Are Calories King? Does counting calories guarantee fat loss?
So, you’ve probably heard many people say that they lost weight on weight watchers or some other calorie restricted diet.
You may even have had a personal trainer tell you that ‘Calories are KING”
WELL……
Although scientifically it is argued that if you eat less food than the energy you exert you will lose weight, it’s just not that black and white. it’s also a very dangerous approach to living a healthy, balanced life and does not always guarantee sufficient weight loss. It’s just not that simple……
Here are several reasons why you should not necessarily start with restricting calories ESPECIALLY if you are starting a new fitness program:
The Body Is a complicated computer!!!
The lack of proper balanced nutrition can lead to hormone imbalances and can disrupt your body’s processes, this then affects things like digestion, metabolism and how fast fat is burned.
Just restricting calories doesn’t take into consideration your daily recommended intake of CARBS, FATS, PROTEINS and MICRONUTRIENTS (Vitamins and Minerals). The body needs these for ENERGY, REPAIR and to communicate between the cells and many other complicated processes.
Hydration can also be a big factor to disrupt your body’s processes. The body is 70% water so proper hydration has a big part to play in how it functions, especially with digesting and metabolising food.
Identifying your calorie intake?
So somebody tells you that if you’re a man you should consume 2500 calories and if you’re a woman you should consume 2000 calories.
Well, let us just say that they are both as active as each other. Even then calories are not always king.
They may be different ages, my mum is slightly overweight at 74 years old and I know that she doesn’t eat 2000 calories a day. She is quite active but she doesn’t always eat a very balanced diet and she often doesn’t eat very much at all. These are all factors to consider in how her body functions. Age, habits, body composition and build will give different variables to consider.
Even if you cut out food altogether it will still affect the way your body burns fat. Your metabolism MAY slow down which will then mean you need less calories for the body to operate effectively which will also slow down fat loss.
Identifying your calorie intake can take time to measure and there is not always a one size fits all solution.
Starting a new Fitness Program.
- Restricting calories at the beginning of a new fitness program can lead to lack of energy, brain fog and ultimately sickness. The body is doing something new and new demands are affecting it in ways that are hard to measure. You can be in deep trouble quite quickly if you haven’t got enough of the right nutrients in your body at the right times.
– Reducing the amount you eat too soon could also lead to cravings and lack of self-control. If your body needs more vitamins and minerals, cravings could lead you to think you need more carbs for example. The lack of these and a new fitness regime can lead to the immune system being affected in a negative way and can make you sick. The body being out of sync will affect the rate in which you burn fat.
CONCLUSION
Proper hydration and the good balance of nutrients in your body is always the first port of call before you reduce the amount you eat.
If you want to lose weight effectively then first make sure your body is functioning effectively with getting enough CARBS, PROTEINS, FATS, vitamins and minerals that you need and move on from there.
Think of things in terms of ENERGY, REPAIR and OILING THE MACHINE!
Finally……
When you are quite confident that you are getting enough of these and you are not losing fat THEN please go ahead and start to reduce the quantity of food you consume.
If you are interested in learning more then please check out the video below from Stamford University…..’Is a calorie a calorie?’
Stay blessed, Stay healthy
Danny
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