"How Can You Make Healthier Eating Choices and Take Responsibility for Your Diet?

So a few of the things I ask all my clients are "What does your diet look like?" "Do you track your calories?" and "How many calories do you eat in a day?" Without any fault of their own, the general answers are "no idea," and it's simply because, as I know firsthand, we are not ever taught anything about it growing up. It wasn't part of our generational curriculum, and even in today's society, it can all be so damn confusing with this "diet" or that "diet," with all these fancy words and some eating habits pitting people against one another, even as it could get that intense in the realm of who's right or what's right. But in this blog, I'm going to leave all the politics out of this and just give you an idea of whether you are actually eating enough good calories for what your current training demands.

First, this is not medical advice. Please check in with your doctor before implementing any diet or nutrition program, and if available, having some bloodwork done is likely in your best interest.

So where do we start? Well, a good spot would be to know what a calorie actually consists of and what our macronutrients are. Protein, carbohydrates, and fats are our macronutrients. Protein and carbohydrates have 4 calories per gram, and fat has 9 calories per gram. So when we are counting calories, those are the big three that are tracked. So if we eat 200g of protein a day, that's 800 calories from protein, the same with carbs. Since we generally wouldn't want to eat 200g of fat a day, it would be 1800 calories. It's quite simple math when broken down, and there are even simple apps out there that will help you keep track of these things by simply adding in the amount of each you are eating. The key is to be specific and track accordingly.

How do we know how many calories we need in a day and in what ratios for the benefits of golf speed training and for the sport of long drive in general? Well, we can simply start by calculating our BMR. Here are the two most commonly used ways to do so.

Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the amount of energy (in calories) your body needs to perform basic functions like breathing, circulating blood, and maintaining body temperature while at rest. There are different formulas to calculate BMR, but the two most common are the Harris-Benedict Equation and the Mifflin-St Jeor Equation.

1. Choose a Formula

You can use either the Mifflin-St Jeor or Harris-Benedict formula. The Mifflin-St Jeor is generally considered more accurate for most people, but either one works fine.

2. Gather Your Information

You'll need the following data:

• Weight in kilograms (kg)

• Height in centimeters (cm)

• Age in years

• Gender (because the formula differs for men and women)

If you're working with pounds (lbs) or inches, you'll need to convert them to the metric system.

• To convert pounds to kilograms:Weight (kg)=Weight (lbs)÷2.2 Weight (kg) = Weight (lbs)} \div 2.2Weight (kg)=Weight (lbs)÷2.2

• To convert inches to centimeters:Height (cm)=Height (inches)×2.54 Height (cm) = Height (inches) x 2.54Height (cm)=Height (inches)×2.54

3. Select the Right Formula and Plug in Your Numbers

Here's a breakdown of each formula, using a step-by-step manual method:

Mifflin-St Jeor Formula

• For Men:

  BMR=10×weight (kg)+6.25×height (cm)−5×age (years)+5 BMR = 10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 X height (cm) - 5 X age (years) + 5BMR=10×weight (kg)+6.25×height (cm)−5×age (years)+5

• For Women:

  BMR=10×weight (kg)+6.25×height (cm)−5×age (years)−161x BMR = 10 X weight (kg)} + 6.25 X height (cm)} - 5 x age (years)} - 161BMR=10×weight (kg)+6.25×height (cm)−5×age (years)−161

4. Do the Math Step-by-Step

Let's go through a manual example using the Mifflin-St Jeor formula.

Example: For a 30-year-old woman, 60 kg, 165 cm tall.

Formula:

BMR=10×60+6.25×165−5×30−161\text{BMR} = 10 \times 60 + 6.25 \times 165 - 5 \times 30 - 161BMR=10×60+6.25×165−5×30−161

Step 1: Multiply weight by 1010×60=60010 \times 60 = 60010×60=600

Step 2: Multiply height by 6.256.25×165=1031.256.25 \times 165 = 1031.256.25×165=1031.25

Step 3: Multiply age by 55×30=1505 \times 30 = 1505×30=150

Step 4: Now subtract for the gender adjustment:Subtract 161 for Woman so, the formula becomes:600+1031.25−150−161=1320.25600 + 1031.25 - 150 - 161 = 1320.25600+1031.25−150−161=1320.25

Final BMR:1320.25 calories/day

5. Adjust for Activity Level

After calculating your BMR, you can adjust for your activity level to find your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure). Here’s the adjustment based on your activity:

• Sedentary (little or no exercise): BMR × 1.2

• Lightly active (light exercise 1-3 days/week): BMR × 1.375

• Moderately active (moderate exercise 3-5 days/week): BMR × 1.55

• Very active (hard exercise 6-7 days a week): BMR × 1.725

• Super active (very hard exercise, physical job, or training twice a day): BMR × 1.9

Using the 1320.25 BMR from the example above, if she is moderately active:

TDEE=1320.25×1.55=2046.4 calories/day{TDEE} = 1320.25 X 1.55 = 2046.4 (calories/day)TDEE=1320.25×1.55=2046.4calories/day

This means she needs about 2046.4 calories/day to maintain her current weight, considering her activity level.

6. Alternative (Harris-Benedict) Formula (if you prefer)

For Men:

BMR=88.362+(13.397×weight (kg))+(4.799×height (cm))−(5.677×age (years))\text{BMR} = 88.362 + (13.397 X weight (kg) + (4.799 X (height (cm) - (5.677 X text{age (years)BMR=88.362+(13.397×weight (kg))+(4.799×height (cm))−(5.677×age (years))

For Women:

BMR=447.593+(9.247×weight (kg))+(3.098×height (cm))−(4.330×age (years)X (BMR} = 447.593 + (9.247 X weight (kg) + (3.098 X height (cm) - (4.330 X {age (years)BMR=447.593+(9.247×weight (kg))+(3.098×height (cm))−(4.330×age (years))

Okay, that was a lot of math, right? Thankfully, there are online calculators to determine all those numbers as well that are easily accessible for you online, so you don't have to do all that math.

So for the purpose of this, I'll show you what a 30-year-old who is 5'10" and 230 lbs athlete would be expected to eat in a very high (long drive training schedule that I build). Essentially, if you do all the math, their total calorie intake for the day would be roughly 3800! So that's 3800 calories to just maintain that 230 lbs body weight. If we want to gain weight, we need to eat more; if we want to burn fat, we start by eating slightly less, and we make adjustments as needed on this basic level first and foremost. Of course, we can't take into account all things through this.

We then start going down the line as this is basically our base to build off of. Now we can start asking deeper questions, such as their daily habits, stress levels, work conditions, sleep habits, and any family history. I mean, I do literally go on and on. Obviously, getting blood work done is another good indicator of what we can do and to see if there are any glaring signs of things we might need to be aware of.

So a "clean" day of eating 3800 is a lot for most, and I mean it really is, if you are eating all simple clean foods, but when you eat crap food with all kinds of useless calories, it's almost super easy. This is what makes the real difference in all this. If you want to feel good, look good, and give your body the best abilities possible to improve and avoid future health concerns, clean eating is the way to go. It will take time and commitment to prep and always be aware of what you are putting into your system. I've kind of always said if it walks, swims, or flies on this earth, it's likely good for you; if it grows from the ground or falls from a tree, it's likely good for you. Now, yes, there are some caveats to that, but most hold true, especially if you are not adding a bunch of processed junk to them on a daily basis.

Simply put, you can train your butt off, do all the right things in the gym, on the range, or in the sim, but if you're not fueling your body properly, you are definitely leaving easy speed on the sidelines. Not to mention the fact that doing this all gives you a lifetime of information to carry forward into your life and provides you with a way to live a strong and healthy life into your later years, which will also allow you to stay strong and fit to keep playing the game and enjoying your later years.

On the other side of the equation, what I generally get from parents is "my kid eats everything." Well, for a busy child who's playing multiple sports, I can promise I see maybe 1 in a hundred kids eating enough healthy calories for their activity level. Most kids are way under their needed calorie amount, and it's something, again, if they learn this young, they can start on an early path to health. As much as I love helping people gain speed and distance within their golf game, I also enjoy helping them learn about living a long and healthy life.