So it seems you want to improve your diet. Fantastic idea. Do you know what can be done with a healthy diet?
You can lose weight, gain weight or just maintain your weight as is. You can lower your cholesterol or your blood pressure or perhaps just keep those numbers in a healthy range. You can improve your immune system, your energy level, your athletic performance, your skin, your teeth, your bones and a whole lot more. You can greatly lower your risk of heart disease, diabetes and a variety of other health issues. You can help control, prevent, aid, or improve nearly every aspect of your health and your body.
Of course, you probably know this already. What you may not know is where to go from there. I mean, this all sounds great and everything, but uh, what do you do now? The decision to improve your overall diet and nutrition leads a lot of people to a lot of questions. For example:
* What should I eat?
* What shouldn’t I eat?
* How much should I eat?
* Which nutrients should I eat?
* What does each nutrient do?
* What foods contain these nutrients?
* How much of each am I supposed to consume each day?
* Is this guy ever going to stop with the example questions?
If you’ve ever asked any of those questions or think you may ask them in the future, you’re in luck. Below I have compiled all of the answers in one convenient location. It’s what I like to call The Beginner’s Guide To Diet, Nutrition & Healthy Eating.
I have broken it all down into 2 fairly simple parts; the learning and the doing. First up, the learning…
Part 1: The Basics Of Nutrition
Along with each will be a short description explaining what it is, what its role is in the human body, the recommendations for how much of it you should consume per day, and the most common foods that contain a significant amount of it. For the most part, this is pretty much all there is to the basics of nutrition. Check it out..
Chalories
A calorie is the unit of measurement for how much energy there is in a food or drink. We consume calories in the form of carbohydrates, protein and fat (and alcohol) which all contain a certain number of calories per gram (see right column). The calories are used by the body to do literally everything it needs to do (pump blood, walk, etc.). This is why very low calorie diets are dangerous and should be avoided.
Recommended amount per day
The number of calories you should consume per day is based on way too many factors for there to just be a general guideline for everyone. Your height/weight, your gender, your metabolism, your activity level and your goals (weight loss, weight gain, weight maintenance) all play a role. For this reason, your daily calorie intake has to be tailored specifically to you and your body.
It’s alright though, relax. Everything you need in order to figure how many calories you should consume per day can be found in the Guide To Calories & Weight Control.
Source
Calories per gram:
Carbs: 4 cals
Protein: 4 cals
Fat: 9 cals
Alcohol: 7 cals
