Nutrition and “Body Recomposition”
Have you ever tried to lose weight? I know I have, and one thing you probably noticed is that your overall strength may have been a bit lower with every pound you shed. Don’t be alarmed! This happens, but it doesn’t have to!
“Body recomposition is the process of improving your body composition by increasing muscle mass and decreasing fat mass.” Though we have said before that you cannot “spot reduce” fat loss, it is possible to lose fat while increasing muscle.
The catch is that you don’t get to choose the exact location of the change. It comes from the whole body changing together when you change your diet and exercise regimen in order to most optimally fuel your performance.
If you are used to eating whatever you want without tracking your nutrition, try writing down what you eat for a week! You will be surprised how much harder it is to overindulge knowing you will have a record of it somewhere.
That being said, don’t attempt to change your diet during this week! In order to make real change, you have to first take an honest look at what a “normal” week of eating looks like.
If you are looking for an app to assist your food logging, I recommend MyFitnessPal. It has a wide variety of foods already logged by other users and drastically cuts down on the uncertainty that can come from not knowing the exact macros in a restaurant’s food.
What the Heck is a Macro?!
The three Macros, short for macronutrients, are Protein, Fat, and Carbohydrate. Basically, they are the large-scale contents of the food we eat.
Some foods have more carbs, some more fats, and some more protein, but they almost all have a mix of the three!
If your goal is to reduce fat, you may think that a fat-free diet is the answer. No! In fact, cutting out fat completely can lead to a myriad of health concerns including eczema, mood and hormone imbalances, as well as increased cravings. Not exactly the kinds of things that are going to make you want to continue making healthy choices.
Creating a Path Forward
When I was younger, I had a bad habit of subscribing to whatever fad diet seemed to be circulating at the time. Although some had decent results, none of them were sustainable for any length of time longer than about a month or two, and that was because no matter what I was eating; I was not taking into account longevity.
I thought the word “diet” meant “30-day challenge.” The word diet comes from the Greek word diaita which translates to “way of life” and even today, Webster’s dictionary defines diet as “habitual nourishment.”
This means that in order to change your diet, you must change your way of life or at least your habits. This is the way that leads to lasting change!
If you’d like to talk more about what it would take to get your nutrition on track, talk to your coach and they can get you set up for a nutrition consultation! Or you can set up a time to talk with a coach about nutrition HERE!
(Written by Coach Brian Henry)