Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Friday Review | Cinema Plus | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

FITNESS TALK

Photo: B. Jothi Ramalingam

Strengthening Toning up under guidance

A good deal of nutritional advice passed on by members at gyms is more often than not misinterpreted.

Chris Aceto, nutritionist of reigning Mr. Olympia Jay Cutler, lists out some of the often-heard “half-truths”. These include tips like “dietary fat alone makes you fat”. Whereas it has been proved that consumption of more calories than what you can expend leads to weight gain, even if the dietary fat intake is abominably low.

That “all fats are bad” is also a myth. In fact, the human body is in need of certain types of fats like those found in vegetable oil, fish and flaxseed oil. Omega 3 fatty acids found in fish improve glucose tolerance and strengthen the immune system.

It is incorrect to believe that not much protein is needed to “tone” the body. There is no such thing like “toning.” The term is often used to signify addition of a minimum amount of lean muscle while reducing fat.

To build even a little amount of lean muscle, a person training hard at the gym should consume 2 to 2.2 gm of protein for every kilogram of his/her bodyweight.

If protein intake is low, especially when the overall calories are restricted to burn fat, the system breaks down lean muscle.

This is called catabolism, which slows the calorific expenditure rate.

To add minimum amount of muscle, it is essential to consume the correct amount of calories needed and draw up the exercise programme accordingly.

That three square meals a day is all you need is not practical either because all nutrients can not be got from three meals. Larger meals are harder to absorb and can also increase fat storage. Smaller and more frequent meals such as one small meal every three hours ensures the supply of amino acids and carbohydrates at the right hour and keeps the metabolic rate [calorific expenditure rate] high.

Soft drinks can be replaced with soft drinks is a misnomer.

Fruit juices are the most concentrated form of simple sugars. A whole orange fruit with all its fibre has less sugar than a glass of orange juice, which actually contains the syrup from three fruits.

The lack of fibre allows insulin output to function in an erratic manner, thus facilitating fat storage. Keep fruits to a minimum, based on your calorific needs. Fibre-rich slow digesting vegetables are better.

C. LAKSHMI KUMAR

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail