Why some people will tell you that the type of food doesn’t matter as long as it fits within your set amount of daily calories, I can assure you they are WRONG. If you give 2 people 2000 calories a day and person A eats 1700 calories worth of Salad dressing and person B eats 1700 calories worth of chicken and rice, Person B will develop an overall better physique than Person A, not to mention overall health. Now I know that was a little extreme, but you get my point. Certain foods metabolize more efficient than others as well as build muscle and a host of other functions. So, below is a list of common foods eaten by fitness models/bodybuilders that have been proven to nourish the body why shedding body fat.
Protein
-Chicken
-Fish (Salmon, Cod, Tilapia)
-Turkey
-Lean beef (such as 93/7)
-Egg whites
Carbs
-Rice (Brown or White)
-Oatmeal
-Quinoa
-Sweet Potatoes
-Whole grain Bread (not whole wheat)
-Peanut Butter
Fats
-Coconut oil
-Almonds
-Avocado
-Peanut Butter
-Egg Yolk
Fruit
-Blueberries
-Grapefruit
-Strawberries
-Apple
Vegetables
-Broccoli
-Spinach
-Kale
-Green Beans
-Asparagus
Now that you know what to eat, the question now is how much and when should you eat. Let’s say you’re starting out at 2000 calories a day. A typical macro (carbs, protein and fat) split is 40% Protein, 40% carbs and 20% fats. That would be a total of 200 grams of protein, 200 grams of carbs and 40 grams of fats. I got these numbers by taking into account that 1 gram of protein is equal to 4 calories, 1 gram of carbohydrate is equal to 4 calories and 1 gram of fat is equal to 10 calories ( its really 9 but I’m using 10 for simplicity). Therefore, 200 grams of Protein is equal to 800 calories (200g x 4 cal per gram = 800 cal). 200 grams of carbohydrate is equal to 800 calories and 40 grams of fat is equal to 400 calories (40g x 10 cal per gram = 400). Now that’s 800 calories of protein plus 800 calories of carbohydrate plus 400 calories is equal to 2000 calories total (800 + 800 + 400 = 2000). [See Sample Meal Plan for demonstration of macro calculation} That’s it, that’s how you calculate your daily caloric intake. It’s much easier in a spreadsheet, I’ll be sure to add an example of mine. Now depending your body and how you respond to certain foods, you might want to increase your fats and decrease your carbs, Or increase your protein and decrease your fats, it all varies, but this is a great starting point. Also, please do not cut out your fats thinking it will help accelerate fat loss, because it won’t. The first day you go without any fats you’ll start to get light headed, fatigued, headaches and decrease cognitive ability. Fats are essential for brain function! The healthy fats you’ll be eating and the fat on your body are not necessarily the same. Excess fat intake can cause you to gain “fat” on your body but so can excess carbohydrate and protein.