The building blocks of nutrition

Fiber and Protein

Two essential ingredients to a successful nutrition plan.

But just how much should you have?

Lets start with fiber.

Fiber intake is important to a successful nutrition plan because it often times is an indicator of a quality food source. You will find fiber in whole grains (real whole grains), beans, dark green veggies, some breakfast cereals, as well as fruits.

You want to aim to have 25-35 grams per day of fiber in your nutrition plan.

If you fall below the recommended range, look at your menu and see what you can change to improve. It often only takes a few small changes to fall within quality parameters.

Next is Protein

Protein has several important roles in the body. It is especially important in the role of body composition (body fat vs. lean muscle)

One reason is the thermic effect. The thermic effect is the amount of energy it takes to digest a certain food. The thermic effect of protein is 30%. That means one third of the energy found in protein is burned just to digest it. When you compare that to carbs (6-8%) and fat (2-3%), you begin to realize proteins importance.

So how much protein should you have. Take your current body weight and multiply it by .8. This will give you the minimum amount of protein you want to have in one day.

Quality protein sources include: boneless skinless chicken breast, boneless skinless turkey breast, protein shakes, tofu, beans, fish, some seafood, buffalo or other wild game.

If you are able to get these two important parts of a successful nutrition plan under control, the other parts will fall into place.