If you've been working out for a while and haven't been getting the results you expect, poor nutrition may be to blame. Exercise stresses your muscles, depleting them of nutrients -- granted, it's a good stress, without which growth and strength gains would not occur. But unless you feed your muscles the fuel they need to repair and replenish, your exercise routine may do little more than deplete your energy.
Calories
Your resting metabolic rate is the number of calories your body needs every day just to stay alive, without accounting for the calories you burn during your workout. To find your RMR, divide your weight in pounds by 2.2 to find your weight in kilograms, and multiply your height in inches by 2.54 to find your height in centimeters. Multiply your weight in kilograms by 10, add it to your height in centimeters multiplied by 6.25, and subtract your age in years multiplied by five. Add five if you are a man, or subtract 161 if you are a woman. Eating fewer calories than the resulting number means that you are not fueling your body. Add the number of calories you burn during exercise to find the calorie allowance that will maintain your weight, and add an additional 200 calories if you are trying to build muscle.
Macronutrients
Protein is important for the muscles because it assists in muscle repair after a workout, and provides the building blocks for muscle growth. Contrary to popular belief, you don't need massive amount of protein to build muscle -- the American Dietetic Association recommends 1.4g to 1.8g per kilogram of body weight per day, which works out to be about 15 to 20 percent of your total calories. Carbohydrates fuel your muscles during workouts, but excess can be stored as fat. Get about half of your calories from carbs, focusing on high-fiber varieties like fruit, vegetables and whole grains. The remaining 20 to 35 percent of your calories should come from healthy fats like nuts, fatty fish and olive oil, but limit your intake of saturated fat to no more than 10 percent of your total.
Timing
When you is eat is just as important as what you eat. As long as you stay within your calorie allowance, eating five or six smaller meals instead of three large meals keeps your metabolism active and provides a steady stream of nutrients to your muscles. Your post-workout meal is also important, because your muscles are more receptive to receiving and processing the protein and carbs they need, having been recently depleted. Have a low-fat, high-protein, high-carb meal or snack within an hour after your workout to take advantage of this window. Fat can slow the digestion and absorption of these nutrients, so keep your post-workout meal as low-fat as possible.
Supplements
Nutritional supplements generally aren't necessary unless you have malabsoprtion or some type of deficiency, which would be diagnosed by your doctor. The exception is protein. The nutrition you need can be gotten completely from whole foods, including protein, but many people have a difficult time eating the amount of protein the body requires while staying within fat and calorie limits. In these instances, a low-fat protein shake can come in handy because they deliver high amounts of protein in a concentrated form. These shakes can also be useful for the post-workout meal because being liquid, they digest more quickly than solid food and can help you keep from feeling depleted. If you prefer whole food, a small sandwich with low-sodium meat, whole-grain bread and vegetables contains the right balance of nutrients for this critical period, or you can make a homemade shake with soy milk or low-fat yogurt and fruit.
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