My Blog

30th October 2017

What is a Macro Diet?

Everyone wants to lose weight. At the end of the day, there’s only two things that are actually important: calorie and macronutrient intake.

First of all what is a “Macro?” You’ve probably heard me talk about them in our sessions.

“Macro” is a contraction of “macronutrient,” which is as follows:

A macronutrient is any of the
nutritional components of the diet that are required in relatively large amounts: protein, carbohydrate, fat, and minerals such as calcium, zinc, iron, magnesium, and phosphorous.

Micro dieting, is a method of dieting that revolves around meeting your daily macronutritional intake targets, and not on what you eat to get there.

That is, you plan your daily meals to provide you with so much protein, carbohydrate, and fat, based on your goal (lose fat or build muscle). It’s essentially a form of calories counting (a gram of protein and carbohydrate both contain about 4 calories, and a gram of fat contains about 9).

So long as you hit those “macro” targets every day, the foods you eat to get there will not negatively affect your body composition. However my personal opinion it’s still important to eat good wholesome foods.

The foods we eat provide our body with the raw materials it needs for growth, development and function. There are two basic groups of nutrients that must be obtained through the diet: macro-nutrients and micro-nutrients.

Macro-nutrients are comprise of proteins, carbohydrates and unsaturated fats while vitamins and minerals make-up micro-nutrients. All nutrients play different but vital roles in our health and wellbeing.

How to include more micro-nutrients in your diet
Although needed only in small amounts, micro-nutrients are essential for the proper functioning of every system in the body and are vital for good health. There are two classes of micronutrients, vitamins and minerals. Each vitamin and mineral has a specific role in bodily function.

Our bodies cannot make all of these micro-nutrients, so they must be supplied through the diet. Different foods contain different levels of vitamins and minerals, so it’s important that you eat a wide variety of foods from the different food groups and a variety within each food group, to make sure you get an adequate supply of all the micro-nutrients your body needs.

Vitamin A is an important micronutrient needed for healthy eyesight and gums, Vitamin C for a healthy functioning immune system, and Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant which helps fight free radical damage in the body. We need vitamin D for strong bones and immune function, and our B vitamins for energy production, nervous system health and for proper digestion.

There are also essential minerals that play important roles in the body such as iron needed for red blood cell production, calcium for strong healthy bones and teeth, magnesium for nervous system health, and zinc for healthy skin, reproductive and immune function. Selenium is also an important mineral which acts as an antioxidant to protect the body from chronic diseases and premature aging.

Macronutrients

Carbohydrates – wholegrain cereals (oats, brown rice, pasta, grainy bread), root vegetables

Protein – fish, chicken, lean meat, eggs, legumes, nuts, seeds, dairy products, tofu

Unsaturated fats – nuts, seeds, fish, olive oil, avocado

Micronutrients

Vitamin A – Milk, cheese, eggs (yolk), orange and yellow fruits and vegetables
Vitamin B – Legumes, wholegrain cereals, nuts, seeds, green leafy vegetables
Vitamin C – Citrus fruits, broccoli, strawberry, parsley, cabbage
Vitamin D – Citrus fruits, broccoli, strawberry, parsley, cabbage
Vitamin E – Olives and olive oil, avocado, wholegrain cereals
Iron – Lean meat, green leafy vegetables, legumes
Calcium – Dairy products, almonds, tahini, green leafy vegetables
Magnesium – Nuts, seeds, wholegrains, legumes, green leafy vegetables
Zinc – Lean meat, chicken, fish, sunflower and pumpkin seeds
Selenium – Brazil nuts, wheatgerm, sunflower seeds, oats

If you would like to know what your daily macro should be to help achieve your goal – fat loss, muscle building or maintenance please feel free to contact me via my contact page, I’ll take a few details and get back you with your results.

Kind regards John.

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Why i love drinking hot water with lemon and ginger every morning

1 Good for stomach
Lemon can help relieve many digestion problems when mixed with hot water. These include nausea, heartburn and parasites. Due to the digestive qualities of lemon juice, symptoms of indigestion such as heartburn, bloating and belching are relieved. By drinking lemon juice regularly, the bowels are aided in eliminating waste more efficiently. Lemon acts as a blood purifier and as a cleansing agent. The intake of lemon juice can cure constipation. It is even known to help relieve hiccups when consumed as a juice. Lemon juice acts as a liver tonic and helps you digest your food by helping your liver produce more bile. It decreases the amount of phlegm produced by your body. It is also thought to help dissolve gallstones.

2 Excellent for Skin Care
Lemon, being a natural antiseptic medicine, can participate to cure problems related to skin. Lemon is a vitamin C rich citrus fruit that enhances your beauty, by rejuvenating skin from within and thus bringing a glow on your face. Daily consumption of lemon water can make a huge difference in the appearance of your skin. It acts as an anti-aging remedy and can remove wrinkles and blackheads. Lemon water if applied on the areas of burns can fade the scars. As lemon is a cooling agent, it reduces the burning sensation on the skin.

3 Aids in Dental Care
Lemon water is used in dental care also. If fresh lemon juice is applied on the areas of toothache, it can assist in getting rid of the pain. The massages of lemon juice on gums can stop gum bleeding. It gives relief from bad smell and other problems related to gums.

4 Cures Throat Infections
Lemon is an excellent fruit that aids in fighting problems related to throat infections, sore throat and tonsillitis as it has an antibacterial property. For sore throat, dilute one-half lemon juice with one-half water and gargle frequently.

5 Good for Weight Loss
One of the major health benefits of drinking lemon water is that it paves way for losing weight faster, thus acting as a great weight loss remedy. If a person takes lemon juice mixed with lukewarm water and honey, it can reduce the body weight as well.

6 Controls High Blood Pressure
Lemon water works wonders for people having heart problem, owing to its high potassium content. It controls high blood pressure, dizziness, nausea as well as provides relaxation to mind and body. It also reduces mental stress and depression.

7 Assist in curing Respiratory Disorders
Lemon water assists in curing respiratory problems, along with breathing problems and revives a person suffering from asthma.
Good for treating Rheumatism
Lemon is also a diuretic and hence lemon water can treat rheumatism and arthritis. It helps to flush out bacteria and toxins out of the body.

8 Reduces Fever
Lemon water can treat a person who is suffering from cold, flu or fever. It helps to break fever by increasing perspiration.
Acts as a blood purifier The diseases like cholera or malaria can be treated with lemon water as it can act as a blood purifier.

Lemon is not the only power player in this recipe. Ginger is known to have some pretty remarkable health generating qualities like the ones listed below via Health Diaries.

1 Colon Cancer Prevention A study at the University of Minnesota found that ginger may slow the growth of colorectal cancer cells.

2 Morning Sickness A review of several studies has concluded that ginger is just as effective as vitamin B6 in the treatment of morning sickness.

3 Motion Sickness Remedy Ginger has been shown to be an effective remedy for the nausea associated with motion sickness.

4 Reduces Pain and Inflammation One study showed that ginger has anti-inflammatory properties and is a powerful natural painkiller.

5 Heartburn Relief Ginger has long been used as a natural heartburn remedy. It is most often taken in the form of tea for this purpose.

6 Cold and Flu Prevention and Treatment Ginger has long been used as a natural treatment for colds and the flu, Many people also find ginger to be helpful in the case of stomach flus or food poisoning, which is not surprising given the positive effects ginger has upon the digestive tract.

7 Migraine Relief Research has shown that ginger may provide migraine relief due to its ability to stop prostaglandins from causing pain and inflammation in blood vessels.

8 Menstrual Cramp Relief In Chinese medicine, ginger tea with brown sugar is used in the treatment of menstrual cramps.

9 Prevention of Diabetic Nephropathy A study done on diabetic rats found that those rats given ginger had a reduced incidence of diabetic nephropathy (kidney damage) – via Health Diaries

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Sugar free challenge

Do you want to see the weight drop off? I already know the answer – yes you do.