Nutrient Dense Versus Energy Dense Foods
We often link positive and negative connotations to food whether it be healthy or unhealthy, allowed or forbidden, good or bad foods, however through experience of working with clients we have found it more useful to evaluate foods based on their nutrient density.
Nutrient density can be termed in several ways, however for the purpose of this article we are referring to it as those foods that provide substantial amounts of vitamins and minerals with relatively few calories. Energy density is therefore the opposite. Take for example, it’s late afternoon after a busy day at the office with an hour till dinner. You have the choice between an apple and a slice of chocolate cake. Both snacks, similar in size and both suffice as a quick snack, so which do you choose? The apple would be the healthier choice, with around 90 calories, packed with vitamins and dietary fibre. The fibre from the apple will help to keep you more satisfied for longer, and Vitamins A, Vitamin C and small amounts of the B group vitamins will provide antioxidants to ensure good cellular health. The chocolate cake on the other hand is loaded with calories, 200 or more, containing very little nutrients other than energy, saturated fat and loads of sugar. No doubt it’s tasty, however is this really what your body needs for the immediate satisfaction? When it comes to deciding what to eat most of us choose the foods we want based on food gratification without thinking of the long term effects of our decisions. Always eat to fuel, not just to consume.
Balance Your Life
We are surrounded by places where we can buy coffee and oversized slabs of cakes and muffins all day, everyday. Everywhere you look you can buy food that is high fat, high sugar (energy) and lacking nutritional quality and value. Drinking half to a full bottle of wine or a few beers is quite normal for many people on a Friday night after work and eating a full bag of chips meant to serve 12 between 2 of you is not out of the ordinary in todays society.
Despite this being the ‘new normal’ it is not what your body needs or begs for when it comes to working at its best – it’s no wonder people don’t feel too ‘super-charged’ all the time. This is not about losing weight. This is about people not getting the balance of nutrients they need because the ‘new normal’ is to buy lunch on the run, miss meals, drink far too much coffee and far to keen to try a ‘bubble tea’ all because it’s the new hype.
Applying Nutrient Density
Whether you are at the supermarket, food court or out to dinner with friends, your choices should come in the form of fresh lean meats, low-fat dairy, whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Yes, they may be more expensive than the energy-dense packaged foods, but you buy more nutrition for the price and think about how much you will safe long term on health bills. Of course, you may choose some packaged foods for convenience, but you can still make smart choices with those products – just read the labels. Choosing nutrient-dense over energy dense foods will ensure you’re not feeling hungry and are more likely to be getting all the nutrition you need.
Making The Change
Once you understand which foods are nutrient dense, eating and consuming these foods will become second nature to you. Just remember, foods can affect your health in a big way therefore you need to be eating right to make your body work well over those based on convenience, routine and habit. There will always be chocolate cake, doughnuts and bubble tea around however next time you reach for one with friends ask yourself, am I eating this because I want these foods or because I need them?
To be fit and healthy at times you need to challenge yourself on the things you do by default and work on overcoming the common habits you have picked up. 80% of the time you should be eating right, the remaining 20% allows for those additional indulgences.
The Racers’ Toolbox Way
Some people exercise to lose weight. Others to improve health, fitness or performance. At Racers’ Toolbox, our aim has been to help these people streamline their process to reach their goals with more efficiency and in a more safe and sustainable fashion.
Everyone has a philosophy about how to exercise. Not everyone writes a blog about it or sets up a company based on it, but everyone has a philosophy on exercise that they reveal as soon as they lace up their shoes, put on their goggles or helmet and head outside into the fresh air.
Too many people think of philosophy as boring, and perhaps, have not even given any thought to their exercise philosophy at all – exercise is just something ‘they do’.
At Racers’ Toolbox, we see your philosophy as the operating system for your exercise goals. It’s what informs your decisions, makes you happy or miserable, and is what will ultimately lead you to achieve or not achieve your goals.
Not All Exercise Philosophies Are Equally Good
We see a lot of mistakes in the common reasoning about exercise philosophies. A big one is assuming that all perspectives on exercise are equally as effective. This is just not the case.
If your philosophy is the operating system for your exercise, then just like a computer operating system, there are good and bad operating systems.
We are not saying that there is a perfect operating system or that we posses it. We have however, developed a philosophy that is unique, measureable and has helped thousands of people achieve the results they were looking for.
A Simple Philosophy
The Racers’ Toolbox philosophy is always evolving, but at its core lie a few fundamental principles that don’t change.
1. You must understand the “why” of the exercise you do
2. The exercise you do must be progressive
3. The exercise and nutrition plans you follow should be effective and sustainable for a long time
4. You must keep it simple
Our Approach
After you whittle away all the unnecessary “padding”, there are just two things that you really need to worry about in regards to exercise. One is the intensity at which you exercise and the second is the way your structure your exercise sessions over time.
The reason we set up our athletic lab was that it allows us to provide and manage those two key elements. Using our tests, we are able to define very clear heart rate ranges that we use to control and monitor the exercise and improvements of the people who work with us. We can set heart rate ranges to improve a person’s fat burning ability, lactate clearance ability and fitness.
By providing training plans and incorporating the data taken from the tests, we can carefully structure an exercise plan that is progressive and effective for each person.
Finding Your Groove
The people we mix with often have a big impact on the way we exercise. Making sure that you are positioning yourself around people with a similar philosophy and approach to exercise will allow you to focus on the task at hand without being pulled in a different direction to where you want to go.
Whether you choose to work with us or not, really give some thought to your exercise philosophy and how it will effect what you are trying to achieve – it could make all the difference in the world.