Key to attaining personal fitness and ideal body is proper diet planning and adhering to the routine. This article will help you analyze your diet plan and provide all the necessary information for determining right meal frequency, protein and carbs intake, water consumption, supplementation.
Weight gain or loss is chiefly dependant on the daily calorie intake. It varies person to person which is in turn depends upon your life style and activity level. So if your calorie intake increases or decreases your body requirement then you will experience weight change.
To make things simple, one pound of fat equals 3500 calories. If your calorie intake increases your energy level by 3500 calorie, then you may gain 1 pound of fat. Same goes for fat loss if you decrease 3500 calories from your diet over a week, you may lose 1 pound.
Meal Frequency
The most important factor in diet planning is the right meal frequency. As a rule of thumb, always consume atleast 6 meals daily. Whether you are a mass builder or trying to reduce fat, you should adhere to this 6 smaller meals daily routine.
The prime reason for following this routine is to keep your metabolic rate at an elevated rate. This increased metabolic will help you in adding leaner mass and burning fat at a much higher rate. In addition, your body can absorb smaller meals better than the larger ones. This way, your body gets to absorb more nutrients and it also does not over load your digestive system. So, you stay healthy.
Another important factor in meal frequency is the timing. You should never ever starve your body and its better to take your meal after every 3 hours or before. Otherwise, your metabolic rate slows down and body starts to store fat.
Protein Intake
To add lean mass, protein intake is must and all of your 6 meals should contain a good source of protein. As a rule of thumb, you should take 1-1.5 grams of protein per day per pound of your body weight. So if you weight 160 pounds, your ideal daily protein should be around 160 – 240 grams per day. And as per 6 meals a day rule, each of your meal should contain 30-40 grams of protein.
If you are dieting, you should lower your calorie intake from other macronutrients than protein. Never ever lower your protein intake. Next sections will cover in detail the diet requirements for mass building and fat loss.
