Portions are out of control and it's killing us

This article is written by Rob Maxwell, M.A. Exercise Physiology, CSCS and ACSM CPT from www.fittothemax.net. Follow him on Twitter.

Out of (portion) control

Where have we gone wrong?

It is not so hard to figure out.

Our obesity rates have skyrocketed in the United States and the rest of the world. I hate to say it being an American, but we own the prize. The United States has the highest obesity rate in the world.

We take home the gold, but I am not sure it is an award that we want to win. Over 70% of the American population is either obese or overweight according to BMI numbers.

A BMI of over 30 is considered obese and a BMI of over 25 is considered overweight. BMI or body mass index is not a perfect evaluation of body composition, but it gives us a good estimate. 

There is a significant difference between being overweight and being obese.

Regarding health, being obese is far more problematic than being overweight. The obesity trend is what needs to decline. How do we reduce obesity?

Before we figure out how, we need to look at how it got this far.

Obesity is a big problem.

What happened?

Portions have grown exponentially.

We have gotten out of control as a nation with our portion sizes of food.

When you go to a fast-food restaurant or sit-down restaurant, the portions have increased drastically compared to decades prior.

Restaurants are businesses. We can’t blame them. We must take responsibility for the foods we eat and how much we eat.

We first take responsibility by learning the calorie content of the foods we eat. Secondly, we take responsibility by deciding how much of it to eat.

Later I will give examples of how much the portions have changed.

We eat more at every meal.

Food basics

The only way to lose weight is to burn more calories than what you eat.

You must put fewer calories in your mouth than what you use - period. It’s plain and simple.

I understand that it’s not easy.

It’s a simple concept, but I know that it’s very hard to learn how to eat moderately.

I’ve worked with people for over 25 years in the personal training industry and I know that diet is the hardest part for some people.

It takes a calorie deficit of 3500 calories to lose one pound.

This comes from eating less or moving more - or a combination of both (which is preferred).

If you create a deficit of 500 calories per day you will lose one pound per week. If you create a deficit of 1000 calories per day you will lose 2 pounds per week.

Knowing this is easier than doing this, but understanding this helps you get started.

Eat less. Burn more.

Macro nutrients

Another nutritional basic that we should understand is macro nutrients.

The type of food that you put in your mouth makes a big difference.

What are the 4 macro nutrients?

1. Carbohydrates

2. Proteins

3. Fats

4. Water

Caloric content of the macro nutrients

1. Carbohydrates have four calories per gram

2. Protein has four calories per gram

3. Fat has nine calories per gram 

4. Water has zero calories per gram

Our diet should be 45-65% carbohydrates, 15-35% fat, and 10-20% protein.

The ranges depend on your activity levels and type of activity. If you are active you will need more carbohydrates.

Protein is the most over-eaten macro nutrient in the American diet.

The myth is that we need more when we are active. What we need is more carbs.

We eat too much protein.

Back to what caused widespread obesity

How did we become so obese?

Food sizes have gone up exponentially.

In the 1960’s a basic McDonald’s meal was a hamburger or cheeseburger, French fries and a milk shake. They only had nine items total on the menu.

A hamburger at McDonald’s in the 1960’s had 250 calories and a cheeseburger had 350 calories.

Today a Big Mac, which is the more commonly sold item, has 563 calories.

French fries in the 1960’s at McDonald’s had 350 calories. A large fry now has 610 calories. A total meal at McDonald's in the 1960’s was 590 calories. The soda sizes were 12 ounces and 150 calories. Today they are 32 ounces and 370 calories.

If you order a total meal now at McDonald’s here is the calorie content: 1543 calories compared to 590 calories in the 1960’s.

That is a simple increase in size my friends. What happened? It’s clear.

I am not picking on McDonald’s. They are clear and open about their calorie contents.

All restaurants and convenience stores have increased their serving sizes. They are simply responding to consumer demand.

At Burger King a Whopper has 677 calories. The Baconator from Wendy’s has a whopping 970 calories.

There are now places like WAWA and 7-11 where people can go in and get fast food whenever they want. In the 1960’s this “convenience” was not there.

We've gone too far.

There are a lot of calories in coffee products

Now, let’s look at coffee.

If you went to McDonald’s in the 1960’s, your coffee would cost you five calories.

Good luck ordering mocha Frappuccino in the 1960’s! They did not exist.

Now if you get a latte at a Starbucks or similar place it will cost you 160 calories or 360 calories if you order mocha!

What happened to just a coffee?

Back to the Frappuccino; it has 520 calories.

These places wouldn’t make these super high calorie drinks if Americans weren’t demanding them.

We eat too many calories at ball parks

Next on the list are ball parks. We used to go to games and watch games!

In the past a hot dog was 150 calories and a soda was 150 calories. You won’t climb up the BMI scale too much with that home run.

Now you can get it all.

A common food item at the ballgame is cheese fries with 629 calories.

You can order a corn dog with 460 calories and a basic hot dog has now grown to 290 calories - almost doubling.

Why is that? American’s want more beef (or whatever it is).

You can’t fault the companies. They wouldn’t serve it if Americans didn't buy it.

Over eating has become too easy

It could be argued that people could have eaten more in the 1960’s and obesity rates would have been just as high. This is true.

It’s not like humans have simply learned how to eat more than we used to.

It’s simply that it’s easier to eat more than it used to be.

Again, I’m not making any excuses. The sizes have gotten bigger and we’re gobbling them up.

Decades ago, if you wanted to consume those kinds of calories in a brief period you would have had to work for them.

You would have had to make extra food in your own kitchen or doubled up on serving sizes. This would have cost you money.

The fact is that it’s quite easy to consume way more calories than you need.

We move less than we used to

This isn’t the only reason that obesity rates have skyrocketed.

I mentioned that energy in must be less than energy out to lose weight.

The energy out part is activity.

We don’t move like we used to.

We don’t have physical education in schools like we used to. Kids aren’t moving outside like they used to. So many devices do simple things for us that we used to do. Adults have far more sedentary jobs than they used to.

Our portions are out of control and we don’t move like we used to.

The obesity crisis has been explained.

Technology does the work for you.

What do we do about obesity now?

I believe that the first step to any change is awareness.

I believe that if most people knew how many calories are in these high calorie convenience foods, they wouldn’t choose them.

The restaurants are giving calorie numbers now. It’s not like they’re hiding them.

We need to be aware that these high calorie numbers are making us gain weight and that we don’t need them. 

Another thing that people really need to understand is that it’s not about carbs, proteins, and fats.

Quit going on the internet and finding the next fad diet. The enemy is too many calories - period.

If you always choose the lowest calorie food with the highest nutrients you will stop battling the bulge as much as you do.

For example, broccoli is a very nutrient dense food because it’s low in calories and high in micro nutrients (vitamins and minerals). A Big Mac is the opposite. It’s extremely high in calories and extremely low in most nutrients.

Be mindful. Places serve fast foods are aware that you choose them because you are in a hurry. Slow down.

Do you really need that big drink when you're simply fueling up for gas? Do you have to stop at the 7-11 and grab food out of a bag?

The other thing that’s quite different from decades ago is that families don't sit down and eat together anymore. It’s fast food - food on the run.

Why do you have to eat like that? I always tell my clients to delay the gratification. The food ads at these places pop up on purpose.

People get paid big bucks in the marketing department to get you to buy food on impulse. Marketers know that humans are very impulsive.

We see that tasty drink sign and order it when we are not even in need. Say no.

Delayed gratification doesn’t mean forever. It means for now. Just wait unit your next meal. Eat then. You won’t miss it.

Just wait.

Summary

See your eating habits like a budget.

We have gained weight over the decades worldwide because we consume far more food than we used to. We consume much more that what we need.

The places that sell food have made it easier for us to eat more. We can’t blame them. They sell food to make money.

We need to be aware of what is best for us.

We can all be better. In this case, better means smaller food choices.

Fast food restaurants will most likely not change any time soon. Convenience stores are not going to stop selling Big Gulps.

We need to understand just how costly these choices are. Our best defense is to understand what the real problems are.

Examine your choices.

This article is written by Rob Maxwell, M.A. Exercise Physiology, CSCS and ACSM CPT from www.fittothemax.net. Follow him on Twitter.

Build Your Own Bulking Diet

This diet will assist with maximal muscle gain in the shortest amount of time. Appropriate exercise is also needed, of course!

Muscles need calories to grow. Without extra calories from food, muscles don't have the nutrients they need to get bigger. Too many calories, on the other hand, add fat to the body. This is why bodybuilders often diet in a bulking-cutting cycle, generally centered on their competition seasons. The bodybuilding season depends on which federation you compete in. To see which federations have their competitions in which times on South Africa, click here. The bulking stage allows people to eat all the calories they need without worrying about possibly overdoing it, rather adding fat mass to the body instead of eating too little which will hamper muscle growth. For people who don't compete, they often bulk in winter (when everyone is so fully dressed that their extra fat is often hidden) and cut in the spring (to get summer-ready, when their physiques are generally more exposed like during holiday, at the pool or with summer clothing).

What NOT to do on a bulk:

• Eat whatever you want

Some people think that being on a bulk means that you can eat whatever you want. This is not true. The point of a bulk is to eat foods that will lead to optimal muscle gain, and just eating whatever you feel like is not the most optimal. You will need to measure your calorie intake, balance your macro nutrients (protein, carbs and fats) right and eat at the best times when the muscles need specific nutrients the most. The difference between eating according to a good plan and eating whatever you want could be a significant amount of muscle.

What TO do on a bulk:

• Choose the best quality foods

If you can afford it, eat as much organic, free range, unprocessed and natural food as possible. For example, apples are rated on of the most toxin-contaminated foods. Some of the toxins sprayed onto apple trees seep into core of the fruit itself, which is poisonous. To explain the damage that these poisons can cause, significant amounts of farm workers who pick these fruits from the trees get sick from it. In some cases, over half of all the illness they experience is because of exposure to these toxins. Will this make a difference in your body's ability to grow muscle INSTEAD of fighting off these toxins? Definitely!

• Weigh your food

Weighing your food allows you to make sure that you are eating the right amounts of calories and the right balance of macro nutrients for optimum muscle growth.

• Eat often

Eat often so that your body always has the nutrients it needs to stay in an anabolic state (the state in which the body is building muscle). When the body is deprived of the nutrients it needs, it often goes into a catabolic state (the state in which it will break down muscle for nutrients). You do this by making sure that you have the right nutrients at the right time. For example, having enough carbohydrates along with proteins before and after training sessions for recovery and growth (muscles require carbs to fill their glycogen stores. This glycogen is the muscle's primary source of energy for anaerobic exercise) and having protein just before bed (so that your muscles can keep building while you are sleeping, where most muscle growth takes place. It is important to have use-able protein in your system at this time because your body cannot store protein. The muscles are used as a store of protein, which you DON'T want your body to tuck into. When your body takes protein from muscle, it breaks the muscle down in order to use its protein). Eating often also raises your metabolism, so that your body becomes more efficient at burning fat for energy. Try to eat every two to three hours. 

Macro Nutrients

Here is more information about the different types of macro nutrients that you should eat per day. Aim for a balance of around 50% carbs, 30% protein and 20% fat. This is based on the nutritional value of the food, not the food itself. For example, egg whites contain 11 grams of protein per 100 grams of egg whites. Eating 200 grams of egg whites is equal to consuming 22 grams of protein. 

Carbohydrates

Aim for around 3-3.5 grams of carbs per kilogram of body weight, or around 1.5 grams of carbs per pound of weight. Most carbs should be in the form of complex, low-GI and fibrous carbs. These carbs take longer to break down in the body, which means it won't spike your blood sugar levels and burn out quickly. Fast-acting, quick carbs are however the best around your workout (just before, during and straight afterwards), because they are converted to energy so quickly. By taking fast carbs just before or during your workout, you have the energy needed to physically perform your workout and glycogen stores can be maintained. By taking fast carbs after your workout, you take your body out of its 'stress' mode and put it into 'rebuild' mode faster, leading to better recovery. Complex carbs should be used during the rest of the day though, as they provide slow-release energy that your body can steadily use for constant muscle growth and other daily needs.

Sources of Complex Carbs

• green vegetables
• oats
• whole wheat pasta
• whole-grains
• potatoes (and sweet potatoes)
• pumpkin
• beans, peas, legumes, lentils

Sources of Simple Carbs

• fruit
• cereals
• pasta
• white bread
• berries
• fruit juice
• chocolate
• honey
• yogurt
• jelly

Proteins

Aim for around 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, or around 1 gram of protein per pound for international readers. Protein is needed almost all the time. Faster digesting protein is great for breakfast because your body has gone eight hours without it and as a pre-workout meal and as a post-workout meal because your body will need protein as soon as possible to recover and start building muscle as a response to exercise. Slow-digesting protein is best used before bed so that while you sleep, your body has a constant flow of protein to build muscle. Throughout the rest of the day, you can vary the types of protein you take. Whey protein is fast digesting and casein protein is slow digesting (these are protein supplements that you can buy, mostly as protein shakes). 

Other sources of protein

• diary
• eggs
• fish
• meat
• seafood
• beans
• soy

Fats

Fat is an important part of your bulk diet that is often neglected. They aid anabolic (muscle building) hormone production and use, improve insulin activity, are more calorie dense than carbs (carbs and proteins offer 4 calories per gram, but fats offer 9 calories per gram) and are a very rich source of energy. Aim for around 1.4 grams of fat per kilogram, or 0.7 grams of fat per pound, of body weight. Be sure to get these fats from healthy food choices, like the ones listed below.

Sources of fats

• avocados
• nuts
• peanut butter
• seeds
• fatty fish (like salmon, tuna, trout and sardines)
• diary

Please note that as I'm sure you've seen above, most foods have more than one macro nutrient. Diary products are an example. If milk has 1 gram of fat and 3.4 grams of protein per 100 grams, then drinking 200 grams of milk gives you 2 grams of fat and 6.4 grams of protein towards your daily goal. 

Micro Nutrients

Micro nutrients are nutrients which are not needed or used as much as the three macro nutrients needed above but are also very important. These include minerals, fatty acids, vitamins, phytonutrients and trace elements. For example, you can read about the importance of minerals here. In order to get these micro nutrients eat fruit, vegetables, greens, and varied food sources to make up your diet plan. If you feel like you are not getting enough of these micro nutrients, you can take a good multi vitamin as well. 

Total calories per day

An easy way to calculate the total amount of calories you should be eating per day is your body weight in kilograms x 36. For example, a person that weighs 80 kilograms should eat around 2 880 calories a day. 

Firstly, this is not set in stone, as some people will bulk up easier than others. Hard gainers (people who struggle to gain muscle) should eat above this whilst easy gainers (people who put on weight easily) should eat just below this on a bulk.

Secondly, it is easy to work out how to split your macro nutrients after calculating your total calorie goal. For example if a person weighs 80 kg and wants to go on a bulking diet, they can start by consuming 2 880 calories per day. If they are bulking nicely after a few weeks, they stay with this calculation until the end of their bulk. If they aren't bulking enough they increase their calorie intake and if they are bulking too much they decrease the total calories consumed per day. If they are happy with the 2 880 total, they can split that into carbs, proteins and fats. Proteins and carbs contain 4 calories per gram and fats contain 9 calories per gram. 

For their carbohydrate goal: 50% of 2 880 calories = 1 440 calories. 1 440 divided by 4 = 360 grams of carbs per day

For their protein goal: 30% of 2 880 = 864. 864 divided by 4 = 216 grams of protein per day

For their fat consumption goal: 20% of 2 880 = 576 divided by 9 = 64 grams of fat per day.

Therefore the average person who weighs 80 kilograms will aim to consume 360 grams of carbs, 216 grams of protein and 64 grams of fat per day to bulk.

Final tips

• Vary your choices of foods

Vary the foods you take that make up your macro nutrients and calories to get nutrients from a variety of sources. Protein from different sources, for example, will assist in giving a complete scope of nutrition and will assist in maximum health. Some forms of protein can be higher in Omega 3 fatty acids, while others can be higher in calcium (two very essential micro nutrients).

• The bulking diet is not suitable for people who don't exercise

 This diet plan is made to ensure that muscle has all the nutrients it needs to grow to its potential. Eating a diet like this without exercise can have a negative impact on kidneys (too much protein which is not used), body composition (too much calories that are not being burned) and so on.

• This is a guide, not set in stone

The reason why I say this is because everybody is different. For example, people with fast metabolisms struggle to put on weight and are naturally skinny. They should eat even more calories to keep up with all the burnt calories that their bodies keep churning out. On the other hand, people with slower metabolisms would slightly reduce the carbohydrate, fat and therefore calorie intake in total as their bodies will turn more of this into body fat without using it for muscle growth. People who are more inclined to build muscle easily can reduce all these macro nutrient quantities because their bodies grow muscle more efficiently.

Remember to start with this guide and tweak it until you find the perfect fit for you. Record your results to keep accurate and keep it for your next bulk. Stay Strong!

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