Understanding Body Composition

Movement, in whatever form you may enjoy it, is crucial for both our physical and mental wellbeing. Consider proper nutrition to be the base of your fitness pyramid. Without a solid nutrition foundation, it’s much harder to reach your fitness goals.

Let’s say Chris exercises 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week but pays absolutely no attention to what he eats. If his buddy Joe has that same exact exercise routine but also ties in the nutrition component by meal prepping and making smart food choices, he will likely have better health and fitness results compared to Chris (1).

Maybe you use EatLove because you want to lose weight, or you want to manage a certain health condition. Today, we’re going to talk about how eating in line with your EatLove nutrition plan can help you improve your body composition and fuel your fitness better.

What Is Body Composition?

Bodyweight is not the only way to measure progress. Your body is composed of fat mass and fat-free mass. Fat-free mass is everything in your body that is not fat, which includes muscle mass, organs, bones, water, and connective tissues. Each individual has a different body composition and body fat percentage, both of which can be changed through dietary intake and exercise.

Remember Chris from before? If he weighs 180 lbs. and has a high body fat percentage, he will look and feel much differently compared to Joe, who also weighs 180 lbs. but has a lower body fat percentage and more muscle mass.

Measuring Body Composition Changes

Now more than ever, people are choosing to measure body composition to track their progress. If you’re getting your body composition tracked by a fitness facility, it’s likely that they’re using an inBody machine or eVolt. Make sure you ask your gym staff if they can link your body scan results to your EatLove profile!

Learn more about nutrition in our Nutrition 101 article.

The Nutrition Difference

Generally, weight gain or loss comes down to simple math.

(calories consumed) — (calories used) = weight balance

“Calories used” includes calories utilized during physical activity and the calories you need to keep your body functioning, known as your basal metabolic rate.

Let’s go back to Chris. If he eats 3400 calories per day on average, but only needs 2400 calories to maintain his weight, he will gain weight because excess calories are stored primarily as fat. Weight loss would be expected if Chris eats 2000 calories per day because that is less than what he needs to maintain his weight (i.e. if Chris eats about 2400 calories over time, he will maintain his current weight).

While this means that it is possible to lose weight simply by restricting calories, the quality of the foods you eat matter, and the level to which you restrict REALLY matters. Many people who have dieted for much of their lives become easily frustrated that they continually restrict, yet the pounds never drop because it IS possible to over-restrict, which can slow your metabolism down (2).

Eating an appropriate balance of carbs, protein, and fat from high-quality sources will help you improve your body composition.

You might be wondering… is there an optimal macro distribution for improving your body composition? It depends! EatLove has settings that leverage the evidence base for proper macro distributions for muscle gain, endurance, weight management, and more! Make sure yours is set up how you want it by going here!

Fueling Your Workouts

In addition to overall nutrition, consciously fueling your physical activity is so important. If you have inadequate energy intake, you are at risk of increased injuries and fatigue, and you also have the potential to lose your hard-earned muscle mass. That’s why pre- and post-workout snacks are such a game-changer; they help you keep your energy levels up and give you that edge in your physical performance.

Your snacks should typically include some form of carbohydrate and some form of protein. Carbohydrates are found in grains, fruits, dairy, and some vegetables. Protein is found primarily in eggs, poultry, meat, seafood, dairy, beans, and legumes.

We advocate for preparing your own snacks, using EatLove recipes, instead of purchasing a highly processed packaged option whenever possible. EatLove has thousands of options for you to choose from, so you never have to feel like you’re eating the same snacks over and over again.

Check out some guidelines for optimizing your pre- and post-workout snack game here!

In addition to your snacks, drink plenty of water before, during, and after exercise to stay hydrated!

ASK YOURSELF THIS:

Think back to that score from 1–10 that you gave yourself last week. What’s a specific action you could take today that would increase your nutrition alignment score?

TRY THIS:

1. Use EatLove to find 1–2 snacks you can add to your routine this week to enhance your performance. Most of our snack recipes take under 15 minutes to prep! These snacks can be utilized as pre-workout fuel or post-workout recovery options.
2. Add those snacks to your grocery list and follow through! If you find recipes you love, don’t forget to Favorite them!

EatLove is here to help you meet your goals. Although having a goal weight may be important for some people, there are other ways to measure success. Having more energy, more confidence, and having clothes that fit better are all meaningful indicators of success. Your nutrition profile, set between you and your coach, is tailored to your unique goals. We understand how challenging it can be to balance fitness and nutrition with our busy lives. We try to keep things simple, and with our database of over 5,000 recipes to fit your individualized needs, there’s something for everyone!