How to Achieve Optimal Nutrition

Step 1

For those of us who not only want to succeed in the world of athletics, bodybuilding, and general fitness, but basic overall health as well, consuming the proper diet for optimal nutrition is imperative. Optimal nutrition is actually slightly different for every individual, but the underlying components remain generally the same: eat a healthy ratio of fats, carbohydrates, and proteins; ingest vitamins daily; steer clear of unnecessary sugars. Below I'll go through to foods to eat, foods to avoid, and a general setup of proper meals. By applying all of this to your diet, and then fine-tuning it in order to fit your personal genetic needs, you'll find that optimal nutrition isn't so impossible to attain after all.

Step 2

Foods to eat- Maintaining a proper ratio of nutrition means that there are foods you should attempt to add to every meal, and foods that you should reserve only for certain meals. Foods to eat with every meals would be: vegetables, fish, chicken, eggs (primarily egg whites), and other lean red meats. Foods to eat with a few meals a day would be: brown rice, whole grain pasta, red meats that aren't extremely lean, fruit, sweet potatoes, nuts. The reason that these foods are divided as such is that most of the ones in the first category boast a high amount of protein and a low amount of carbs and fats. In the second group, carbs and fats reign majority, while protein sits the backseat.

Step 3

The generally accepted optimally nutritious ratio of food is 45-65% carbs, 20-35% fat, and 10-35% protein. That being said, foods that are high in carbs are generally far more carb rich than foods that are high in protein. So, eating a high amount of protein each day is essential to actually accommodating for the proper amount of protein needed; whereas carbs can be obtained through only a few carb-rich items through the day- same goes for fats.

Step 4

Foods you should always avoid eating: anything with sugar. Sugar, while it is technically a carbohydrate, is the death of optimum or even decent nutrition. Sugar does nothing good for the body, and is only somewhat allowed in the forms of fruit and natural honey. Aside from these, you should be avoiding sugar like it's the plague. I know it seems difficult at first, because as a society we've developed a seemingly natural addiction for sugar, but after a while you will discover that your health is noticeably increased without that nasty bit of "nutritional" addition.

Step 5

So, a general meal plan for the day would look as follows: Meal 1, Breakfast- High protein, high vegetables, low carbs, low fat. Meal 2, Snack- high protein, low carbs, low fat. meal 3, Lunch- High protein, high vegetables, low carbs, low fat. Meal 4, Preworkout Snack- High carbs, low protein, low fat. Meal 5, Postworkout Snack- High carbs, high protein, low fat. Meal 6, Dinner- High protein, high vegetables, low carbs, low fat. Meal 7, Snack- High protein, low carbs, low fat. Meal 8, Last Snack- High vegetables, high protein, low fat, absolutely minimal carbs.

Step 6

This meal plan allows your metabolism to continue working ceaselessly, which promotes increased calorie burn and nutritional absorption. Furthermore, the attention to high protein ensures that your muscles get a solid amount of growth-food, which the carbs before and after a workout make sure that you don't run excessively low on energy. The small amounts of fat here and there throughout the day will compensate for your necessary fats to be healthy (fish, nuts, and some red meats have good fats in them). Altogether, this plan is absolutely representative of one that provides optimal nutrition.