Tuesday 27th May 2008 - Are YOU eating too many calories ?

I was emailed a question from a lady that had plateaued on her quest to lose bodyfat. When we actually spoke I found out that she was a set calorie per day intake plan. It was suggested by a major "weight loss" program and she explained that at first she got great results and we then discussed how and why this happened to see if we could help her again achieve success.

She had put on a substantial amount of weight after her second baby and decided that enough was enough and she wanted to lose the weight. Her motivation soon disappeared as the numbers coming off got smaller until they stopped. I explained that initially she had created a deficit in removing her "unhealthy and excess calories" and had increased her activity levels to three to four days per week which combined will cause a massive shift.

Due to her workload of being a mother and part time worker there were NO more spare hours for exercise and so she was feeling frustrated. I asked her why she ate the same amount of calories on days she wasn't exercising ?

I then explained that on days that I don't find time to exercise I am even more cautious to only consume quality calories to meet my needs and look for deficits in this. I then sent her my blog post below from earlier this year and she was amazed that no one had pointed this out to her before. I told her that this is a very common question for motivational challenge that many people face on a "weight loss" program.

Since we have made the necessary changes she has again started to see the weight start to come off again and told me to repost this. So Michelle I am following your advice and suggestion.

Read this and see if YOUR plan is in need of a tune up.

I was presenting at a Nutrition Conference late last year and in preparing for my session I realized that there exists a major disparity in the amount of calories (fuel for your body) that most "experts" recommend in comparison to the amount of calories most people are using (through activity) and how this didn't make sense to me.

Now I am not a nutritionist nor do I profess to be but I have prided myself on learning as much as I can about the human body to assist others achieve their goal to lose bodyfat for improved health.

This has been a long process of education, awareness and then implementing various regimes of eating (nutrition) to see if they work. Some have worked better than others and some are a waste of time but ALL added to my knowledge and helped me to form the basis of the current eating regime (diet or whatever you want to call it), that I follow.

It's not rocket science but it works and I have titled it the Rainbow Nutrient Refuelling Plan. It is based upon consuming "green" plant based foods combined with three other coloured vegetables or salads with a lean source of protein and good fats. This supplies me with a nutrient dense intake of calories that are focussed on anti-oxidants, vitamins and minerals. These are required to assist any other health / fitness / weight loss goal that I could have !

Of course when I developed the Rainbow Nutrient Refuelling Plan it was then checked and assessed by my team of nutritionists and dieticians (nothing like ticking all the boxes to make sure that it works and is safe).

Then what I also did was to develop an activity regime to compliment this nutrient plan which is my AfterBurner Workout Programs that I have since released on my Blog. I will be filming this in the coming weeks.

Again after 20+ years of being a trainer it's not based on anything other than increased calorie burning "work" to get the desired result - sorry it's that simple - success is based upon using more calories than you consume. So back to my issues with consuming the same amount of calories every day.

Let's assume you are a fitter than average individual and are consuming a lot less calories than most of you actually are. My reason for this is to show just how our current recommended or suggested eating intake from "experts" will likely FAIL to get the chosen outcome for even the fitter people that try it.

NOTE - To do this we will have to make a few general observations so read and digest this fully before you dismiss what is below. There will of course be some slight variations for gender / genetics / body status / fitness / no existing health conditions etc.

If you are consuming (eating etc) an average of 2000 calories per day (this is recommended by many eating plans and I have found most people are nearly eating twice this), then this will be enlightening for your fat loss (weight) goals.

What amazes me is that a lot of people watch the calories that they eat BUT forget about the calories that they drink (from any source) which is crazy because they all add up and count, but they then go workout and try to match this "number eaten" which is destined for failure.

Suggested Calorie Intake - 2000 calories (now this is used as a guide)
- Sustain normal body functioning - 1000 to 1300 calories to sustain life on a daily basis depending upon muscle levels (again I am going to over-estimate what the average person will burn daily; and the higher the lean muscle and fitness levels the higher this number will be in total)
- Activity / Working Out - 500 calories (this is probably way higher than most people achieve but giving the benefit of the doubt for our scenario)

That leaves a deficit (in the RED) of about 200-500 additional calories PER DAY.
That means in a week, IF you are working out to this level of difficulty every day and most aren't doing it daily, and struggle to make it three times per week, that you have consumed at least 1400 additional calories if you are at the higher end of the workout number.

Then at best scenario this person is adding 5,600 calories each four weeks / month.

FACT - 3,500 calories is a kilogram of fat calories.

And we wonder why we have an obesity plague sweeping the masses.
Again these numbers are put together for a possible observation that may or may not be the reason that we have a problem but at least I want to generate some discussion and debate to start the problem being addressed.

I personally have adjusted my fuel intake (calories from food and drink) to be a strategic option to increasing my health and it is working really well.

This is NOT however a push for a low caloric intake but rather a high quality fuel intake that gives my body what it needs and allows me to get leaner and healthier.

You decide what is best for you !