Food serves its purpose in many ways to benefit our overall functioning and productivity in our society. The various foods we consume aid us in strengthening our bodies’ muscular and internal organ systems, fending off illness, and fueling our bodies with sufficient energy. However, while food is significant to the functioning of our bodies, the decisions we make with food can counteract its positive attributes.
A common topic we hear from our personal training clients is discovering the best tactic for weight loss. As professionals in the fitness industry, it’s our job and passion to help people thrive in a happy, healthy, and strong manner throughout their everyday lives. Consistent adherence to weekly exercise is an essential portion of developing and maintaining a body with low fat mass and an efficient amount of lean muscle mass. Our exercise participants meet with us for training appointments anywhere from one to three times per week for a seventy-five-minute customized training sessions. Like other individuals in our community who regularly attend small group fitness classes at gym fitness studios like Orange Theory, Yoga or Pilates classes, or membership driven gyms, routine exercise is one of the most essential foundations of maintaining a healthy weight.
Our dietrary decisions play a critical role in balancing foods effects on our bodies.Historically, counting calories has been a popular and effective tactic in delivering successful outcomes in weight loss efforts. A classic approach to losing extra fat mass is utilizing more calories as energy than we consume. Additionally, if we decrease our average daily calories, we’ll likely lose weight too. Therefore, counting calories is a potently effective method to maintain an optimal lean muscle mass to fat mass ratio. However, what if counting calories isn’t the most desirable tactic to adhere to?
Outside of calorie counting, our society keeps track of things every day. From digital representations of our bank accounts presented on our computers to counting minutes of activity on our mobile devices, we keep track of many variables on a daily basis. It’s easy to saturate ourselves with continually counting and tracking things.
Two simple yet effective low-hanging fruit eating decisions are to be mindful of portion size and when food is consumed. A commonly overlooked recommendation to aid in choosing optimal quantities of food to consume is using our hands as a measuring device. Using the amount of the volume of food that fits into the hand is an adequate portion size that can limit overeating yet also satiate hunger. A helpful example could be fitting a handful of carbohydrates in one hand and protein in the other. For example, a handful amount of oatmeal and a handful of eggs could serve as a healthy breakfast.
Additionally, integrating larger quantities of food at the beginning portion of the day and making efforts to consume smaller amounts later in the day aid in utilizing calories for energy and avoiding converting excess calories to fat. We are more likely to use more calories as a fuel source earlier than later in the day. Therefore, larger portions could be helpful before the afternoon, and smaller portions could aid in fat storage mitigation later in the day when energy levels are lower.
Food should be an enjoyable experience throughout our lives. Savoring the flavors, textures, and social interactions food offers us is a valuable feature we enjoy in our culture. Making healthy eating decisions can reinforce our relationship with our fitness journey and living healthy and fulfilling lives.
Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com, or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.
