Fooooooood Pyramid!

The purpose of this article is to address the following question. How can you maximize your ability to sustrain power output while, at the same time, reduce body fat percentage??. Let's be honest here, losing weight requires in most cases cutting down the calories we eat. In many cases, if we don't know how to gradually reduce our calorie consumption, the client will feel a sudden drop in energy level. Bad diets often results in angry clients and as a result, the client will eventually stop the exercise program. But there is a solution to this. keep reading!!

A number of studies suggest that the answer may lie in consuming small but frequent meals to stay in better nergy balance throughout the day. Energy balance has typically been asssed in  24 hour units.According to ACSM, if you consume 3000 calories during the day and you burn 3,000 calories during the day, you are in "energy balance" . However, in most people this is not the case. In most cases we see people spending most of the day in an energy deficit state ( you burned far more calories than you consumed) but then eat a hugemeal at the end of the day to satisfy your energy needs, ultimately satisfying the energy needs. However, it appears that people who do this have different outcomes than those who stay close to an energy balanced state throughout the day. Therefore, eating small but frequent meals has the following benefits:

- Maintenance of metablic rate ( you definitely want this!!)

- Lower body fat and lower weight on higher caloric intakes

- Better glucose tolerance and lower insulin response ( making it more difficult to manufacture fats from the food you eat)

- Lower stress hormone production

-Better maintenance of muscle mass

- Improved physical performance.

Studies suggest that if you delay eating until the end of the day, and many experience severe energy deficits early in the day ( specially during days of working out). Problems with energy deficit include:

1.  Difficulty maintiaing carbohydrates stores( this would impede endurance in high intensity activities)
2. problems maintaining lean ( muscle) mass
3. lower metabolic rate
4. difficulty meeting nutrient needs ( foods carry both energy and other nutrients)
5. Increased risk of injury ( undernoursed athletes may develop mental and musclar fatigue that, in some sports, would predispose them to injury)
6. Missed opportunities to aid muscle recovery.

Therefore, maintaining energy balance thoughout the day by consuming small but frequent meals during the day is an excellent strategy for reducing these problems.