2. MAKING WELL-INFORMED FOOD CHOICES
What is Nutrition and Nutrient?
Nutrition: is the science of food, beverages, and their components or it is the science that deals with
foods and their effects on health.
Nutrient: a substance that provides nourishment or ingredient of food.
• It is a substance in food that is necessary to provide energy or to help the body grow, e.g. protein,
fat or vitamin
• It can be further classified based on the amount needed in the body.
A. Macronutrients are the nutrients the body needs in larger amounts or a substance that an
organism needs in large amounts for normal growth and development.
B. Micronutrients are also important nutrients, but ones the body needs in smaller amounts or it
is a substance that an organism needs for normal growth and development, but only in very small
quantities, e.g. a vitamin or mineral.
3. 3.1.1 Macronutrients
• 1. Carbohydrates: means "hydrated carbon," or
“carbon with water”.
• It can be made up from carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.
• Sucrose (table sugar) is an example of a commonly
consumed carbohydrate.
• Some dietary examples of carbohydrates are whole-
wheat bread, oatmeal, rice, sugary snacks/drinks, and
pasta.
Cont..
4. 2. Proteins: are comprised of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, but
they also contain nitrogen.
• Several dietary sources of proteins include nuts,
beans/legumes, egg whites and meat.
3. Lipids: consist of fatty acids, triglycerides, phospholipids, and
cholesterol.
• It composed from carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.
• Some dietary sources of lipids include oils, butter, and egg
yolks.
4. Water: is made up of hydrogen and oxygen and is the only
macronutrient that provides no energy.
Cont…
5. 3.1.2 Micronutrients
1. Vitamins: are essential compounds for normal physiologic processes in
the body.
Are not synthesized in the body but are found in most foods, essential for
good health
2. Minerals: are elements that are essential for normal physiologic
processes in the body.
It occurs naturally and is an essential part of the human diet.
Cont..
6. Nutrients Energy(kcal/G)
Carbohydrate 4
Protein 4
Lipids 9
Water 0
Vitamins 0
Minerals 0
Amount of calories obtained from nutrients
Food energy is measured in kilocalories (kcals).
A kilocalorie is the amount of energy needed to raise 1 kilogram of water 1
degree Celsius.
The number of kilocalories per gram for each nutrient is shown below:
3.1.3 Calories (Food Energy)
7. It is possible to estimate the number of calories you
need daily from your body weight (BW) and your level
of daily physical activity:
Step 1: Estimate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
• As a rule, BMR uses 22 calories for every kg of a
woman’s body weight and 24 calories per kg of a man’s
body weight.
Women: BMR = weight in kg x 22
Men: BMR = weight in kg x 24
cont…
8. Step 2: Work out your Physical Activity Level (PAL)
This is the ratio of your overall daily energy expenditure to your
BMR; a rough measure of your lifestyle activity.
• Mostly inactive or sedentary (mainly sitting): 1.2
• Fairly active (include walking and exercise 1–2 x week): 1.3
• Moderately active (exercise 2–3 x weekly): 1.4
• Active (exercise hard more than 3 x weekly): 1.5
• Very active (exercise hard daily): 1.7
Cont…
9. Step 3: Multiply your BMR by your PAL to work out your Daily Calorie Needs
• Daily calorie needs = BMR x PAL
• Your BMR is the number of calories you burn at rest (to keep your heart
beating, your lungs breathing, to maintain your body temperature, etc).
• It accounts for 60–75% of the calories you burn daily.
• Physical activity includes all activities from doing the housework to
walking and working out in the gym.
• The number of calories you burn in any activity depends on your weight,
the type of activity and the duration of that activity.
Cont…
10. Nutrition and Physical Performance
There is universal scientific agreement that diet affects
performance
A well-planned eating strategy will help you:
To support any training program, whether you are training for
fitness or for competition;
To promote efficient recovery between workouts;
To reduce the risk of illness or overtraining, and
To help you to achieve your best performance.
Cont.
11. 3.2.1 Nutrition Before Training Exercise
• Get your pre-exercise nutrition right and you’ll have plenty of energy to train hard
and perform at your best.
• Eating the right amount and type of carbohydrate as well as timing your pre-
exercise meal correctly will help avoid common problems such as fatigue, dizziness
and fainting etc.
Why eat before training?
• To stabilize your blood sugar levels during exercise.
• It staves off hunger and the risk of problems i.e. low blood sugar levels
• For most regular exercisers, a daily diet providing carbohydrates of around 280–
350 g for a 70 kg person.
Cont…
12. Should you train on empty?
• It is definitely not advisable to train on an empty stomach, especially if
you want to improve strength, endurance or performance.
How much to eat before training
• The exact amount you should eat depends on your body weight and
how hard and long you plan to exercise.
• If you plan to workout for less than 2 hours, aim to eat around 1 g
carbohydrate per kg of body weight.
• For longer workouts or endurance events eat around 2 g carbohydrate
per kg of body weight.
Cont…
13. Why drink before training?
• It is important to ensure that you are properly
hydrated before training to minimize the risk of
dehydration during exercise.
Cont…
14. How much to drink before training?
• The American College of Sports Medicine Drink
recommends drinking 2–4 glasses of water (400–600
ml) during the 2–3 hours before you workout.
• Don’t drink it all in one go – divide into several
smaller amounts and sip at regular intervals.
Cont…
15. Nutrition During Exercise
Everyone exercising for longer than 30 minutes will certainly benefit from
drinking something during exercise.
The following are general recommendations of nutrition during
exercise:
1. During intense exercise lasting >45 min a carbohydrate drink should be
ingested. This may improve performance by reducing/delaying fatigue.
2. Consume 60 g of carbohydrate per hour of exercise.
3. During exercise of < 45 min duration there appears to be little need to
consume carbohydrate.
Cont…
16. • The quicker you can begin refueling after exercise, the quicker your body will recover.
• Any workout depletes your stores of glycogen – the readily available fuel stored in
your muscles.
• Aim is to rebuild these fuel stores and repair damaged muscle fibers as soon as
possible.
How much to drink?
• Start drinking before you even get showered.
• Try to drink around 500 ml over the first 30 minutes, then keep sipping until you are
passing clear urine.
Nutrition after Exercise
17. What to drink?
• If you have exercised for less than an hour, plain water is a
good choice followed by a carbohydrate-rich snack within 2
hours.
• For longer or particularly intense workouts, a drink
containing carbohydrate (sugar may further speed your
recovery.
• Try fruit juice diluted with an equal volume of water.
Cont…
18. When to eat or drink?
• Whether you are hungry or not, the quicker you consume food
or drink after a workout, the quicker your body will recover.
• Carbohydrate is converted into glycogen one and a half times
faster than normal during this post-exercise period.
• If you work out daily, so have a carbohydrate-rich drink or
snack as soon as possible after your workout – ideally within
30 minutes and no later than 2 hours.
Cont…
19. • Use the Fitness Food Pyramid to adevise your daily menu
or to check your current eating plan.
• The foods in the lower layers of the pyramid should form
the main part of your diet while those at the top should be
eaten in smaller quantities.
• Include foods from each group in the pyramid each day.
• Make sure you include a variety of foods within each
group.
How to Plan your Training Diet
