE PERSON be successful and not do this. Usually you prep out the meals you feel the busiest around for 3-5 days out. If breakfast is the hardest meal for you to get, then that’s probably the best place to start. For most it is lunch and snacks. If you are a member I send out recipes monthly for you to prep to keep things fresh.
- Eat all your meals. Be dedicated, disciplined, and regimented enough to actually execute your plan.
- Start small if you have a lot to change. Just be consistent in ONE place (maybe snacks) and then after that feels normal… move to the next. Sure it will take years to get where you want, but you will get there and won’t get burned out along the way AND it will be a permanent change as it becomes a part of your lifestyle!
- Make food fun and engaging. Listen to a good book or podcast. Make it a fun event with your spouse (we play music and hang out and it is some of our best connection time).
- Make a big enough dinner to prep lunches the next few days.
- Over time… Make it delicious! It takes practice, but it is worth it when you can look forward to enjoying the meal you prepped EVERY DAY!
The Rundown
Eat more protein, eat enough Fiber, and be consistent with quantity. These are all recommendations based on years of observations of people in the real world. Ultimately everyone is different and so is their needs, but I find these 3 to be the most reliable across the board.
