There's no question about it: if you want to feel great and look great, learning how to choose the right foods is crucial. Even if weight loss isn't one of your goals, you need the correct fuel to achieve maximum fitness.

At Athletic Unlimited we realize that nutrition is a very individualized part of overall fitness training, so we don't attempt to come up with any single diet or set of recommendations that will work for everyone. Instead, we tailor nutrition plans to your taste and life style and come up with a program that you can really live with.

Consistent nutrition plays a huge role in fitness

No matter what your fitness goals, at least 70% of the results you're looking for can only be achieved through consistently good nutrition. But eating right isn't simply a matter of counting calories. There are many factors to consider, and you need to know and understand the basics of metabolism in order to make those choices Here are just a few of the many principles you will learn to put to use in your own life:

• You need to know how your own body burns food. Before you even start counting calories, you need to know your basil metabolic rate (the amount of calories your body burns at rest in a 24-hour period) and how it impacts on your food choices.

• Nutrition and weight training is very scientific and you need to adjust your diet to your activity level to achieve the results you want - for example, you need to eat differently on the days you work out and the days you don't. Athletic Unlimited will thoroughly explain how to decide how much you should be eating and how much of each type of food - protein, carbs, sugar, and fat - to include in your diet for maximum results.

• Eating more can actually help you lose weight - IF you add the right foods to your diet! Protein breaks down into amino acids, which are the building blocks of muscle tissue. Adding at least two ounces of protein to each meal can help you burn an extra 200 calories a day.

• Not all carbs are created equal. Though all carbohydrates create increases in insulin levels, choosing the wrong carbs can make insulin levels "spike" - and when that happens, the body converts carbs to sugar and stores it as fat. One ounce of stored carbs (glucose) holds three ounces of water. The best choice is low glycolic carbs, which cause a only very small insulin increase so your body has a chance to use the carbs for energy instead of storing them as fat.

• Don't cut out the carbs if you want to add muscle. Insulin is an anabolic hormone - that means it helps build and maintain muscle - so you need to consume carbs after a workout. If you don't, your body will break down muscle tissue to replace your glycogen stores. If your insulin level is too low (which happens on a low or no carb diet) your body will burn a lot of muscle along with fat.