The Perfect Diet

 
Grab a calculator. I'm going to explain how much Protein, Carbohydrates and Fats are required for an optimal diet for YOU. I will try and make this as short and simple as possible as I see lots of different explanations of this are long winded and complex. After writing My top 5 supplements, the feedback I got was good but I realised that all the supplements are a waste of money if your diet is not in check. These numbers are to MAINTAIN bodyweight. I will do 2 more articles in the coming weeks for optimal diets for losing fat/weight and one for gaining muscle/weight.

Before we start: Weigh yourself. Get a pen and a piece of paper and write;
Weight:
Calories:
Protein:
Fat:
Carbohydrates:

CALORIES

Multiply your weight in lbs x14 for a sedentary lifestyle or x15 for an active lifestyle. This will give you a ROUGH guide to how many calories you should be eating a day. The only sure fire way to know exactly how many is to track your calories for a week or so, weighing yourself and see if you gain or lose any weight. This is a good starting point though. Write the answer next to calories.

PROTEIN

I always start with protein because it is an essential macro nutrient (unlike carbohydrates) and most people are under eating it. Protein is simple: eat 1g of protein per lbs of bodyweight. Write this next to protein. See under whey protein to find out why i recommend this amount.

FAT

Fat is next as it is also essential in the sense that it is vital for survival and cannot be made by the body. The only essential fats are omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids but optimal fat intake helps regulate hormone levels as well as helping with nutrient absorption. Once fat intake has reached it's peak, there are no benefits from over eating (as opposed to eating more carbs for example which does have benefits). Under eating fats will cause a significant drop in testosterone in men. Multiply your weight in lbs x 0.4- 0.5. This is your fat intake in grams. I tend to go for 0.5 as I just prefer fatty types of food but it is purely up to you. Write the answer in grams next to fat.

CARBOHYDRATES

Carbs are non-essential- as in technically the body does not require ANY to survive. The body will create a fuel source if none are consumed- see do low carb diets work for more info. The amount of carbs eaten should be whatever is left over so that you equal your total calories, so- my diet for me will look like this:

Weight- 180lbs
Calories- 2700
Protein- 180g
Fat- 90g
Carbohydrates- Total calories- [Protein (in calories) + Fat (in calories)]

Protein is 4 calories per g so            4x180= 720 calories
Fat is 9 calories per g so                  9x90= 810 calories

So 720 calories + 810 calories=1530 coming from protein+ fat.

2700 (total calories) - 1530= 1170 calories that will come from carbohydrates.

Carbs also have 4 calories p gram so divide carbs (in calories) by 4 to give carbs (in grams): 1170/4= 292.5

So my carbohydrate intake per day- 292.5g


SUMMARY
Eat any foods you wish that fit these numbers, it doesn't matter. All i recommend is that you get lots of nutrients in fruit, vegetables (especially green ones!) and whole eggs. Fish oil is important too see this to find out why. If you are having trouble with the carb calculations, comment below and I will help.

Thanks to everyone for reading- I have over 1000 views in 3 weeks so I hope everyone has enjoyed reading as much as I have enjoyed writing x

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