Everybody knows that the road to fitness is hard and requires a lot of work in many different areas such as workouts, nutrition, sleep schedule, and stretching. So which one is most important? The answer is all of them. The tricky part is figuring out the weight of importance each aspect has on total fitness transformation and improvements. This post is going to focus mainly on what many fitness fanatics deem as the hardest aspect to master: Nutrition. We’ve all heard the sayings “six packs are made in the kitchen” and “It’s 80% nutrition, 20% workouts”. It’s true; some of your greatest strides towards your fitness goals are determined by what you put in your body versus what you put your body through. But where do you begin? Not all of us are dieticians or nutritionists. How does the average gym goer know where to start?

BMR.

BMR stands for Basic Metabolic Rate. This is the equation used for finding an estimate of the amount of calories your body needs to maintain healthy function for a 24-hour period. The equation involves height, weight, and age to determine the amount of daily calories needed. This is maybe the most important part of creating a nutrition plan. If your daily calorie intake is incorrect for your body, then it doesn’t matter what kind of macronutrient ratios you have, your body simply will not have its needs met.

Once BMR is calculated and you have an idea of the amount of calories your body needs, then you can start breaking those calories down and deciding where they should come from. Protein contains 4 calories per gram; likewise carbohydrates also contain 4 calories per gram. Fats on the other hand contain 9 calories per gram. The next step is determining the how many grams of proteins, carbs, and fats your body needs to match your target calorie intake, and fitness goal. This is when macronutrient ratios start to play a role. For example, a person trying to burn fat and maintain muscle should be taking in anywhere from 40-50% of total calories through a protein source, 20-30% total calories from carbohydrates and 25-35% total calories from fats. (Did he just say 25-35% fats?) Yes. The important thing to remember in any nutrition plan is that all of your calories need to be from a healthy source, even fats. Fats are very healthy for you, if you’re eating the right ones. Butter, Big Macs, and ice cream do not constitute healthy fats. Fats needed in your diet should come from healthy and natural sources like avocados, nuts and seeds, and lean meats. Nutrition plans also need to be calculated so that the ratios of calories per source add up and do not exceed or undercut your total daily caloric needs.

All that being said, just knowing your daily calorie needs and where they come from is not enough. It takes time, trial and error, and experience to make a perfect meal plan. Even then it still may need some tweaking, but it’s a good place to start! Visit Find a trainer to sit down and have a free one on one personal consultation with one of our fitness professionals to help you understand and figure out what your body needs to be successful in reaching your goals.