Hello!
This week we are going to talk about eating the right amount of calories. If you are not eating enough you can do more harm then good. Let's take a closer look and see if you are eating enough....
The majority of the time when you’re having a problem losing weight, it’s not because you aren’t making good food choices. The reason why your weight loss has plateaued is because you’re not eating enough calories to lose weight.
When most people start "dieting" they cut calories dramatically and add extended amounts of exercise, mainly cardio, to their daily workouts. This is fine, however they usually cut out way to many calories. When you add in extra exercise and then drastically bring down your calorie deficit this works against you. Like a hamster on a wheel, you are getting anywhere.
When you don't eat enough calories it causes multiple changes with your metabolic system. Our bodies are a lot smarter then we give them credit for. They can sense the energy imbalances, and yes this may work for the short term, a couple days or even a couple weeks. Non-the-less, at some point your body will take notice and sound the alarms that it needs to start storing energy. You may want to waste away, but your body sure doesn't. In order to survive your body needs nutrients, to make energy. The easiest way for your body to make sure it is getting that is by storing FAT.
The questions is what does your body do when it senses this dramatic change of energy restriction? (i.e.not eating enough)
Well first is slows down your thyroid production. Why does this matter you ask... well because you thyroid is responsible for fat, carbohydrate and protein metabolism along with other things. Your body is able to slow down thyroid output in an effort to maintain energy balance to maintain function and daily living.
It then decreases your muscle mass. You know, that muscle you have worked so long and hard for at the gym, putting in hours and even weekends. This is because your muscles are they need a lot of calories to stick around, you have to feed your muscles!! In a long term calorie restriction, muscle is one of the first things to go. Your body is craving fat, it NEEDS IT. Muscle on the other hand can be spared, to use for energy.
Also, this lowers testosterone levels, why is this important.... because this important hormone for BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, is one of the many that is affected with severe calorie restriction. Without this it because a lot harder to maintain and put on muscle mass. Not only does it drecrease testosterone but leptin as well. This is one of the many energy regulating hormones. It is the "HUNGER" hormone. It lets you know whether to eat or not. When you have high levels of leptin it's OK to stop eating, when they are low this signals that you need more energy. When you are restricting yourself calories these leptin levels decrease.
Lastly, it decreases your energy levels! Neurotransmitter production become limited and this leads to a lack of motivation. This is your body's way of telling you to "chill out", its telling you to STOP USING MY ENERGY!!!
Alright so now you know what happens when you don't eat enough calories, but now comes the all important question... then how many calories should I be eating?! I have an answer for you!
The goal should be to eat as many calories as you possibly can and still lose weight... duh... but really. You always want to start high and then work your way down when it comes to calorie consumption. It is a lot easier to do it this way then come back up, after you lose weight and the weight loss has stalled, and your lack of motivation has risen.
It is unfortunate that there is no perfect number. Each person’s metabolism is different. Calorie calculators are a good starting point, but they can’t take into account all the individualistic variables.
To do this you can do a couple things to find your calorie intake. Through experimentation, by using measuring devices to determine how many calories you burn each day. However, the problem with a majority of people that want to lose weight is that they want it gone NOW. We are the NOW generation, we want things done quickly. Sad to say effective and permeant weight loss is a slow process. You want to lose no more then 2lbs per week. At this pace, it will ensure that the majority of your weight loss is coming from stored body fat instead of muscle. You will also give yourself the best chance to build muscle while you lose fat, which is what you should be striving to do.
So if your progress has stalled, but you think you’re eating the right foods and exercising intensely, more than likely your problem is that you’re not eating enough calories to lose weight. Eat as much as you can, get in as many nutrients as possible, and your weight loss will start moving forward again.
I hope you guys enjoyed this weeks topic. Have a healthy, safe, and fun weekend! Until next week....
Pistols Out!
XO
