Timing the Three Main Macronutrients

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There are 3 main macronutrients (macro just means “in large quantities”) that we must eat in order to function and survive and they are proteins, carbohydrates and fats.  A simplistic view of what these food groups do is as follows:  Carbohydrates and fats are energy and protein is for repair, recover and recuperating.  The reality is it’s not that simple and these food groups do way way more than just provide us energy or repair, but for our purposes, this simplistic view of them works for the time being.

When trying to plan your meals for the day, you need to include all three macronutrient groups but get the ratio right, according to your metabolic type.  (Protein Type, Carbohydrate Type or Mixed Type).

The other consideration you ought to take into account when planning your meals is to examine what times of the day do you need quick bursts of sustained energy and when would getting a drip feed of energy suit your needs?  For example, it makes perfect sense to ensure that you have a full tank of energy on board for when you’re about to undergo an intense exercise session.  DO NOT RELY on body fat stores to provide energy for workouts.  We simply train at too high an intensity to utilise body fat stores for energy during workouts.

With these considerations in mind lets set about plotting a daily intake of the 3 macro nutrient food groups.  Here’s a scenario:  This imaginary person is a female, in her 40’s, works behind a computer all day in a stressful office.  She is also a married mother of 3 active teenage kids and runs a busy household.

She’s your typical plumpy woman who’s devoted her last 15 years to husband, kids and job and now finds herself carrying an extra 20 kgs around the tummy, hips and thighs.

So, realising her predicament she makes a commitment to HERSELF and now trains 2-3 times per week after work.

Here’s what she normally eats:

Breakfast: Coffee

Morning tea: Coffee & a muffin (loads of sugar)

Lunch: Coffee & a sandwich

Afternoon tea: Coffee & a snickers bar

Dinner: Steak, mash potato, steamed veges

Evening snack: jelly & ice cream

It’s clear from this example that our imaginary person doesn’t eat enough, is struggling for energy during the day and as a result is constantly reaching for quick fix answers to her constant tired state.  Coffee is a stimulant and the muffin & chocolate bars were heavily laden in sugar to provide short bursts of energy to cope with the “there and then” of life.  The evening dessert was to satisfy her constant sugary cravings fuelled by her daily hits of sugar that placed her on the roller coaster of sugar high and lows.

Now, lets plan out the best macronutrient daily eating plan to not only fuel her for her hectic day, but to allow her to lose that 20 kgs of extra  body fat, whilst exercising and coping with her stressful life without placing her on the roller coaster of sugar highs and lows.

6.30am: Breakfast: Protein & Fat: A couple of slices of leftover meat from last night’s dinner & a small handful of nuts on the way out the door.

Arrive at work!

10.00am: Morning Tea: Protein & Carbs: ½ an apple & ½ a protein shake

12.30pm: Lunch: Protein & Carbs: Can of Tuna, some brown rice & a helping of steamed broccoli.

3.00pm: Afternoon Tea: (Pre workout) Protein & Carbs: The other ½ of the apple & the other ½ of the protein shake

5.00pm: After work, head to PT session

6.05pm: (Post Workout): Protein & Carbs: A banana & another protein shake

7.00pm: Dinner: Protein & Carbs: Grilled fish, steamed vegetables (no starchy veges till tomorrow)

8.45pm: Evening Snack: Protein & Fat: Protein shake & a handful of nuts.

10.30pm: Bed!!

Points to Consider:

The protein shake is only a suggestion.  Obviously the best source of protein in my opinion is any organically produced and free range farmed meat source but most people struggle to eat meat other than at dinner.

About 15 mins before every main meal drink a couple of glasses of water.  This will activate the gastric juices in the stomach and prepare your body for the impending arrival of food.  It will also settle any hunger messages being sent to the brain by the small intestines (where most of the absorption of the nutrients from your food takes place) and will hopefully kill off any cravings.

Avoid if possible eating carbohydrates (especially the starchy energy dense ones) and fat together.  Two energy sources eaten at the same time simply means one will be used, the other stored.

There you have it, a great little guide to getting the macro nutrients mix right.