When the topic of nutrition appears on the internet, it is likely followed by hundreds of opinionated comments about this or that diet that promises to help you lose weight as fast as possible. If all you do is eat certain foods and avoid others, so the argument goes, you will lose body fat, gain lean muscle mass, thin your waist, fix your marriage, and pay off your debts. This approach is very similar to the “six-minute abs” take on fitness where all you need is this one piece of equipment or that one special workout to fix all your problems. Rather than mastering the basics, these internet gurus will have you focus on nutritional strategies that only apply to 1% of the people 1% of the time.

Jeff Serven with client Zach More

As you can guess by now, this is not how GymnasticBodies operates. When Coach Christopher Sommer, himself a former U.S. Junior National Team Coach, decided to release an online nutrition course, he chose to collaborate with Jeff Serven, a former U.S. Navy SEAL and currently a trainer to multiple professional athletes, including a few NFL Super Bowl Champions. With the kind of world-class coaching experience these two gentlemen have, you know the end product will be a results-driven and practical-based masterpiece.

So for now put aside your intellectual curiosities about detoxification, fasting, or gluten sensitivity, and let’s get down to the mastering the basics of nutrition.

Water

Next to air and sleep, water is one of the first things that your body cannot live without. Proper hydration affects virtually every metabolic process in your body, and as such dehydration shows itself across the board in terms of health, performance, and metal acuity. Millions of people in America alone still choose soda over water throughout the day, yet they are also the same people who get duped into juice fasts and cleanse diets. Stop the nonsense, and focus on first things first: drink your water.

Vegetables

In addition to adequate water, your body requires vitamins and minerals in order to carry out the internal processes needed to survive. Vegetables pack the most bang for your buck when in comes to these micronutrients, and most people are not eating enough of them. Specifically, green vegetables like spinach, kale, broccoli, brussel sprouts, and more offer a high amount of essential nutrients while minimizing excessive caloric intake. Before spending all your money on pills and powders, ask yourself this: are YOU eating enough vegetables?

Macronutrients

Macronutrients are the essential building blocks of the food you eat, yet they are also one of the most hotly debated nutritional topics on the internet. Protein, carbohydrates, and fats make up each meal you have, and these macronutrients are utilized by the body to create energy, build tissue, and do just about everything else that your body does. Many internet diet gurus claim that you need to eat a specific ratio of protein to carbs to fats, or that you need a certain amount of grams of each macronutrient at each time of the day.

When it comes to beginners, however, you should focus on mastering the basics first. In this case, you simply need to make sure you are getting protein, carbohydrates, and fats at each meal. Again, we are not talking about the exceptions to the rule or the 1% of cases 1% of the time. For the vast majority of people trying to live an active lifestyle while maintaining a healthy weight, they do not need to worry about ultra low-carb ketosis or protein fasts. Rather, strive to understand the basics of which foods contain which macronutrients, and eat a balanced diet accordingly.

So putting it all together...

1. If it seems too good to be true when it comes to nutrition, then it probably is. Avoid fads, and master the basics.
2. Water is essential to your body operating at a high level; be sure to drink enough of it.
3. Most people do not eat vegetables, especially greens. They contain micronutrients necessary to thrive.
4. Protein, carbs, and fats are the macronutrients that your body uses to build itself, so feed yourself appropriately.