Weight loss nutrition is essential to gaining a lean and healthy lifestyle.

Nutrition and Nutrients

Nutrition is the process by which nutrients, in the form of food, enters our body.

Nutrients are essential chemical substances required by our body for growth and health maintenance. Our body supplies most of the nutrients we need.

Those nutrients that our body does not produce are known as essential nutrients and are supplied through the food we eat.

Essential nutrients include:

• amino acids found in proteins,
• fatty acids in fats and oils,
• vitamins, and
• minerals

Nutrients are classified according to two categories: macronutrients and micronutrients.

Macronutrients

Macronutrients which are required daily in large quantities include carbohydrates, proteins fats and certain minerals. They are our body's source of energy and are also essential for our developmental growth and body maintenance.

For weight loss nutrition there are two things we need to keep in mind. We have to eat:

1. The proper amounts of macronutrients, and
2. The proper ratio of macronutrients.

This will avoid the hormonal responses that cause our body to store carbohydrates and protein as fat.

The recommended ratio is 5:3:1. That is, 5 grams of carbohydrates to 3 grams of protein to 1 gram of fat.

Micronutrients

Micronutrients are required daily in very specific amounts. These include vitamins and trace minerals. Vitamins are either:

• water-soluble (vitamin C and some vitamin B complex), or
• fat-soluble (vitamins A, D, E, and K).

Micronutrients are essential for cell metabolism and a deficiency of these will cause us to have an increased craving for more food.

Since a lot of the foods we eat nowadays lack sufficient micronutrients to meet our cells daily requirements, we either have to consume excess amounts of food, increasing our chances for obesity, or take micronutrient supplements, to meet our daily needs.

When taking weight loss nutrition supplementation it's important to include antioxidants and chelated minerals as well.

In many weight loss nutrition programs the quality and potency of the micronutrient supplements we take will often determine our success or failure in achieving lifelong weight loss.

Glycemic Index Food

The glycemic index indicates the influence that certain food has on our blood sugar (glucose) level.

Those foods (carbohydrates) that cause a sharp rise in our blood sugar levels are termed high glycemic index food; and
those that lead to a gradual increase are termed low glycemic food.

Excess blood sugar levels cause our pancreas to secrete insulin, a storage hormone, which converts the excess sugar to be stored as fat.

For effective weight loss and weight management, it's best to avoid high glycemic index food in a dietary program.

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