The nutrition pyramid is a structure that categorises various aspects of our diet by their level of importance and the amount of influence that they have on our health and fitness goals. The pyramid consists of five different notions: meal timing/ frequency, calories, supplements, macronutrients and micronutrients. The internet can provide a vast amount of useful information, however it can also leak misleading information that not only wastes time but stagnates progress when it comes to reaching your goals. By looking at each of the aspects in finer detail, we want to give you a better insight into what matters most when it comes to your nutrition.
Calories
'Calories' are the unit of measurement that we use to quantify energy input and energy output. The amount of calories we consume depends on the nutritional choices we make each and every day and ultimately it comes down to the nutritional quality and amount of what we put in our mouths. The amount of energy that our bodies uses throughout the day comes down to how much we move our body; exercising groups of muscles and raising the heart rate demands more and more energy from stores in our muscles. If an individual is in a 'calorie surplus' then they are consuming more calories than their body is using throughout the day. People who tend to be in a surplus live a sedentary lifestyle, often working in an office job and enjoy eating calorie rich foods like biscuits and bread. On the other hand, an individual who remains in a 'calorie deficit' is somebody who uses more calories throughout the day than they consume in their diet. They tend to be more active during large periods of the day, through NEAT or exercise, and they predominately eat calorie-dense food like vegetables and lean meats.
The number of overall calories that an individual uses, taking into consideration their intake and output, is the most important factor to achieving our fitness goals due to it's direct impact on weight gain and weight loss. When in a 'calorie deficit', the bodies stores are emptied as much as possible and therefore the muscles that are used resort to collecting energy from other stores such as fat. Over time this slowly impacts on the body and leads to an individual's weight to decrease. A 'calorie surplus' however, leaves excess energy to be left over in the body which is then passed around the body. Consequently, sugars in the blood can lead to fat gain or can be passed into our muscles as glycogen and contribute to muscle gain. It's because of their primary influence on weight gain and weight loss that calories remain the most detrimental factor to achieving your fitness goals.
We have made a calorie calculator that provides you with an estimate number of calories to consume each day to suit the fitness goals you have set yourself.
Macronutrients
Macronutrients or 'macros' are terms that refer to the break down of substances in food that makes up our diet. The three main macros that are broken down in our body to provide us with energy are proteins, fats and carbohydrates. Each have separate functions that benefits the way that our body works and ensures we have sufficient energy to go about our daily routine.
Carbohydrates are the main energy source that we consume in our diet as it contains small units of sugar that our body is able to break down easily and pass around our body in the form of glycogen. Good sources of carbohydrates such as fruit, wholegrain rice and oats are detrimental to the way our body has enough energy each day to ensure that we have enough energy to complete even the simplest tasks. A slump in carbohydrates often leads individuals feeling slow and lethargic and resultantly has an impact on levels of performance.
Having a diet that is enriched in healthy fats is beneficial for the body's cognitive development and brain functions as well as keeping our organs healthy and protected. Like carbohydrates, healthy fats are high in calories and can be used efficiently as a good source of energy. Foods such as avocado, nuts, seeds and oils are all high in fats and can be substituted for carbohydrates to maintain energy levels throughout the day. Due to the common misconception of the term, many individuals who avoid consuming foods with fat in it can end up having a deficiency in vital vitamins and problems with organ functions.
You've probably heard of the term 'protein' before as it's benefits have become widely popular with food manufacturers over the past couple years, and for good measure! The proteins that are in our diet are massively helpful for our body as amino acids that are integral to the process of cell and tissue structure (e.g. muscle repair) as well as influencing hormone production. Whole foods tend to be very high in protein which includes meats such as beef and chicken, fish such as salmon and tuna and also plants such as spinach and kale. When an individual's diet lacks these kinds of foods and they aren't eating enough protein, then they can struggle building muscle or even more importantly they are at risk of weakening their immune system.
The various functions that macronutrients has on our body and the positive effects that a balanced diet can have on the way our body uses energy input to strengthen bodily functions makes it extremely important in our diet.
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