One of the biggest pieces of the weight loss puzzle is the proper caloric intake. To achieve long-term success in health, fitness, and weight loss, you must be sure that you are not eating too many calories, but also that you are not eating too few calories! By the time you are done reading this article it is my hope that all your confusion will be swept away!
First, what is a calorie? A calorie is simply a unit of heat or energy. Energy is actually heat production. 1 Whenever muscle contracts to initiate movement, heat is being generated thus calories are being burned.
As a society we have been taught that calories are “bad”, that they are the enemy and we should limit them at all cost. Unfortunately, our long term health and weigh loss is that cost.
This idea of cutting calories to lose weight was started by and is being perpetuated by the “quick fix” diet centers and diet books. Their fundamental teachings are correct; cutting calories will cause you to lose weight. That is not the end of the story, however.
When you cut calories to low you lose weight but that weight loss comes in three forms; water, a little fat, and lean muscle tissue. But when you step on that scale you don’t care what kind of weight you lose and long as that scale went down. These diet centers know this and they feed off of it. They know that if that scale is moving in the right direction, you will continue to come and you will tell all your friends and family about it. What does that mean for them? $$$$$$$$$$!!!
Let’s discuss what happens when you lose water and muscle tissue. Water is the easy one. You burn it off very quickly and you put it back on just as quick. Sometimes overnight.
Lean muscle is another story. Lean muscle is metabolically active tissue which means it burns fat. This means that you want to maintain as much lean muscle as possible to burn as much fat as possible.
When you embark on a low calorie diet you deprive your body of the essential nutrients it needs to survive. When your body is not getting the essential nutrients it needs to survive it is forced to go find it. Your body will go to lean muscle first to get these needed nutrients.
When you’re not getting the proper amount of calories the body begins to cannibalize and eat muscle tissue so it can rob it of its’ nutrients. You are burning away the one thing that can burn away a fat cell...permanently. But who cares as long as the scale is moving, right?
Not only does low calorie dieting rob your body of lean muscle, but maintaining a calorie depriving diet is almost impossible. The failure rate is through the roof; somewhere around 95%. How many people do you know that have stayed with that type of diet? Go to any one of these diet center meeting and you will see a bunch of people who have been on that diet, failed and are now back again to give it another try. After all, they lost weight last time.
When you go off of a calorie depriving diet, and you will, you put that weight right back on and then some. Only you have less muscle than you did when you began. Now your body composition is further out of whack than it was before. That lean muscle does not just come back like the fat. Now, repeat this process 5 or six times over the next 10 years and think about what you have done to your body.
The next logical question is, “What should I do?”
To begin, calories are good. They are our friend. They are the fuel that enables our body to function. We NEED them. They are the key to burning fat, not storing it. Let’s break it down.
Calories come from protein, carbohydrate, and fat.
Calories from carbs provide energy to get through a tough workout. They are your body’s main energy source. Without them it is almost impossible. Eating the right kind of carbs and the right AMOUNT provides the sugar your body needs to burn as energy.
Calories from protein provide the building blocks of every cell in the body, including muscle. When you put yourself through a strenuous weight training workout, and you have broken down muscle tissue, you MUST have protein in order for the body to build muscle back. If you lack in protein, you cannot re-build muscle, and in-turn you cannot burn fat efficiently. Again, you have to have the right AMOUNT of protein.
Calories from fat are also important. Unsaturated fats lubricate the joints, provide insulation for the vital organs, and help with brain function, just to name a few.
If you cut those calories short your chances of long-term success are very low.
Your probably thinking, “alright calorie boy, how many should I be eating. To be honest, there is no scientific answer to that but I can give you some guidance.
First let’s look at the concept of basal metabolic rate. Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) refers to the number of calories your body would burn if you laid in bed all day. The chart below shows the BMR for a 45 year old woman.
Total
• Brain 365 365
• Heart 150 515
• Kidney 120 635
• Liver 520 1155
• Lungs 150 1305
• Other 250 1555
As you can see, the body burns quite a few calories on its own. Now that is if you lay in bed all day. However, unless you are a bear, you probably get up, got to work, cook, play with kids, and clean. Now you throw exercise on top of that and you can burn 1000 more calories a day. Now you are burning 2500 calories but a low calorie diet says eat only 1200. That is not even half of what the body needs to even function. Now the body goes into starvation mode.
This is a VERY IMPORTANT POINT!!! When the body goes into starvation mode it does two things. One, it wants to take all the food you eat, no matter how healthy, and store it as fat. Fat is a slow burning nutrient and the body wants to keep it around in case it starves. Two, the body will refuse to release the fat it already has stored for the same reasons.
When your body gets the right amount of calories it feels free to take all the healthy food it takes in and distribute it and burn it off because it feels NO NEED to store anything as fat. Also, the body will be willing to release the fat it has stored because it is not starving. It is getting plenty on nutrient and calories.
Having said all that, it is also possible to get too many calories. So there is no confusion, use the formula below to determine your proper caloric intake. It is not exactly a scientific formula but after using it for many years I have found it to be extremely accurate.
One of the leading personal trainers in the country, Phil Kaplan, originated the idea of guessing the amount of calories you should take in a day based on your metabolic rate and your activity level. I think it works very well. The only downside is that you must count your calories; which is not for everybody. If you don’t mind counting calories, however, consider utilizing this method. The first thing you do is look at the chart below and determine which metabolic rate and activity level applies to you:
Activity/Metabolic Rating Chart
Sedentary 13
Slow Metabolism/somewhat active 14
Slow Metabolism/very active 15
Medium metabolism/moderately active 15
Medium metabolism/very active 16
Fast metabolism/moderately active 16
Fast metabolism/very active 17
You then multiply the number that applies to you by your IDEAL body weight, meaning the weight you would like to be. Make sure that number is reasonable. Do not use the weight you were in 8th grade.
Here is an example:
If you are a sedentary person with an ideal body weight of 150 lbs, you would multiply 150 x 13.
150 x 13 = 1950 calories per day. This is a long way from the 1200 calories your doctor or local weight loss center advised you to eat.
If you are a moderately active person with a medium metabolism and an ideal bodyweight of 150 lbs, you would multiply 150 by 15.
150 x 15 = 2250 calories per day
If you are an athlete with a comfortable bodyweight of 150 lbs, you would multiply 150 by 17.
150 x 17 = 2550 calories per day
This chart is based on judgment which makes it a little less scientific than laboratory based metabolism readings. Therefore, the number you get will be a “ballpark” estimate of what your daily caloric intake should be. If you are truly honest with your weight factor, and metabolic/activity rating, this figure comes very, very close.
So the next time you decide to cut your calories to lose weight take this article to heart and realize what you are doing to your body. Calorie cutting is the perfect recipe for a high body fat percentage that will be extremely difficult to change. At the same time eating an ample amount of “clean” calories will allow your body to burn fat, keep it from storing fat, maintain lean muscle, and keep you energized all day long.
