A large mistake that so many of my clients are making when they first come to me for help in Transforming their body is their obsession with calories.
đThe obsession of restricting food and calorie intake
đ The obsession with burning calories through aerobic Exercise
đThe obsession with tracking their calorie balance on their watch or phone fitness apps
I can assure you that I am fully educated on the very simple science of calorie balance
I am aware of the very simple philosophy that if you consume less calories than you expend you will create a negative calorie balance & therefore lose weight
HOWEVER ..
It is not this simple & in fact this philosophy is fatally flawed & actually
â WRONG đ˛
Iâm sure many of you now think that I am mad & are screaming that you have lost weight by cutting your calories
I accept this as I do understand that Calorie balance plays a role
However there is so much more involved in losing Fat & Transforming your body successfully
I could waffle for hours about the science of conflicting reasons why calorie balance should not be your primary focus
However
A) Iâll probably bore you !
B) The content wonât fit in this Article !
So I will try and explain in simple terms Over my next couple of Posts the âREAL FACTSâ of effective weight loss & body transformation
Before doing so I will also ask you to consider these simple questions first -
đ¤Have you ever been on a diet & cut your calories successfully losing weight at first but then it stopped?
You tried cutting back further with your intake but that fat around your stomach wouldnât go & the scales would no longer move?
Why is this if you were supposedly consuming less calories than you were expending?
đ¤What is the reason for the fact that most client Food Diaries that I assess when they first start working with me average between 1200-1500 calories per day intake & they canât lose weight? ..
However by then end of working with me they are eating 1900â2400 calories per day and sometimes exercising less but losing Fat & weight every week?
đ¤Why when I am 47 & 5ft 10â do I lose weight when I eat less than 3000 calories per day but you are probably of a similar age & height but would gain weight pretty quickly if you started eating 3000 calories + per day now! ..
BTW I typically exercise 4-5 times per week for 45mins .. no more
đ¤ Finally if I was to eat 2500 calories per day to lose weight with my normal food intake do you really think I would get the same results in my physical transformation if I consumed 2500 calories of Alcohol, Ice Cream, chips & chocolate ?
Please believe me when I tell you that - NOT ALL CALORIES ARE EQUAL
AND CALORIES IN - CALORIES OUT -
SHOULD NOT BE YOUR MAIN FOCUS AS A MAN OVER 40 WANTING TO TRANSFORM YOUR BODY
It is a good start but there are so many additional factors in play if you want long term success and a truly successful body transformation & not just some initial âWeight Lossâ
In theory if we eat less energy (kilocalories) than we expend then we should lose weight.
This relationship between âEnergy Inâ & âEnergy Outâ is known as the âEnergy Balance Equationâ and to a certain point this works but it will hit a point of diminishing returns and eventually bring Fat Loss to a halt if you do not pay attention to other equally important factors such as
The natural resetting of a lower Basal Metabolic Rate after a period of calorie restriction & weight loss therefore requiring that you need to consume less & less calories to get weight loss results
The detrimental effect on your Male Hormones by over restricting calories for too long
The elevation of Cortisol by over restricting your calories for too long resulting in increased fat storage, a blunting of fat loss & a decline of your hormones
The loss of lean Muscle Tissue by over restricting calories and not paying enough attention to your specific macros, which therefore in turn results in an even lower metabolism and less ability to burn-fat
The fact that the more tired, drained & unhealthy your body becomes the âEnergy Balance Equationâ becomes less relevant as your digestion, absorption, processing & storing of energy from foods changes & so the simple formula no longer adds up
The fact that our body shifts our weight regulating hormonal mechanisms when it senses ongoing calorie restriction in an attempt to always try and maintain a homeostasis and without clever management will always try to prevent us losing further weight
The fact that just simply cutting calories if you do not pay attention to the quality of your foods & the macronutrient balance will potentially put further stress on your body, elevate cortisol, stress your gut and decline your hormones resulting in a halt in weight loss and that stubborn storage of fat around that belly area
Have I convinced you enough yet that there are so many more important factors at play than just simply CALORIES if you want to change your body successfully ?
If I have or if I havenât let me next delve a little deeper into some facts around the points above and see if it helps convince you further
THIS WILL BE IN THE NEXT POST
If alternatively you are already convinced but do not want to manage the science and track the detail necessary to utilise the necessary strategies for optimum Fat Loss & Body Transformation then why not consider hiring an effective coach to manage this for you
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