You have probably heard the saying, “Food is fuel.” But how much fuel and what kind do you need? When determining your nutrition needs, it is important to consider your individual goals and potential, and how they align with both your regular schedule and your intended plans. Are you training for a lengthy cycling trip? Will you be walking around Paris for a week? Will you be thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail? Or, will you be limited in your physical activities for a period of time? Are you trying to lose weight? Are you trying to gain muscle?

Understanding your self-improvement goals is the first step in determining how to best meet your nutrition needs. And specifically with Create Joy, we want you to learn and grow through this process. It’s not just about food and fuel; it’s understanding what will help you thrive, the resources that are available to you, and even getting educated on diverse foods through your travels.

A Nutritional Powerhouse

Proper nutrition is essential for powering through long-distance activities like running, hiking, and cycling. It is also essential for everyday activities like walking up and down the stairs, managing stress at work, taking care of your family, or even just cleaning the house. Consider activities you seek out when traveling. Perhaps this includes sight-seeing or perhaps it is centered around a more intense form of movement, like the examples mentioned above. Regardless, proper nutrition will help you stay energized and alert while you see and do all those items that are on the bucket list!

Optimal nutrition can boost energy, enhance athletic performance, and support overall well-being. In this blog, we’ll review some nutrition basics and learn more about macronutrients; why they are important and how they can help support your adventures and activities!

Macronutrients

First and foremost, what are macronutrients? According to Medical News Today, they are “nutrients that people regularly require in large quantities to provide their body with energy to perform bodily functions and daily activities.”

For humans, they are a type of food such as fat, protein and carbohydrates. To put it simply, we MUST have these nutrients to live, let alone function at full capacity! Eating a well-rounded diet with balanced macronutrients helps in maintaining energy levels, supporting recovery, and promoting long-term health. It is important to note that people uniquely respond to different intakes of macronutrients, and that the key to finding the right balance may be working with a licensed nutritionist or health care professional to understand your personal nutrition goals and needs. Let’s look a little closer at these macros.

Proteins

Proteins are essential macronutrients required for a healthy functioning body. Meeting your body’s protein needs supports many aspects of your daily life, such as:

hormone health
healthy skin
balancing blood sugar levels
quality of sleep
building and preserving muscle
stabilizing and providing energy
boosting metabolism
speeding up your body’s ability to heal
increasing hair strength
protecting bones
Supporting overall longevity

WOW! So, definitely don’t skip out on this macronutrient. I’d personally refer to proteins as the foundation of the day that get us started and keeps us going!

According to the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDAs), our bodies need at least 0.36 grams of protein per pound of body weight (or .8 grams/kilogram). For example, this is about 50 grams of protein for a person weighing 140 pounds. Please keep in mind that these numbers are essentially a minimum to meet basic nutritional requirements for the average healthy human. However, everybody’s needs vary based on a plethora of variables such as age, weight, height, physical activity levels to name a few.

It is often ideal to aim for more proteins with physical activity and particularly when aiming to build lean body mass. For example, if an average healthy person is physically active and working to build muscle, protein needs will increase and a more desirable goal may fall in the range of 0.5-0.9 grams of protein per pound of body weight depending on the individual and goals.

Even if you are looking to lose weight, we want to keep the muscle we have, so still aiming for a decent amount of protein is going to be important. Sounds strange, right? We often hear we need to “move more and eat less.” While this in general can be accurate, if you’re moving more and/or watching your food intake to be cleaner and more nutritious, we want to KEEP and BUILD the muscle we have. If we eat too little, we’ll lose that. This is one reason why restrictive eating/thinking can make ideal health difficult for many of us. We want to ensure our bodies get the proper nutrition to provide energy and fuel for all our activities and daily living goals.

So, whatever your day looks like, try to incorporate good sources of protein early on in your day. Protein sources may help stabilize blood sugar, jumpstart metabolism, and satiate you for whatever activities are planned. You can look for some of the following food examples to help you get enough protein:

Nuts and seeds
Eggs
Chicken or other animal based proteins
Seafood
Tofu
Beans, lentils, and chickpeas
Smoothies with protein added in such as protein powders/protein shakes, nut butters, etc
Don’t forget, many vegetables pack a protein punch as well!

Even think about some protein-packed snacks between activities:

cottage cheese and peaches
nut butter and apple slices
protein/granola bars

Carbohydrates

For most of us, carbohydrates, or as I refer to them, carbs, are essential for activities, but especially endurance activities. These are another must-have for traveling! Carbs are a powerhouse for energy… seriously, this is their main job = energy. While some of us may be following a low-carb food plan, these guys are still quite important, especially when it comes to fueling workouts and general movement. Perhaps, they get such a bad rap because today we can easily find so many ultra-processed carbs that provide little nutritional value.

Carbs come in the forms of starches (grains, corn, rice, barley, vegetables, beans, and wheat), fiber, and sugars (candy, cane sugar, fruit, and milk). Be mindful of the types of carbs you consume. While many processed foods are high in added sugars and offer little nutrition, not all carbs are bad. Natural sugars found in produce and dairy can be excellent sources of energy, fueling your body for daily activities and adventures. Don’t hesitate to enjoy foods like bananas or berries–try to avoid those extra added sugars, especially if you’re focused on weight loss.

Carbohydrates derived from whole foods typically provide a range of valuable nutrients beyond the calories. Whether you are fueling up for a marathon, a hike, or chasing your toddler around for hours of the day, whole foods like these can be excellent good sources of carbohydrates:

whole grains
chickpea pasta or whole-grain pasta
legumes or beans (such as lentils, kidney beans, chickpeas)
starchy vegetables like carrots, beets, corn, and sweet potatoes
non-starchy veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, kale, spinach, mushrooms, onions (yes, – these veggies are carbohydrates, too!)
fruits

Are you like myself and love bread? Have no fear…you can make health conscious choices without giving up all your favorite foods! Tip: Check your bread’s ingredients and make sure whole grain is listed first. Again, look to limit added sugars such as high fructose corn syrup. In addition to looking for these ingredients, aim for a brand that has 3+ grams of fiber as well. Fiber will help keep you satiated!

Another option is to see if there are any grain mills or area bakeries that you can support, as these business models often focus on the nutritional aspects of localized food systems.

Fats

Last, but not least….fats. It can feel like an awful word. Like carbs, fat has absolutely been discussed in a negative light over the years. But believe it or not, fat is essential to human health. It’s another source of energy, helps us metabolize fat-soluble vitamins, enhances brain functions and provides heat insulation in the body.

Like anything else, there are optimal and less optimal forms of fats in our food choices. And, please know that whatever your goal– be it weight loss, energy for activity, or just daily functioning– you really do need them. They complete the trifecta of the macronutrients.

So, what easy things can we look out for in order to get in our healthy fat sources? First and foremost, try to limit items whose label reads high in saturated fat and avoid trans fats. Instead, look for monounsaturated fats (like the olive oils and avocados, as well as nuts/nut butters and seeds) and polyunsaturated fats (omega 3s such as your fish and dark leafy greens).

Another easy swap if you are trying to reduce saturated fats is to use the olive oils and avocado oils in place of butter when cooking. Flavored olive oils found at your local specialty store can be a great alternative to saturated fats (I have a “butter” flavored oil I use to make eggs – yum!). And if flavor is what you’re looking for when cooking, remember spices and herbs are your friend to enhance flavor. I personally love ones such as the well-known “Everything but the Bagel Seasoning” for my salads with avocados, as well as thyme, basil, and sometimes even curry on my eggs. There are lots of options to eat well and keep it yummy!

Like mentioned before, fats work together with our other macronutrients to keep us fueled and on-the-move. When considering a healthy lunch for your workday, or gearing up for a trip up the mountain during your travels, think about packing some of the following foods for sources of unsaturated fats:

Walnuts
Sunflower seeds
Coldwater fatty fish (such as salmon)
Chia seeds
Flaxseed

Keeping It Simple to Focus on Your Goals

Whether you’re new to nutrition or already familiar with it, the key to proper fueling—whether for endurance activities, travel, or daily life—is to keep it simple. Focus on nutritious macronutrients to support you on your personal growth journey. The world of food can be overwhelming, but it does not have to be such. In fact, you can make it more fun in your everyday life by researching how other cultures prepare their food to include these macros, or by finding sustainable options close to where you live or while you are traveling! Exploring and diversifying your diet can ignite motivation and excitement, encouraging you to enhance your own eating habits and discover new foods in different environments.

Planning ahead and writing your intentions down will help you to put your goals into action. Remember at Create Joy we want to help you develop skills for your toolbox so you can immerse yourself in new experiences. Understanding your unique nutritional needs lays the groundwork for achieving bigger, more ambitious goals. For some, this could simply mean making sure you get a fist-size of protein rich foods at each meal, or adding in more vegetables as your daily snack. Start by making one easy change at a time in your everyday activities and in your travels.

Keep it fun and keep it attainable, so you stick with it. Macronutrients are there to keep you well, keep you fueled, and keep you doing the things you love…embrace them!

To learn more about our supportive, goal-setting community, reach out today!

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