Feed The Machine

Knowing what you eat and when to eat it can make all the difference in your physique goals. Here, we break it down for you.

- Steve Downs

You’ve undoubtedly heard the old adage that your body is similar to your car when it comes to fuel and performance: If you fill up a Maserati with low-grade gas or dump a little water in the petrol tank to squeeze in as many gallons as possible, the automobile will be sluggish and perform far from optimally.

Your body is exactly the same. So if you’re investing countless hours working out, you better pay attention to the food you eat if you want to look and feel your best.

How Much Should You Eat?

Before you can consider what to eat and when, you must first assess how many calories you should be consuming daily. The Institute of Medicine recommends that active women ages 19 to 30 should eat about 2,400 calories daily. That sounds like a lot, but when divided into four to six small meals of precise nutritional balance, it makes more sense. Women older than 30 should eat about 2,200 calories for the same activity level.

You can personalize this requirement by calculating your basal metabolic rate (amount of calories needed for subsistence). A good rule of thumb is 10 calories per pound of bodyweight for women. So if you weigh 135 pounds, that’s 1,350 calories needed to survive. Multiply this by 1.55 if you exercise three to five times a week and the total equals about 2,100 calories. You can find more detailed calculators online that factor height, weight and age.

Know Your Macros

Each of the three macronutrients — fat, protein and carbohydrates — plays an essential role. Carbohydrates power exercise and movement as an energy source, plus fuel brain function, metabolism, anabolic growth, recovery and operation of the organs. (About 60 percent of your carb intake is needed by the brain.) Correct timing of carbs around exercise promotes anabolic hormone activity and reduces that of catabolic hormones.