All of us love to have those cheat days. We have to make sure that other than “those days” we eat properly and fuel our body correctly. Everyone’s body is different but there are a few similarities. Just to clarify, you don’t have to stick to these exact numbers, these are all just a guideline.
- On a normal day you should eat at least 7 servings of fruit and vegetables but the more the merrier you should aim for 10!
- You should also aim to have at least 2 liters of water every single day. A glass of water in the morning is a great way to start your day.
Check out how much calories you should be having daily here!
Now we will have a look at our essential caloric macronutrients!
Carbohydrates
Our bodies main source of energy, so getting the correct amount of carbohydrates is very important. Having around 45%-60% of your calorie intake as carbs is a good idea. On activity days such as, races, events or even training, it is a good idea to eat a sufficient amount of carbohydrates this will help your body work harder for longer as it has the correct fuel and a good amount of it. Although carbs are great, you have to make sure you don’t over eat them, this can lead to an unbalanced diet. Keep reading to find out about our other macronutrients.
Proteins
Are made up of amino acids, we can get protein from foods such as- lean meat, eggs, fish, yogurt, cheese, seeds etc. HBV proteins are foods that contain all of the essential amino acids. Foods that have a HBV are mainly animal based foods, although soya is a HBV food. Soya is the only plant based food that contains all of our essential amino acids.
There are three types of proteins
- Essential, which are the proteins that we need to get from out diet as our body cannot produce them.
- Non-essential, proteins out body can produce on its own.
- Conditionally essential, meaning we only need them some times.
The intake of protein can vary from person to person but a rule we have is “do not have more then 2g per kilogram per day.” What this means is that if you weigh 80kg you should not have more then 160g of protein per day.
Fats
They are also a macronutrient meaning we need a large supply but we need to understand how much we need and the types we should have. First of all fats are divided into saturated and unsaturated, unsaturated fats are further divided down into monounsaturated and polyunsaturated.
Omega 3 is a type of fat that can be found in oily fish. You should aim for 2 servings of oily fish per week. Types of oily fish include: salmon, mackerel, trout, pilchards and sardines. Although fish is a good source of food with a HBV and is low in unsaturated fat, there are some health risks. Fish contains methylmercury which is bad for our health, however small amounts of methylmercury is safe for our health. High mercury fish include: shark, swordfish, marlin etc.
A rule of thumb is, the larger the fish, the more mercury it has in its system. This is because the larger fish eat smaller fish therefore taking in the small fishes mercury as well as its own.
A rough figure is to have fats as 20%-30% of your total calorie intake. This is a good figure to have a balanced diet and fuel your body is the best way possible. Although this can vary from person to person.
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