“It’s more than just eating food for pleasure, it’s fuel, and for your body to perform at an optimal level, you have to nourish it with optimal fuel.”

Most fitness professionals are bombarded daily with questions on how to change their physique or correct problem areas. Many people think if they go to the gym and put in time, that’s all they have to do, but when they don’t see the results, they wonder what went wrong or often blame their trainer.

“The devil is in the details” is a popular saying that rings true when it comes to making visible physical changes in your body. Going to the gym is the easy part, that’s the bulk work. The nutrition behind it, that’s the detail, the thing that requires consistent preciseness. If you want to get and maintain results, it starts with the work you do in the kitchen, and what you put into your body. Studies show 80% of what your body looks like is contributed to what you eat. Now this doesn’t mean that you should stop going to the gym. Although gym work is the easy part, it is still needed. What it does mean is you really have to monitor what you are eating. In order to do that, you have to switch your food paradigm. It’s more than just eating food for pleasure, it’s fuel, and for your body to perform at an optimal level, you have to nourish it with optimal fuel. There’s a bit of science behind fueling your body and you have to understand the science to get the best results.

When most people eat, they are driven by cravings, and taste. More health conscious people follow the food pyramid, while a very small percentage of people understand and follow the true science of fueling your body. This science is broken down into two major categories, Macronutrients and Micronutrients. Macronutrients consist of three subcategories, proteins, fats, and carbohydrates, while Micronutrients consist of two subcategories, vitamins and minerals. Knowing how to manipulate these nutrients on a day to day, week to week, or month to month schedule is how this small percentage of people get and maintain their desired physiques. The manipulation of your macro and micronutrients, narrows the food pyramid down to consumption specific to the individual and their personal needs.

Figuring out an individual’s macro and micro needs requires specific information about them. You need to know their body weight, height, desired body weight, body mass index, body fat percentage, and lean mass. To truly be accurate, blood work should also be done. Blood work helps more with micronutrients, showing any deficiencies or excessive production of vitamins and minerals. As you can see, nutrition, if done properly is a very detailed science requiring research and trial and error to perfect it. However, the discipline and practice of proper nutrition will help you understand how food affects your body and overall health. That knowledge is priceless.