Yep, it’s another one of these. Another entry about calories. Hopefully, it’s starting to sink in. I’ve actually seen some segments about it on those horrible daytime tv shows! Imagine that, This Morning talking about how important calories in versus calories out (CIVCO) is for weight management! And then, unfortunately, next week they’re back to talking about superfoods, or the newest fad diet, or they have some knobhead personal trainer on, telling women they shouldn’t lift weights. Well, it was nice while it lasted.
But seriously, it sounds like it’s actually starting to make an impact, people are finally starting to understand the importance of calories. If you want your weight to change, you’re going to have to change your energy balance; calories in versus calories out. Now, there are two ways to do that; you can increase the number of calories you burn, or you can decrease the number of calories you consume. So, you can move more, or you can eat less.
Now, getting that calorie deficit by moving more is tough, especially if you’re already active. Exercising doesn’t really burn a whole lot more, and it’s a lot more time consuming, and it’s a lot more effort. Clearly, the easier option is to eat less. At first, that might still sound difficult, but when I tell you that it doesn’t matter what you eat less of, just get those calories down, it’s definitely easier.
Obviously, I would rather what you ate less of was less nutritious food, or something like alcohol, but it’s still just a numbers game. And cutting down on those things you enjoy, might make it harder for you to maintain it. But generally, when it comes to nutrition, I say, the number of calories you eat defines how big you are, and the nutritional content of those calories defines how well your body operates. So, quantity for size, quality for performance. See you again next week.
Dan Miller
Body Fuel Personal Fitness Trainer
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