Principles of Munch
Munch is the nutrition principle of the Powherful program. What we eat fuels and nourishes us. Eating high quality food, in the right amount will support our lifestyle and results. Building a healthy relationship with food is of utmost importance, and Munch is based around understanding nutrition so you are empowered to make good nutrition choices, not unnecessarily restricting or "dieting".
⭐️QUALITY⭐️
The quality of the food you eat determines your health. The highest quality foods are minimally processed and as close to whole foods as possible, as this is what our bodies are designed to eat. These foods are high in MICRONUTRIENTS (vitamins and minerals).
Each week, you want to choose:
80% High Quality Meals made with minimally processed whole foods that are close to how you would find them naturally.
20% Your Choice Meals Can be more processed, these meals can be things like dinner with friends, lunch on the go or ordering in after a long day at work.
Allowing some flexibility in your nutrition is key to remaining consistent. MOST of the time your foods are high quality, to nourish your body but every now and then "low quality" foods fit in just fine.
Your meals need to contain the macronutrients which are PROTEIN, CARBOHYDRATE and FAT.
A Balanced Meal is one that contains a:
✋Palm sized portion of protein
🤲Half cupped hand of Carbohydrate
👍Thumb of good fats
✊Fist of veggies (or nutrient-dense food)
You can find a guide to sources of the macronutrients called the Handy Balanced Meal Builder in your Powherful Guide Book. Once you know about quality sources of nutrition to eat, and balancing them at your meals you will need to be prepared.
⭐️PREPARATION⭐️
To stay on track, you need to have healthy food ready to go when it's meal time. The best way set yourself up for success is with meal preparation. Preparing your meals simply means planning ahead when it comes to your nutrition, so that you have delicious healthy options cooked or ready to go all week.
📝Plan Your Meals The first critical step is to have a plan! WHAT meals are you going to cook and how does it fit with your daily intake? How many different meals do you want to cook.
📅Designate Meal Prep Days Determine WHEN you will do meal prep. Will you do it once a week, twice a week, or cook as you go? Do whatever works best for your lifestyle.
🥘Cook Efficiently Try to choose meals that can cook simultaneously or quickly to minimise time in the kitchen e.g cook in the oven while you make something on the stove or gets done in 15 minutes. This makes it easier to stick to. Having delicious recipes is the best way to feel clear on meal prep. We have some recipes for you to choose from.
⭐️QUANTITY⭐️
To get optimal results from our nutrition we need to know how much to eat based on our goals. We need to eat enough to have energy for life, training and to nourish our bodies. Too little will leave us tired and hungry and too much can increase body fat and your chance of disease.
The way we can measure the QUANTITY of food we eat is through CALORIES.
Calories are the unit we use to measure energy. Every food has a calorific value, and the calories come from MACRONUTRIENTS (protein, carbohydrate and fat) that we discussed earlier. Knowing the amount you eat is important to achieve your body composition goals and to feel good.
It is important to understand that you have a MAINTENANCE range of calories that you eat in a day. This means that the energy you take in is similar to the energy you burn through bodily function, daily activity, exercise and digesting food. Eating at your maintenance calories will help you sustain your results and have plenty of energy. This amount varies from person to person depending on age, height, gender and activity levels.
In order to achieve goals you may have to alter the amount of calories you eat each day.
🏃♀️Lifestyle Goals: Eat your maintenance amount of calories
⏳Fat Loss: Eat in a 20% deficit
💪Gain Muscle: Eat in a 10% surplus
You can use an online calculator to estimate what your daily calorie intake should be depending on your goal. This calculator is linked in the Powherful Guide Book.
Once you know your target calorie intake, TRACKING is the best way to stay accountable! This is important as it's very easy to be unaware of what you've eaten when life gets busy!
📕Choice 1: Food Diary Track meals in a food diary using the Balanced Meals portion size guide. A simple and sustainable guideline for making good choices although not as accurate.
📲Choice 2: Track with MyFitnessPal Advanced, accurate tracking with the MyFitnessPal app. A calorie and macro counting app with a huge database of foods to ensure you're eating the right quantity and quality.
I want you to be EMPOWERED using the principles of Munch to understand more about nutrition, I am also aware that many women have a complicated relationship with food.
Here are a few recommendations to improve your relationship with food:
🐌Start slowly Start at the level you are comfortable with, and slowly build your habits over time. Learn about nutrition and understand it objectively.
💕Forgive yourself One hot day doesn't make a summer, and one day of old habits doesn't mean the end of the world. Forgive yourself and pick up where you left off. Try to avoid overcompensating or "I'll start again Monday" do what you can today.
Remember 80/20 Give yourself leeway, eating a meal out here or there is a totally fine part of a healthy diet, avoid the all or nothing approach to your food as it encourages binge eating.