The Gym
5 rules of performance nutrition
1) ALWAYS eat at least 5 times a day. Eating 5 times controls your blood sugar and insulin levels. This will control your energy levels.
2) When planning your daily meals, you should try to eat a ratio of 1 part fat, 2 part protein, and 3 parts carbohydrates. This is an estimate for average people.
3) Ask yourself “What am I going to be doing for the next three to four hours.” The less your activity the fewer carbohydrates needed. If you are training you should eat a little more carbohydrates and protein (at least an hour before training).
4) In order to lose FAT, you must be on a negative calorie intake, meaning that you most take in less and expand more energy. But in order to gain MUSCLE, you must be in a positive calorie intake.
5) It’s hard to get all of your nutrients your body needs from food alone, especially if your are training.
Carbohydrates
1) Simple carbohydrates are found in foods such as fruits, milk, vegetables, cake candy and other refined sugar products.
Complex carbohydrates consist of a chemical structure that is made up of three or more sugars, which are usually linked together to form a chain. These sugars are mostly rich in fiber, vitamins and minerals.
2) The Glycemic Index is a numerical Index that ranks carbohydrates based on their rate of glycemic response (i.e. their conversion to glucose within the human body). Glycemic Index uses a scale of 0 to 100, with higher values given to foods that cause the most rapid rise in blood sugar. Pure glucose serves as a reference point, and is given a Glycemic Index (GI) of 100.
3) Fiber slows the rate that sugar is absorbed into the bloodstream. When you eat foods high in fiber, such as beans and whole grains, the sugar in those foods is absorbed slower, which keeps your blood glucose levels from rising too fast. Fiber makes your intestines move faster. When you eat whole grains rich in insoluble fiber, it moves faster through your intestines, which can help signal that you are full.
Proteins
1) Nitrogen-containing amino acids are essential for life and they are the building blocks of proteins. Amino acids, as ancient and ubiquitous molecules, have been co-opted by evolution for a variety of purposes in living systems. There are basically 20 standard amino acids having different structures in their side chains(R groups) . The common amino acids are known as a-amino acids because they have a primary amino group(-NH2) and a carboxylic acid group(-COOH) as substitutes of the a carbon atoms. Proline is an exception because it has a secondary amino group (-NH-), for uniformity it is also treated as alpha-amino acid.
2) Leucine, Isoleucine and Valine are the three most important amino acids for strength training.
3) Fast-digesting whey means it is emptied from the stomach quickly, resulting in a rapid and large increase in plasma amino acids. Casein has a slower rate of digestion, and results in a slow but steady release of amino acids into circulation.
4) Catabolic is when the metabolic process breaks down. Anabolic is when when the metabolic process builds up. This system alternates between the two, to form metabolism.
5) Adults in the U.S. are encouraged to get 10% to 35% of their day's calories from protein foods. That's about 46 grams of protein for women, and 56 grams of protein for men.
Fats
1) Fats are not always rejected in peoples diets for fats can be used as a valuable source of energy.
2) HDL cholesterol is often referred to as good, or protective, cholesterol. Several strategies can help you lower the amounts of total and harmful LDL cholesterol in your bloodstream, and thus your risk of heart disease.
3) The fatty acids found in MCTs are called medium-chain fatty acids.