We humans tend to think in extremes. If protein is good for you, why not eat 5 times more right? Clearly that would be a mistake. Do you know what happens when the body cannot use all the excess of anything you are consuming? It will be stored as fat! It doesn’t have to be a burger and french fries that sabotage your diet. It can be all the extra protein shakes you are drinking or your nightly fruit bowl!
Our body derives energy from carbs, fats and protein. Simple carbs, like sugar, give us quick release energy, while complex carbs, protein and fats give us slow release energy. We do need all of them and please continue to consume all three. But make no mistake, whether it’s steak or watermelon, if your body can’t use it, it will be stored as fat. Understanding this should help you analyze when to eat certain foods, how to portion control your meals and truly internalize the concept of eating to perform, not eating mindlessly.
One way of looking at managing your energy sources from foods, is to break up your day in two. The first half of your day is when you are more active and therefore need to consume more energy producing foods like carbs (both simple and complex), while still eating moderate amounts of protein and fats. Carbs, mainly to help you be active, where as protein and fats mostly for feeding your muscles and keeping you full so you can go about your daily routine without getting hungry quickly.
The second half of your day does not require as much easily accessible energy and to consume it would be detrimental to weight loss. Try to stay away from simple carbs like sugary foods at night as much as possible, even fruit. Whether it’s cake or fruit, all the extra energy producing food will be stored as fat. During the second half of the day, it would be more advantageous to focus on protein and fats and moderate complex carbs like grains and vegetables. This will not metabolize as quickly as it will be used by your body through the night.