Let’s face it‐ eating healthy is
hard. It’s not hard because it’s impossible, but rather because it
can be so confusing. There are
continually new studies coming out say a certain food is good,
and a week later a new study says
it’s not. Fad, celebrity‐endorsed diets come and go faster
than we can keep track of. So
where can you turn when you’re looking for solid, reliable
nutritional advice?
What makes recommendations so
difficult is that there are a plethora of variances from person
to person. Even if you are the
same age, gender and weight as someone else, your calorie
expenditure may be much different
based off of lifestyle choices, level of activity, etc. Because
of that, recommendations must be
taken with a grain of salt. The
Institute for Medicine
recommends a breakdown of
carbohydrates, fats and proteins into percentage ranges (for
adults):
Carbs
45‐65% of calories
Fats‐ 20‐35% of calories
Proteins‐ 10‐35% of calories
As you can see, even these ranges
are quite broad. When you start talking about children, the
confusion just increases. For
every change in age group, activity level and/or gender, you’re
looking at an entirely different
recommended daily caloric intake. Because of these fluctuations,
one of the best things you can do
is to figure out your total caloric expenditure each day and eat
around that number.
Your basal metabolic rate, or BMR,
is a measure of the calories you require on a regular day‐today
basis for basic life functions.
This calculation assumes no physical activity is being performed
and therefore minimal energy is
being expended. To calculate BMR, there are a ton of online
calculators you can use, like this
one here.
If
you figure out your approximate BMR and factor in
physical activity, you can get a
general idea of your daily caloric expenditure. Once you know
this number, you can use the
percentage ranges listed above to tailor your diet.
It’s important to keep in mind
that just like with exercise, change is a good thing when it comes
to diet as well. If you find
yourself starting at a macro-nutrient split of 45% carbs, 35% fats and
20% protein, you can later switch
it up to 55% carbs, 30% fats and 15% protein, as an example.
You will find through trial and
error what your body responds best to. There are numerous
online and phone app programs that
serve as macro-nutrient trackers. You could start by
tracking your normal intake for a
week and seeing where your macro-nutrient ranges fall.
What it all boils down to is finding
a balance that works best for you. You may find that your
answer isn’t even close to what
government‐recommendations say, and that’s okay. Whether
your goal is to lose, gain or
maintain, find a system that makes sense.
