Hi friends,
Today I'm going to talk breifly about nutrition, and how your body's requirements change according to how much additional exercise you WILL be doing. I've had the opportunity to take a few university level nutrition courses, and one of the most important (and basic) concepts that they teach is about natural energy balance.
Now what is natural energy balance? In truth, it's exactly as it sounds. It is all about intake (calories you eat) and output (calories you burn).
If Intake = Output, weight is maintained;
if Intake > Output, weight is gained;
if Intake < Output, weight is lost.
Simple, right? If your goal is to lose weight, all you need to do is make sure that your natural energy balance is negative. That is, your intake of calories is less than the calories you burn.
However, it is very important to understand that for healthy weight loss, you don't always need to change both sides of the natural energy balance equation. If your intake remains the same, but you increase your calorie burning activity, you're still in a negative energy balance, which means that you'll be losing weight.
If you want an extreme example, think of the Michael Phelps (Olympic swimmer) diet. He consumes 12 000 calories a day! (If you don't believe me check out this link: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,403803,00.html
To put it into perspective, the average adult male should consume no more than 2500 calories a day. How is Phelps still so fit? He spends a stupid amount of time in the pool and gym. His calorie expenditure in the gym, plus his basal metabolic rate (BMR; to be discussed in a future post) is equal to or greater than 12 000 each day. Now think of that next time you stop the treadmill early!
At first, try to make moderate changes to both sides of your natural energy balance. For example, switch out one soft drink a day, and take the stairs, and you're already on your way to losing a few pounds and getting healthier!
Until next time,
Ben
Complete Nutrition Canada
p.s. Feel free to comment on posts or ask questions!
Thursday 28 July 2011
Tuesday 26 July 2011
Getting into a Routine
Hi folks,
One of the most important steps towards exercising more regularly is finding a routine that works for you. For some, this could mean waking up a half hour earlier a few days a week to walk or run. Others find it more convenient to exercise after work or later in the evening. The key message is that if you set a schedule, you'll find yourself making your appointments, instead of finding excuses not to. Personally, I prefer to go to the gym in the morning, and do outdoor activities in the evening. Some products, such as the Nike plus pedometer, can generate a schedule for you through its "coach" feature. It will let you know which days of the week you need to run, and for how long, to achieve your goals.
In future posts, I will elaborate on setting goals and how often you should exercise each week to achieve those goals. Until next time, try setting a schedule and sticking to it. For beginners, get out for a half hour walk on 3 mornings a week. If that's not enough for you, go for a run, or hit the gym! If you still find that you're having trouble getting motivated to exercise, I've found it extremely helpful to have a "workout buddy". Whether it's a friend, spouse, pet, or group of people, it's a lot harder to cancel on other people's efforts to get healthier. Make a competition out of it and watch your results soar. Get out there and be active!
Cheers,
Ben
Complete Nutrition Canada
One of the most important steps towards exercising more regularly is finding a routine that works for you. For some, this could mean waking up a half hour earlier a few days a week to walk or run. Others find it more convenient to exercise after work or later in the evening. The key message is that if you set a schedule, you'll find yourself making your appointments, instead of finding excuses not to. Personally, I prefer to go to the gym in the morning, and do outdoor activities in the evening. Some products, such as the Nike plus pedometer, can generate a schedule for you through its "coach" feature. It will let you know which days of the week you need to run, and for how long, to achieve your goals.
In future posts, I will elaborate on setting goals and how often you should exercise each week to achieve those goals. Until next time, try setting a schedule and sticking to it. For beginners, get out for a half hour walk on 3 mornings a week. If that's not enough for you, go for a run, or hit the gym! If you still find that you're having trouble getting motivated to exercise, I've found it extremely helpful to have a "workout buddy". Whether it's a friend, spouse, pet, or group of people, it's a lot harder to cancel on other people's efforts to get healthier. Make a competition out of it and watch your results soar. Get out there and be active!
Cheers,
Ben
Complete Nutrition Canada
Friday 22 July 2011
Welcome to the CNC Fitness blog!
Hi fellow fitness enthusiasts,
I'm very happy to introduce you to the first of hopefully many posts here at CNC Fitness blog! I guess my first post should tell you a little about who I am, and why I chose to start up this blog.
In my brief online profile, I mention that I'm a recent grad, and have a keen interest in both health promotion and physical activity. During my undergrad, I was by no means a gym rat, but I tried to spend a couple of hours a week doing resistance training, and another few playing various sports. The thought process was that all I had to do was spend a few hours a week doing "good" stuff for my body, so on weekends (and the odd weekday) I could enjoy more of the "bad" stuff, like drink beer and have all you can eat wings! They cancel each other out, right??
Look, I'm not going to discourage being physically active for most of the week so you can eat bacon on the weekends. At least that's a starting point! As long as your motivated to get to the gym and not sit at home watching Seinfeld reruns all night, I'm happy. And yes, there is something wrong with that!
That brings me to the purpose of this blog. One thing that I've noticed about online fitness materials and magazines is that a lot of them focus on high-end athletes, and have little or no instruction for beginner or intermediate exercisers. My goal is to provide some insight for people simply trying to get healthier. I'll do my best to touch on all aspects of fitness, including proper exercise techniques, nutrition, and even mental health. I may throw in a rant or two about various fad diets or fitness products as well. I guess you'll have to keep reading to find out!
What you'll notice about this blog is that I'll write it in easy to understand language that doesn't leave you scratching your head wondering what a latissimus dorsi is. And the absolute best thing about this instruction/opinion is that it's absolutely free! Even more, you're welcome to post comments on topics that you would like to hear about, and I can do my best to address them.
Thanks for reading, and keep pushing yourself to be healthier!
Ben
Complete Nutrition Canada
I'm very happy to introduce you to the first of hopefully many posts here at CNC Fitness blog! I guess my first post should tell you a little about who I am, and why I chose to start up this blog.
In my brief online profile, I mention that I'm a recent grad, and have a keen interest in both health promotion and physical activity. During my undergrad, I was by no means a gym rat, but I tried to spend a couple of hours a week doing resistance training, and another few playing various sports. The thought process was that all I had to do was spend a few hours a week doing "good" stuff for my body, so on weekends (and the odd weekday) I could enjoy more of the "bad" stuff, like drink beer and have all you can eat wings! They cancel each other out, right??
Look, I'm not going to discourage being physically active for most of the week so you can eat bacon on the weekends. At least that's a starting point! As long as your motivated to get to the gym and not sit at home watching Seinfeld reruns all night, I'm happy. And yes, there is something wrong with that!
That brings me to the purpose of this blog. One thing that I've noticed about online fitness materials and magazines is that a lot of them focus on high-end athletes, and have little or no instruction for beginner or intermediate exercisers. My goal is to provide some insight for people simply trying to get healthier. I'll do my best to touch on all aspects of fitness, including proper exercise techniques, nutrition, and even mental health. I may throw in a rant or two about various fad diets or fitness products as well. I guess you'll have to keep reading to find out!
What you'll notice about this blog is that I'll write it in easy to understand language that doesn't leave you scratching your head wondering what a latissimus dorsi is. And the absolute best thing about this instruction/opinion is that it's absolutely free! Even more, you're welcome to post comments on topics that you would like to hear about, and I can do my best to address them.
Thanks for reading, and keep pushing yourself to be healthier!
Ben
Complete Nutrition Canada
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