Month: April 2013

Calories In = Calories Out. 

Yes this is a myth!!  At least for most of you…..AND ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE AN ATHLETE!

We are always told by our doctors and dieticians that calories in = calories out.  Yes this is a simple way to tell an overweight person to put down the Twinkies and go for a walk, but it can also be a recipe for disaster.

When our clients would follow everything we said based on this theory and nothing would happen, and even sometimes their weight went up, us trainers thought they were cheating with either their food intake or cardio program. This probably made them feel even worse than they already did and on top of that we were just as frustrated as they were. As trainers all we really want to do is to help our clients reach their goals.

Being a Certified Nutritionist I now know this theory is not sound and should be thrown way when it comes to losing weight. By now everyone seems to know not all food is created equal when we compare 2000 calories a day of Pepsi and donuts vs. 2000 calories a day of meat and vegetables. Most of us trying to lose weight understand that one pound equals 3,500 calories, but is it as simple as consuming 500 fewer calories a day to lose one pound of weight per week? I beg to differ.

When trying to lose weight and creating a healthy body it’s much more than calories in vs calories out. When I take clients on for weight loss, I approach it in way that educates on creating a healthy body, not just about weight loss. Weight loss should be a byproduct of having a healthy body and feeding it the right fuel.

Here’s a few questions you need to ask yourself for becoming healthy.

• How is stress level?
• How do you sleep?
• Are you eating enough protein?  Water?
• Are you eating specifically for your Metabolic Type?
• What’s your exercise routine? Are you exercising too much?

The truth is food can be a medicine or it can be a poison.  Sometimes food that you think are a healthy good source of protein, but can be creating inflammation in your body, causing stress and releasing cortisol, which promotes weight gain.

So, make sure you do your research and choose foods that make you feel great and give you tons of energy.