Day 2: Let's Talk Calories Today

Today its time to crunch some numbers and see just what my nutrition plan should look like.  In yesterday's post I said that I needed to create a daily caloric deficit of 857kcal, and that this deficit would be created through a combination of restricting caloric intake (eating) and increasing caloric expenditure (exercise).  This combination will help to ensure that while I am utilizing (burning) greater amounts of stored fat, I will continue to keep the muscles engaged, thereby keeping the factory's furnace stoked.  Without muscle, we can burn no fat!

I also mentioned yesterday that I should reduce my daily caloric intake by no more than 500kcal to start, as this has been shown to reduce our metabolic rate, thereby decreasing the efficiency of the factory.  Here's a little more information about that concept.  To a point, energy consumption (calories) controls the rate of metabolism...meaning, if there is little or no fuel to burn, the body will basically start to ratchet back on the effort that it puts forth to burn calories...energy in, energy out.  Does that make sense?  Now there are exercise physiologists out there who will tell you that everyone has the same metabolic level, and to some degree they are right.  Everyone essentially starts out with the same metabolic level, but what we do with our bodies determines what happens to our metabolism.

We have all heard the term 'empty calories' right?  But do we all know what that really means?  Quite simply, an empty calorie is one which has very low nutritional value and creates little to no rise in metabolic function.  So...those who consume large quantities of empty calories on a regular basis, tend to be quite fat due to the fact that the majority of those calories do not cause a corresponding rise to the body's ability to metabolize them efficiently.  Still with me?  There's a reason for my ranting!  Over the past year, I have consumed too many empty calories, causing my metabolic level to become depressed.  Combine that process with the fact that a host of injuries and other 'old guy syndromes' reduced my ability and desire to train and voila...suddenly my warehouse is full of overstocked goods...FAT!  I essentially depressed my metabolic level.

To find how many calories I should be consuming per day, I did a couple of things.  First, (and this is where most people say "Stop the bus, I'm getting off!") I kept track of everything...yes everything, I ate for three days.  That means I wrote down exactly what and how much of it, crossed my lips and traveled down my gullet!  I know, I know, you're saying "My friend just stopped drinking soda, and she lost 40lbs!"  Good for her...now check back with her in six months and see how much weight she has re-gained...above and beyond what she weighed prior to her soda cessation!  My point here is that I want my plan to work...and by work, I mean for good.  Our society is all about sustainability these days except when it comes to 'dieting'.  We decide one day that that we are going to give something up completely, in order to bring about a positive change.  What we don't understand however, is that our body has become accustomed to it and, in a way, becomes reliant upon it.  What happens when a smoker decides to quite cold-turkey, or a drug addict is forced to stop?  The body revolts!  The same is true for food.  We may be able to get along okay for a while, but more often than not, we begin to crave what we have given up.  In fact, science has shown us that we ALL develop these cravings, but some people are better at fighting them than others.  Those who give in however, typically end up binging, ultimately creating a resulting calorie consumption 5-10% greater than what they were consuming prior to the onset of the diet.  Add these extra calories (often empty ones) to a depressed metabolism and...well, you get the picture.  Okay, sorry for getting off on that little rant!  I used a free program online to help keep track of my calories.  Check it out at www.myfitnesspal.com.  I have added a link on the right side of this page so you can get to it easily.  Once I had an idea of how many calories I was consuming daily, I could then deduct the 500kcal and figure out what I should be taking in.  

The second thing I did was determine my Resting Energy Expenditure, to figure out just how many calories I should be taking in each day.  I compared this amount to the amount I got by deducting 500 from what I was consuming.  There's some math involved in that process, but its pretty easy.  Stay tuned to see how I determined my caloric range.

Once again....PLEASE become an official FOLLOWER of this blog.  Thanks!