Current trends show negative calorie diets (i.e. low calorie, crash diets) disrupt the balance to crucial systems of the body. As a way to prevent such negative occurrence we can look to effective coaching, exercise and nutritional support to serve the body and mind.
Exercise alone is less effective than diet and exercise combined
As fitness professionals it is extremely beneficial to know what a client’s limiting factor(s) towards goal achievement may be. In having this awareness, it gives clear direction for the professional to coach and prescribe in respect to individuality.
Here we discuss important factors that may affect the prescription and outcome of nutritional advice given for and to clients.
Varied ethnicities, somatotypes and genotypes present a real challenge to the professional in prescribing exercise and nutrition with respect to individual requirements and limitations; however these physiological imbalances impede results and should not be used as an overall excuse in non-implementation of strategic nutritional planning long term for optimal health development.
A significant factor in the dieting realm is mindset of both client and coach. Mindset is believed to be drawn from experience, often from the competitive realm, and with this experience a positive attitude needs to be repeatedly implemented on a daily basis. This ensures nutritional intake becomes as habitual as getting ready in the morning. A positive mindset will give a positive outcome towards decision making leading to benefits physiologically, psychologically and emotionally.
Nutrition is widely considered of paramount of importance for a client in meeting their goals optimally. Without adequate nutritional support performance will be affected. Poor nutrition will always hold an individual back regardless of goals for training.
Once the limiting factors have been considered then a nutritional plan should be designed with the correct mindset to implement a fundamental change. As many variable(s) are to be considered when writing a nutritional plan here are some tips on planning and basic foods.
A nutritional plan should:
- Be sustainable for both the individual and the environment.
- Ensure that health, body composition, and performance makers are achievable.
- Provide nutrient density.
- Control homeostatic responses (calories in, calories out).
Basic food knowledge tips for non-dieters attaining better quality of life:
- If a food’s ingredient list looks more like a chemistry lab (guar gum, xanthium gum, ammonium sulphate) than your grandmothers pantry/ spice rack then DON’T eat it.
- Sugar is simply sugar and any ingredient list that has an ‘ose’ at the end (fructose, dextrose etc). Any foods that contain these within the top 3 on the ingredient list should not be regularly consumed within an eating plan.
- Try to encourage foods that have an ingredient list of 6 or less, and are unprocessed.
- If they don’t come with an ingredient list, but could run, swim, fly and have a face then they should be okay. If they have none of these then make sure they are organic and naturally processed.
- ‘Good’ foods don’t need to advertise themselves as good – it’s marketing jargon that we see every day to promote an inadequate product that is supposed to give us greater nutritional content.
- Stay away from imitation foods and buzz words that marketing campaigners choose to use to entice the consumer, such as sugar free, low calorie and lite, think of these as chemical broth, as these foods will no doubt be worse than the original you were about to buy.
- Don’t consume anything your grandmother wouldn’t have known is ‘food’
Did you know that you can learn more about nutrition on one of our Personal Training Courses
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