The Fundamentals of Nutrition for Fitness Enthusiasts

It’s heavily ingrained by trainers and influencers that you can’t out-exercise a bad diet. While the sentiment is true, the same fitness professionals try to push supplements and dieting programs instead of education. This leaves many of us just trying to grasp the basics of nutrition without a second thought about the more complex aspects of it. So, let’s break down the key components of nutrition, meal timing, and metabolics.

Nutrition Basics

Nutrition is a world that is often lumped together with exercise without explanation or guidance. Understanding fundamental concepts can help you achieve your health and fitness goals.

Food As Fuel

Food serves as your body’s fuel source throughout the day. Viewing nutrition through necessity rather than pleasure is vital to fitness. Now, this doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the food you eat. Rather, when it comes to selecting, proportioning, and preparing foods, it’s best to understand how the content of the meal will affect your body.

Macronutrients

Proteins, fats, and carbohydrates are nutrients the body requires large quantities of to function properly. Each macronutrient plays an important role in the metabolic process. Many factors contribute to an individual’s macronutrient requirements, including weight, age, sex, health conditions, and fitness goals.

Proteins

Protein is made up of amino acids. Essential amino acids are ones that the body cannot create on its own, so they must be consumed. These amino acids aids in protein synthesis, a process by which cells are repaired and replaced. So, protein plays an essential role in physical growth and development. For the average individual, protein should be 10-35% of their daily caloric intake.

Fats

Dietary fat plays an essential role in energy regulation. The body can’t make certain types of fats on its own, so consuming them externally is necessary. Fats create energy and nutrient reserves, regulate body temperature, and cushion the organs. For the average individual, fats should make up roughly 20-35% of their daily caloric intake.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates provide the body with energy by breaking down into glucose. Glucose is a simple sugar the body needs to perform the proper brain, muscle, and organ functions. In addition, carbohydrates attach to fat and protein molecules as glycolipids and glycoproteins to manage cellular recognition and reception. Simply put, carbohydrates are a vital nutritional need. For the average individual, carbohydrates should make up the bulk of their daily caloric intake (between 45-65%).

The Hype Around Meal Timing

Meal timing, otherwise known as nutrient timing, is intentionally consuming certain macronutrients at specific times throughout the day. This long-standing practice has been implemented and recommended by fitness professionals across the board. But does meal timing live up to the hype?

What Nutrition Science Says

Several studies have been conducted regarding the validity of meal timing in relation to fitness and overall health. Though this practice has been accepted and recommended for decades, the evidence favoring it is inconclusive. Conclusions regarding the subject were challenged based on the limitations of the studies they resulted from. For example, many studies evaluated the short-term impacts of nutrient timing, but long-term benefits were not addressed. In addition, most studies were not randomized by vital factors such as age, intensity, or training type. Rather they followed specific groups, such as endurance athletes. In general, meal timing has significant applications for endurance, but there is not enough evidence to form solid recommendations for hypertrophy, weight loss, and strength training. Instead, consuming the appropriate amounts of each macronutrient daily should be the primary focus. However, meal timing has space to be utilized once caloric needs, nutritional food choices, and daily exercise recommendations have been met.

Hypothesized Significance and Benefits

Nutrient timing is hypothesized to aid in glycogen replenishment and protein synthesis. These two processes are vital to breaking down and building muscle. While the trail of thought behind the hypothesis makes sense, studies have shown conflicting findings as to whether nutrient timing enhances these processes. It’s also strongly contested whether this enhancement is necessary for certain fitness goals like weight loss.

Understanding the Metabolic Window

The word ‘metabolism’ gets thrown around in the fitness industry. But those on their fitness journey are often at a loss about what metabolism is, how it works, and the myths surrounding it. Without that knowledge, it’s nearly impossible to understand the impact of nutrition and its timing.

Basics of Metabolism

Metabolism refers to the entire series of reactions that occur within the body to provide cells with the energy needed to carry out their roles. There are two metabolic phases – catabolism and anabolism – responsible for cellular destruction and construction, respectively. Metabolic processes are vital to everyday life. They aid digestion, temperature regulation, waste excretion, and blood circulation. Metabolism is affected by factors such as age, weight, gender, body composition, and hormone production. Each person has a Basal Metabolic Rate, the number of daily calories needed to maintain their current weight while at rest. BMR composes around 75% of daily expended energy.

What is the Metabolic Window? 

The metabolic window is the approximate 15-minute period following a workout where the body is most attuned for nutrient absorption. It was once believed that replenishing carbohydrates and protein stores during this period was vital to muscle growth and weight loss. However, recent studies have shown that the post-workout metabolic window does not exist, or at least not at the capacity it was once believed. Meaning that immediate post-workout nutrition doesn’t necessarily result in long-term health gains.

Conclusions

While meal timing and the metabolic window are widely accepted in the fitness community, they are not scientifically supported at the capacity to which they are held. The most important factor in nutrition remains meeting daily caloric and macronutrient intake that aligns with established fitness goals.