Calories, Calories, Calories
Don’t Let Calories Go
Let me guess... there’s the one moment that you considered calories as the villain to your weight gain or your hero to your weight loss. If that’s the case, you are BUSTED! I’m not saying that you are right or wrong about your impressions on calories. In fact, in a simple world weight loss or weight gain would be based solely on numbers, calories in versus calories out but life is rarely simple so let’s talk about it.
A calorie is not a component or compound that makes up foods and drinks. It is actually a measurement of energy that a food or a drink provides once consumed and digested. It is also used to measure the amount of energy we expend in any physical activity. Basically, its fuel and we are constantly using this fuel or energy throughout the day, even when we are sitting, lying, sleeping or exercising. So it is safe to say that we are in constant need of calories.
Why eating less isn’t good?
Our body needs calories to function properly. In order to maintain a healthy body, we should get our needed calories from balanced meals that contain the appropriate amount of fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. Many studies have shown that a diet less than 800 calories daily will decrease metabolism, so when you do decide to splurge on that pizza, metabolism has left the building and the pizza stays with you. That is what you do not want because then you are stuck not eating and possibly still gaining weight or at the least stagnant in your weight loss. Plus, If we eat extremely low calories, where will we get the energy we need to function? The key is to eat moderately with healthy calories.
Starving isn’t good.
It is not a good idea to restrict your calorie intake to the point that you skip multiple meals. Your body needs fuel to function! If you don’t take in needed calories, the body has no choice but to use stored fat and muscle for energy. Will this be a “YAY” because you’re burning fat? NEGATIVE!! It leads to a very rapid process causing body changes like muscle wasting, hormonal changes, electrolyte imbalances, and will more likely lead to bad breath instantly. Besides the unhealthy changes, depriving yourself usually leads to binge eating which is a total NO NO NO for desired weight loss, maintenance, or healthy gains.
How does our body use calories?
Here are the numbers: The daily calorie intake requirement for adults, especially women, is 2000 calories. This means that your body needs to consume 2000 calories every day. But if your target is to lose weight, you might want to cut down enough calories but not too much (we do not want to slow our metabolism down). I personally do not drop less than 1200 calories a day, my personal maintenance caloric intake is 1450-1650 and that is because I feel my best with a lean look. Now to lose weight or maintain you can add more activities to your daily routine which will burn more calories, It takes a 500 calorie deficit daily for a week to lose a pound the healthy way.
A convenient and useful tool for tracking calories is MyFitnessPal app. It keeps you accountable for what you eat much like your online banking keeps your shopping in check. Download it, and start logging today! From experience, clients who use this app and track their meals are far more successful in achieving and maintaining their fitness goals.
To wrap things up, calorie is a very important component of our diet. We use it to measure the energy we consume and expend. We need to eat healthy balanced meals to obtain calories for energy. Eating less, skipping meals, and depriving ourselves of good nutrition will not benefit weight loss, it only cost us our metabolism, which leads to greater weight gain or less weight loss. Let’s make good calories our new P.I.C (partner in crime).
In health,
~Tyra