So, you recently found out that you’re overweight. What are you going to do about it? Hmmmmm, I know! I will just eat salad all day with an occasional piece of meat, wrong! The first mistake that so many people make is to stop eating when in fact, they should probably be eating more frequently with healthier food choices. Eating more frequently causes your body to burn more calories and keep your metabolism functioning consistently. The minute you start eating fewer times a day, your system slows down to fewer times a day and your total calories burned by your body slows down like a domino effect.
Your body has what is called a Basal Metabolic Rate or BMR. This is the number of calories that your body would burn while lying down over a 24 hour period. Let’s say John Doe’s BMR is say 2500 calories based on his current fitness evaluation. This 2500 calories is needed just for John to sit at home doing nothing all day. But say John likes to play tennis 2 times a week and hit the track 3 times a week. Now we have to account for calories needed for each type of activity that John is participating in. The calories needed for John’s activities + John’s BMR make up John’s total daily caloric need.
For example, let’s say that in conjunction with John’s activity level, John actually needs 3200 calories a day to provide his body with the energy needed to accomplish all tasks. If John then decides to go on this crazy diet to loose weight and now only eats 2000 calories a day, John’s body will go into starvation mode. So whenever John decides to eat, everything will be stored instead of burned because the body is trying to preserve itself because it’s not getting the bare calorie minimum to function. Now, John will begin to get frustrated because he stopped eating as much but is not loosing any weight. In fact, John might have gained a few pounds. The reason is because you have to continue eating to loose weight but just be smarter and more strategic in your approach.
John clearly needs 3500 calories to function because of his activity level. To help John loose weight, John needs to continue eating 5-6 times a day but cut his calories by about 200-300 during 4-5 days during the week and then add an additional 200-300 calories on his heavier activity days. This zig zag approach in addition to John’s regular exercise routine will keep John’s metabolism guessing and thus burn more calories, causing John to finally loose the weight that he desires.
As a general rule of thumb, one seeking to shed a few pounds should cater about 17% of the daily calories to fat, 30% for protein and 50% for carbohydrates, in addition to a daily exercise routine. Think about what it is that you’re going to be doing for the next 3-5 hours before you eat. If you’re just going back to the office to sit at your desk, maybe a big lunch is not a smart decision. Instead, eat something lighter and save the heavier meal for when you know you will be hitting the gym or participating in an activity that warrants the energy that you’re consuming.
In conclusion, remember you have to eat to loose weight. Be smarter about your food choices and times that you eat. Ask your fitness professional to calculate your daily caloric need or if you like I can help you out with that. Then, it’s up to you to do your research on your foods and start keeping a log of the foods you eat most so that you can really find out if you are providing your body with what it actually needs. Good luck and I hope this helps some of you. Please feel free to submit questions via my ask the basement link above and I will do my best to post a response as quickly as possible.
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