Think of it this way. You’ve heard the expression “nutritious foods.” This refers to edible and drinkable items which are considered healthy and useful to your body and mind.
This excludes unhealthy elements that can influence your body in a detrimental way. Therefore, nutrition unto itself can be associated with the healthiest level of foods.
Diet, on the other hand, is the total combination of everything you consume. You can have a good diet or a bad diet. The terms “dieting” or “being on a diet” are a bit misleading since they have come to immediately connote weight loss and fat loss. You have a diet no matter what you consume, but it’s in your best interest to possess a diet that is healthy and nutritious.
Understanding “Calories”
At the root of the word “calorie” is heat. In fact, in the Spanish language, the word for “hot” is “calor.” Whatever you ingest provides a certain level of energy, which comes from the heat generated by the quantity of calories of the food or drink. Over the next few blog posts, you’ll learn more specific information on the breakdown of each macronutrient, as well as the quantity of calories that each provides.
The 3 Macronutrients
“Macronutrients” is the technical term for the different classes of nutrients. There are three distinct classes of macronutrients which essentially group everything we eat and drink according to their composition and function.
Each nutrient (what many personal trainers refer to as a ‘macro’) has a certain role to play in your health and a specific quantity of energy it brings to your body in terms of calories.
The three macronutrients are carbohydrates, protein, and fats. There are also two micronutrients in the realm of nutrition, namely vitamins and minerals. Check out our other blog posts that dive into each one in detail.