Introduction
The first and most important component in achieving a Great Body is your diet. If you want to achieve your desired goal, it is almost impossible without controlling what you eat. The key to adhering to a diet is enjoying what you eat and eating enough to satisfy you. A good diet is well balanced, containing enough protein, carbohydrates and fat. In fact, by correctly balancing your meals, your blood sugar level will be much more consistent. This will help keep you more satisfied for a longer period of time and give you much more energy.
Ideally, each meal should be evenly spaced throughout the day. Some of the most popular diets today are way too low in carbohydrates or calories. These “fad” diets typically produce only temporary results and are usually misleading. It is common for people following a very low carbohydrate diet to lose dramatic amounts of weight almost overnight. This “weight loss” is typically “water weight” and “lean muscle loss,” NOT body fat. This weight will typically be regained as quickly as it was lost. This scenario, body weight going up and down, is commonly known as ‘Yo-Yo Dieting.” This type of dieting can have a very negative effect on your metabolism, not to mention your self esteem.
I believe the focus of a diet should be permanent body fat loss, not short term weight loss. I want you to be able to lose fat and keep it off.
Basic Metabolism
Metabolism is the sum total of the chemical reactions that occur in the human body, including all of the energy producing and absorbing processes. Basically, it is how much energy your body burns. For your metabolism to function efficiently, meals with a proper balance of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals and water are required by the body. The timing of these meals is crucial to an efficient metabolism (see the Bon Fire of the Metabolism example).
Let’s take a quick look at each of the essential macronutrients and the requirements for a well balanced diet.
PROTEIN – 4 calories per gram
CARBOHYDRATES – 4 calories per gram
FAT – 9 calories per gram
NEXT: Carbohydrates
*See Also: Diet Recommendations