Managing & Budgeting Your Nutrient/Diet Portfolio

Just as you would manage your income and household expenses, it’s important to note the value of managing your nutritional assets and expenditures as well. Everyone has a budget and we all know it’s tough to stick to, and dieting and changing eating habits is no different. However, nothing will raise your blood pressure quicker than discovering you’ve exceeded your credit card limit or receiving an insufficient funds notice from the bank. As I explained in the dieting portion of the Cleanse tool box, what you put into your body’s account determines how much and how often you can withdraw. But first we need to determine what your individual budget should be.

The correct formula for weight loss and body sculpting is still an ongoing controversy. I prefer to subscribe to the “Goldilocks” formula of moderation: not too much, not too little, just right. In the past decade the line in the sand has definitely been drawn between high protein/ low carb dieters and plant based dieters. Now, I’m not suggesting that anyone become a vegan overnight; I’m a omnivore by design, but adhering to, and incorporating more plant based foods into your diet, will vastly improve not only your success in losing weight it will also improve the quality and longevity of your overall health and wellness, while boosting your nutrient portfolio; think of it as a 401K for life... The following formula and outline should provide you with the tools to determine your needs based on your weight and body composition for macro nutrients: calories, protein, carbohydrates and fat.

-Macronutrients-

• Protein: Building blocks for muscle, cells and tissue repair. It assists in synthesizing enzymes and hormones, maintaining fluid balance, and regulating such vital functions as building antibodies against infection, blood clotting, and scar formation.Before starting the protocol, begin by weighing and measuring your waist hips and neck. For women: measure your waist just above the navel. For men: right at the navel. Then use the following link to estimate Body Fat % & Lean Mass . Choose the correct key pad for each gender. Key in your age, below hit the “tape” tab and fill in the info. When finished, scroll down to review the results. After acquiring this information refer to the activity chart below to establish your daily protein intake. Each gram of protein=4kcals

Activity Level x LBM (lean body mass)= daily protein intake: e.g. 96.2 (LBM) x 0.7(moderate activity) =67grs protein per day=268. Kcals

Sedentary-0.5

Light (walking)-0.6

Moderate (30 minutes per day, 3 x a week)-0.7

Active (1hr per day 5x a week)-0.8

Very Active (2 hrs per day 5x a week)-0.9

Heavy weight training/athlete (2x a day x5 days a week)-1.0

The average American diet typically exceeds the amount that should be consumed. In dispelling the myth about protein building muscle tone, protein is a building block it does not build the building it merely acts as the brick and mortar. Exercise is the contractor, carpenter and architect that builds, sculpts and creates the finished structure…your body.

• Kcals (calories) Use the link to determine your daily Kcal intake.  Daily calorie calculator By definition a calorie is the energy it takes to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water 1 degree Celsius. The important word to take away from this definition is ENERGY. Calories are ENERGY that fuels our bodies; much like gasoline fuels our cars. Without sufficient calories our heart would not beat, our lungs would not function, and our brain would not work. Many of us have no idea how many calories our body needs just to exist. In general, an adult body needs at least 1000 to 1400 calories to have enough energy to fuel key organs like the brain, heart, and lungs. This minimum number of calories is called your resting metabolic rate (RMR) and it varies greatly depending on age, sex, weight, and muscle mass. In order to have enough energy to live your day and be active you need more energy than what's required from your resting metabolic rate (RMR). This extra energy typically amounts to about 400 to 600 additional calories per day which is the energy you need to move versus just lying still all day. Please note that these numbers are general averages and a Registered Dietitian can help you determine exactly how many calories your body needs. Children's calories needs vary based on age.

Calories and Weight Gain
If you exceed the number of calories your body requires each day you will eventually gain weight. It takes an excess of 3500 calories to gain 1 lb. of fat. For example, if your body needs 2000 calories a day to maintain its current weight and every day you consume 2500 (one 20 oz Mocha Swirl Latte could add 500 calories) in one week you would gain 1 lb. One day of overindulging does not cause instant weight gain.

Calories and Weight Loss
To lose weight you need to use/burn more calories than you consume. Example: If you eat 2000 calories a day, and are maintaining your weight, you would need to burn 250 calories (30 minutes high impact aerobics for a 150 lb. person) per day to lose a 1/2 lb in one week. If, in addition, you decreased your caloric intake by 250 calories a day (a 20oz soda), a 500 calorie a day total deficit, you could then lose 1 lb per week.

It's important to remember that although drastically reducing your calories in a short period of time may initially result in dramatic weight loss, the body can rarely continue along this restrictive path, especially if the person is consuming below their resting metabolic rate. Eating later to make up for those missing calories usually results in gaining back the weight lost, plus extra. And, if you force your body to restrict calories for a prolonged amount of time, your metabolism will slow down to compensate--effectively stopping weight loss.

  

• Carbohydrates: Provide the body with its main fuel source and energy required to carry out daily activities and exercise, and are also important for the correct working of our brain, heart and nerves, digestive and immune systems. Any extra energy is stored in the liver and muscles until it is needed. However, the liver can only hold up 100gr or 3oz of glucose. If the glucose is not expended the remainder will be stored as fat. Each gram of carbohydrates=4 kcals. To determine how many grams of carbs you should eat per day will be based on the information you have collected thus far e.g.: 55 year old female height 5’4” weight 110lbs moderate exercise average daily kcal based on calculation should be 1485x .50 (macro nutrient ratio of 50%) =742. Kcals dedicated to carbohydrates. Divide the kcal value by 4 to determine the carb value. 742kcal/4=185.5gr carbohydrates. Based on diet C, this person should be consuming 50-70% fibrous and 30-50% complex/simple carbs for an ideal carbohydrate intake. The higher the fibrous the better as long as your complex/simple carbohydrate intake doesn’t drop below 70gr of carbs which would put you in ketosis and placing your body at risk.

• Fat: In addition to supplying energy, fats also help in forming structural material of cells and tissues such as the cell membrane. Fats also carry the fats soluble vitamins A, D, E and K into the body and help in the absorption of these vitamins in the intestines. Maintaining a healthy essential fat intake is paramount to overall function of our bodies and cellular health.The problem with fat is the body can only convert and utilize a certain percentage of the macro nutrients (protein, carbs and fat) as fuel. Whatever is left over is converted to fat and stored in the “fat closet”; a limitless warehouse the size of HOME DEPOT. However, there are ways of tapping the fat warehouse to use as a fuel source, but it does require a combination of aerobic and anaerobic exercise. I won’t complicate things at the moment I’ll leave that discussion for another post.
  
  
  Fat allocation is based on a macro nutrient of 25%. To determine the fat kcals, each gram of fat has a kcal value of 9gr (more than twice the kcal amount of the other macro nutrients). Using the same formula, once you’ve establish your daily kcal intake you can determine your fat kcals. E.g. 1485 daily kcals x .25=356. Kcals divided by 9=40gr of fat.
  
  
  
  

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