Obtaining your ideal ‘beach body’ is a marathon, not a sprint!
It is an unfortunate fact that many of us see our eating and drinking as an uphill struggle, commonly referred to as a ‘diet’. Instead of looking on our dietary habits as a start stop journey to our ideal figure/physique, start to look upon it as a lifestyle, not a short lived constantly changing style of eating and drinking. If you do this, there is no reason why you can’t consistently consume healthy, tasty and nutritious foods, whilst still being able to enjoy healthy treats....even the calorie dense naughty varieties! The key is obtaining a structured starchy carbohydrate, protein, dairy, fruit and veg base, so that your body and brain are always aware of what’s going on, avoiding that compensatory storage of fat whilst keeping the metabolic furnace simmering! Depending on your goals, you could increase your nutritional intake for weight gain, decrease it for weight loss, or meet requirements in order to achieve weight maintenance.
So what are your nutritional requirements?
Here is how you can work out how many calories you need in relation to your training regime?
Factor this simple calculation for your age:
Male:
Aged 18-30 >>>>> 16.0 x weight (kg) + 545 = ……..
Aged 30-60>>>>> 14.2 x weight (kg) + 593 = ……..
Aged 60-70>>>>> 13.0 x weight (kg) + 567 = ……..
Aged 70+>>>>>>> 13.7 x weight (kg) + 481 = ……..
Female:
Aged 18-30 >>>>> 13.1 x weight (kg) + 558 = ……..
Aged 30-60>>>>> 9.74 x weight (kg) + 694 = ……..
Aged 60-70>>>>> 10.2 x weight (kg) + 572 = ……..
Aged 70+>>>>>>> 10.0 x weight (kg) + 577 = ……..
(Henry, 2005)
EXAMPLE: 26 year old, 80kg male
16.0 x 80kg + 545 = 1825kcal per day (BMR)
EXAMPLE: 29 year old, 60kg female
13.1 x 60kg + 558 = 1344kcal per day (BMR)
(NOTE: ‘kcal’ is commonly known as ‘calories’ & ‘BMR’ = Basal Metabolic Rate)
1825kcal is the BMR i.e. the amount of energy the above people would require just to maintain their daily bodily functions, such as breathing, pumping blood around the body, thinking etc.
In order to perform physical activity and exercise, the person will need additional calories for energy!
To sustain physical activity and exercise, we must therefore add a ‘physical activity level’ (PAL).
PAL:
Light occupational activity
Non active= Male- 1.4 Female- 1.4
Moderately active= Male- 1.5 Female- 1.5
Very active= Male- 1.6 Female- 1.6
Moderate occupational activity
Non active= Male- 1.6 Female- 1.5
Moderately active= Male- 1.7 Female- 1.6
Very active= Male- 1.8 Female- 1.7
Moderate/Heavy occupational activity
Non active= Male- 1.7 Female- 1.5
Moderately active= Male- 1.8 Female- 1.6
Very active= Male- 1.9 Female- 1.7
(Elia, 1990)
To add a PAL you need to take your BMR i.e. your estimated calorie requirements for resting alone, and multiply it by the appropriate PAL (as shown above).
EXAMPLE: 26 year old, 80kg male
This person trains intensely a minimum of 5 days a week, and also works as a labourer on a busy building site, therefore we would deem this individual to be very active with moderate/heavy occupational activity (use the PAL that best applies to you)…..so apply the appropriate PAL to the above 80kg male example as follows:
1825kcal (BMR) x PAL of 1.9 = 3468kcal per day to maintain this persons weight relative to his physical activity levels.
Meeting your target nutritional requirements...healthily & sustainably
The principle is to carefully balance your intake of each food group in order to maximise our potential. Our bodies function most effectively when our daily intakes consist of approximately a third starchy carbs, a third fruit and veg, and the final third split between protein, milk and dairy…See the Eatwell plate which is representative of a total daily intake, but can also be used to direct your individual meals (NHS choices, 2011).
Focus on Protein
Research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition highlights the profound benefit a high protein diet can have on weight loss. Experts have attributed this weight loss to a marked reduction in appetite and overall caloric intake due to the hunger satisfying nature of protein. Protein also dietary induced thermogenesis (calories burnt through digestion) i.e. protein requires more calories to digest than any other food group.
Don’t overdo the carbs
Try not to exceed 1-2g of carbohydrate per kg bodyweight if you wish to look defined, cut and slender. Excess carbs will be stored as glycogen (stored glucose) until the stores are saturated, after this they will be stored as adiposity (fat). Carbs also cause what’s known as an osmotic shift, whereby our bodily fluid is drawn to areas of high solute concentration (carbs in solution i.e. blood) resulting in a surface layer of water giving the impression of smooth instead of sharp, defined musculature.
Promote fat burning
We discussed the role that protein has on fat burning; therefore a protein supplement used as a mid-meal snack is ideal. We also alluded to the importance of limiting total carb intake and minimising subcutaneous fluid (fluid under the skin). In order to encourage the mobilisation of fat, there is another weapon in the armoury....fat metabolisers/burners! Fat burners such as Maximuscle Thermobol combine appetite suppressive properties with metabolic boosters in order to maximise the use of fat for energy instead of carbs, resulting in faster, more effective fat burning!
So don’t wait until 2 weeks before your holiday to get into shape, adopt the necessary diet and training lifestyle and treat it as a permanent way of life. Follow a structured diet plan such as our 1200, 1800, 2500 or 3500kcal diet plans (depending on your weight and targets) found on our blog, utilise the nutritional supplements available to you, and achieve that beach body 365 days of the year!
