Different diets will suggest different methods of altering your intake to lose weight, but the basic building blocks of a balanced diet never change.
The body requires a variety of nutrients on a daily basis to function properly. These Nutrients help your body perform vital actions, either by themselves or paired with other nutrients. An over abundance of one nutrient cannot compensate a shortage or lack of another which is why eating a balanced diet is so important. While numerous, all nutrients can be classed as one of the following:
Carbohydrates
Proteins
Fats
Minerals
Vitamins
Water
Carbs, fats, and proteins are energy providing nutrients. The energy contained within them is measured in kilocalories and is what most dieters are familiar with when looking on food labels. The mathematical formula is derived by measuring the energy given off when each is metabolized.
1g Carb = 4 calories
1g Protien = 4 calories
1g Fat = 9 calories
1g Alcohol = 9 calories
*while alcohol is not a nutrient it does break down as an energy source and can beconverted into fat.
When you consume more calories than your body uses, the remainder is stored as fat and you gain weight. Simple math tells us that you want to eat fewer calories than your body burns on its own as you go through a regular day or burn these calories through additional physical activity. However, you don’t want to eat too few calories because the body’s natural defenses will think it is being starved and try to conserve energy by lowering your metabolism and storing energy as fat. Severely limiting your caloric intake also limits vital nutrients the body needs to function properly.
Along with understanding that your body needs a certain caloric intake to be healthy and function properly, you should be aware of how different calorie providing nutrients play a role in keeping your body functioning and how consuming to much of any of them can lead to unwanted weight gain.
