A Girlfriend's Guide To Powerlifting

Making sense of
Nutrition
DISCLAIMER: Before the article commences, it is important to be aware
that I am not a qualified nutritionist. The advice and explanations
provided are predominantly experience based but, with a little research,
the information can be sourced by all.
PEANUT
BUTTER
For many people who are new to strength training and
competitive powerlifting, nutrition can seem like a daunting
concept due to preconceived ideas about nutritional
requirements and misleading information perpetuated by
the media. Often, articles and social media influencers will
present conflicting ideas: peanut butter will “build your
booty” vs. peanut butter is the devil, butter in your coffee
will help you lose weight vs. butter and dairy will make you
gain weight, etc. It can feel overwhelming and it is not
uncommon to think, “crikey, if food is so complicated for
every day living, where on earth do I start if I want to be a
successful athlete?”.
However, the reality is much simpler. The most important considerations to make are:
1. How much energy you are expending in the day?
2. What are your goals?
These two go hand in hand; if you want to lose weight then you will need to use
more energy than you eat, if you want to maintain your weight then you need to eat
roughly the same as the energy you use and if you want to gain strength and muscle
you will need to eat slightly more than you are using in your daily activities. There are
some wonderful calculators on the internet which can help you find out how much
energy you burn during the day (my personal favourite is the following, because it is
comprehensive, but easy to use:
(https://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced) but, if you have
a Fitbit (or an equally valid brand of heart rate monitor) these can calculate it for
you.
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