Focus on These 3 Food Groups
All food breaks down to 3 macronutrients in the body: CARBOHYDRATES (carbs), FATS + PROTEINS. How we build our plate determines what percentage of these macronutrients we consume. The macronutrient (macros for short) split is this percentage per meal, snack and as food accumulates at the end of the day. We tend to designate foods to a singular macronutrient group. Normally in the nutrient group that the food is the richest. But, most foods have a combination of two or three macronutrients, and are a bit more complicated. All three groups are used throughout the body.
Carbs
There are LOTS of carbohydrate-heavy foods. Some better for you than others. They tend to be both sweet and savory, simple and complex, brown and white, processed and unprocessed/real and manufactured. Carbohydrate-heavy foods include all grains, vegetables and fruits, legumes including peas, beans, and lentils, cakes, cookies, breads, crackers, chips, pizza and candy. Honestly, many of our favorite foods.
Carbohydrates break down to simple sugars: glucose, fructose and galactose. They get used directly as energy, used in combination with other macro and micro nutrients as do-ers to make the body run smoothly. Carbs, in general terms, give us energy. Also, their vitamin/mineral and antioxidant qualities help fight off the bad guys.
Fats
As with carbohydrates, fats include many foods that are good for you — and many that are not. This grouping includes the healthful avocado, all nuts and seeds, and oils. It also includes a lot of processed cookies, cakes and other not healthy packaged foods and seed oils. Fats break down to the building block of fatty acids and are used heavily in the nervous system, brain, skeletal and cardiovascular systems. Fats contribute to our satisfaction after a nice meal.
Protein
The protein macronutrient includes both plant and animal options, including beef and bison, lamb, pork, chicken, eggs, lentils and beans, quinoa and small amounts in vegetables. Protein breaks down to the building block amino acids and assists the body with build and repair. Also, it keeps us nice and full.
Creating Your Personalized Roadmap
At Healthy Nest Nutrition, part of the early weight loss discussion is figuring out what your body needs from a macronutrient as well as caloric perspective. We look for meal balance and what helps you feel energized, full and satisfied by your meals and snacks such that your body uses your food AND stored fat for energy, chipping away at extra weight.
Red flags that you ARE NOT in balance:
- Tired all the time, before and after you eat, sleep disruption
- On the energy roller coaster (energized and tired through the day)
- Gaining weight, especially around the middle/muffin-top weight
- Skin issues
- Hormonal imbalance
- Brain foggy
- Not digesting well, feeling bloated by end of day
Gender Differences
In general, men seem to need more carbs and protein. Women, probably because we are hormonally more complicated, tend to need more fats and proteins, but this is a general statement. It really is a bio-individual puzzle.
Robin
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