In order to lose weight, we often are told that energy out
must be greater than energy in. In
other words, calories taken in must be less than the calories we use in all of
our daily activities. So, to lose weight
we cut calories and try to increase activity.
(Granted, there is more to weight loss/maintenance than just an exchange
in energy. What if we cut too many
calories or don’t eat enough?
Since I started at Kindred Nutrition, I’ve heard many of Amy’s
or Dawn’s clients talk about how they’ve cut back on calories to lose weight
but have hit a weight-loss plateau. Many
a time when a client discusses this occurrence, we eventually come to the
conclusion that the client is not eating enough. This probably sounds foreign but you do need
to eat in order to lose weight! If
you’re not eating enough your body goes into “starvation mode.” Then whenever you do eat your body
automatically stores those calories as fat because it is worried that it is not
going to get enough calories to carry out your daily activities.
In no way am I relaying that you shouldn’t cut back on
calories to lose weight, however, there is a limit on how much one should be
cutting back. Something else I find to
be prudent to mention since I’ve heard so much about the benefits of cutting
out carbohydrates from ones diet in order to achieve weight loss is the fact
that your body NEEDS carbohydrates for survival. Speaking bluntly, if you don’t eat carbohydrates
you will die. In popular media
carbohydrates are time and again depicted as the enemy and an obstacle in
losing weight when in reality they are absolutely necessary to your overall
health and body function. Carbohydrates
and calories are our good friends, in moderation, so that we may fuel our
bodies.
If you have any question on what your needs are given your
current lifestyle, Kindred Nutrition offers something called a Resting
Metabolic Rate (RMR) test. All you need
to do in order to take this test is breathe into a tube for seven to ten
minutes and once completed it will tell you exactly how many calories your body
actually burns while you are sedentary or at rest, from there it will calculate
how many calories you should be consuming to either lose or maintain your
weight. With this extremely accurate
test you will also be provided with a lot of interesting information which
could really aid you in either losing or maintaining your weight. For example, this test also lets you know how
many calories you would burn doing thirty minutes of exercise at a moderate
level, how many calories you burn performing daily activities, and the fewest
amount of calories you could possibly be consuming per day in order to avoid
the “starvation mode”. After completing
this test, you could also speak to Amy or Dawn to see what types of food and
how much of each type you should be eating to best fuel you in whatever you may
be doing or working towards. The numbers
you get from this machine are not set in stone either, if you are unhappy with the results or long
for a better acting metabolism, Amy or Dawn could aid you in that as well.
My bottom line: even when trying to lose weight, you need to
be providing your body with all the nutrients it needs to be given so that it
can be best fueled to perform the way we want it to. If those needs aren’t met, your body will
suffer the consequences. A weight loss
journey shouldn’t mean continuing to sacrifice the health of your body; it
should be just the opposite. While
cutting back on what you are consuming just keep in mind you still need to be
meeting your body’s needs.
In Good Health,
Katie Wanger
Comments