Nutrition vs Exercise and Why Diet Matters

When you start a fitness or exercise programme, it helps to understand the role nutrition plays in achieving your goals.

Without considering your body’s nutritional needs, your exercise regime may not be as effective as it could be. If your goal is to gain muscle, you will have different nutritional needs than someone who is aiming to lose weight. A good starting point is to understand what macronutrients are, and the role they play in fuelling your body.

You may have heard people talking about ‘macros’ as they are often a major focus for bodybuilders and athletes. Macros, or macronutrients, are the categories of nutrients that provide your body with energy: carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. When someone says they are counting their macros, they mean that they are keeping track of how many grams of carbohydrates, fats, and protein they are consuming.

Carbohydrates are a source of energy for our brain and our muscles. Many carbohydrates are also high in dietary fibre, which keeps our digestive system healthy. Complex carbohydrates are digested slowly by our bodies, meaning we feel full for longer and are less likely to crave snacks between meals.

Fats help our body absorb certain vitamins, keep our hair and skin healthy, insulate the body and protect our internal organs. When we consume too much fat in our diet, the excess is stored in fat cells. During exercise, our body will initially use calories from carbohydrates for energy. After about 20 minutes our body will start burning up calories from stored fat instead.

Proteins are the main building blocks of our cells, tissues and organs, and dietary protein is important as it aids and promotes the growth and repair of muscles. Proteins contain amino acids which increase the strength and improve the elasticity of our muscles. It is important to understand that you cannot build muscle through exercise without adequate protein intake.

Australian dietary guidelines recommend that a healthy diet should contain 45% to 55% carbohydrates, 20% to 35% fats and 15% to 20% proteins. Many popular diets are prescriptive when it comes to the ratios of macronutrients you should be eating, and these ratios will depend on what you are trying to achieve. If you are trying to lose weight, you might adjust your macro ratios to around 10% to 30% carbohydrates, 30% to 40% fats and 30% to 40% protein.

Keto and Carnivore diets have become particularly prevalent in the last few years, and both are reliant on maintaining specific macro ratios. Keto enthusiasts will generally stick to around 80% carbohydrates, 15% protein and less than 5% fat, while proponents of the carnivore diet recommend around 60% fat and up to 40% protein from meat, with close to zero carbohydrates.

If your diet contains good quality, fresh food your body will have adequate fuel to complete regular workouts. You do not have to embark on an extreme eating plan to achieve your fitness objectives. However, if you are considering changing your diet drastically, please speak with a qualified dietician or nutritionist first to obtain personalised advice.

Now that you have a basic understanding of your body’s nutritional requirements, you’re ready to get in touch with your local BeFit Hire agent for expert advice on which type of equipment will help you achieve your fitness objectives.

With free delivery to most of metro Adelaide and Melbourne for most hire periods, we’re confident that once you try home fitness hire, you’ll be ready to ditch the gym membership for good!

Remember, you can rest easy knowing your BeFit agent has tested, cleaned and disinfected your hire equipment prior to delivery. Contactless delivery is also available if you are in voluntary or medically directed self-isolation.

BeFit Hire offers safety and convenience, with a comprehensive range of home fitness equipment available including treadmills, manual and programmable cross-trainers, upright and recumbent exercise bikes, rowing machines.

BeFit Hire has been operating for more than 50 years and as a family business we offer only the highest standard of service to every customer. Get in touch with us today – click here…