In defence of CALORIES!

Contrary to the popular press, calories are good for us.  

They give us energy to function in every day life and also to repair ourselves if the energy is coming from the right places.  

Fats have been vilified by the mainstream and everyone is walking around (especially the women out there who are bombarded with "skinny" commercials and starlets 24/7) scared to eat.

Of course, there are those that are not scared at all but they, predictably enough, don't seem to care that they are killing themselves just by sheer food volume and gluttony.   Nobody is forcing anyone to pack away in excess of 3000 calories per day. ..

I digress, here is why we need to eat more calories ( in most cases) and start losing weight by doing so.

The average caloric intake that I see each day varies from about 1200 to 1500 kcal per day. . .this is just me keeping a record and not from some stat bank somewhere.   The numbers provided are an average of what people who are TRYING to lose weight eat. . .not the buffalo sized people that don't care (or seem not to care) out there.

Ever look at the caloric intake of most "weight loss" study participants?  hmmm, always seems to be an obligatory 2000kcal. . .thats funny, they all lose weight and yet. . .they eat more than what is recommended in most popular diets?!?  how does that work?

The discrepancy lies in this statement:  To lose weight (bodyfat) one needs to be on a nutrition plan that puts the person in a caloric "deficit."  Or in other words, they need to be eating less calories than they are expending.   The only problem with this seemingly basic "truth" is that it is not true.   Well, not true to a certain extent.  Yes, one needs to be in a "deficit" of calories. .but not if that deficit means starvation.

    If you are currently eating 1500 calories for example and are about 5'7 and female. . you are basically starving yourself.  This is true even if you are doing ZERO activity.  So your body promptly readjusts your metabolism to accommodate your low cal lifestyle and hey presto. . .you start to gain weight slowly but surely again unless you are like the Hollywood stars and get some medical aid with the help of drugs to curb your appetite and maybe some uppers to keep you in a good mood rather than the crusty, miserable person that you will become as you try to fight nature as well as your hormones (one and the same really.)  

Every time you even look sideways at a piece of chocolate or a loaf of bread etc. you are going to gain weight.  This is because your body has developed over a huge period of time to be a super efficient fat storage machine. .because we did not have a chance even if we wanted, to overindulge back when we did not "till the soil" so to speak:)

Now lets look at a person that is fed sufficient calories for everyday activity, basil metabolic activity and extra exercise they might be performing.

The body senses that it has an excess calorie intake without the addition of the exercise portion and will immediately shift from storage mode to "proper" metabolism.   Now all you need to do is add in a moderate amount of exercise to create the "deficit" and your body will dip into fat stores for anything extra it needs to keep up with your moderate exercise.  

The other important aspect is WHERE those calories are coming from. . .if they are taken mostly in the form of "turbo fuel" aka carbohydrate, then you are not going to get much results. . .but if they are taken from a moderate protein, higher fat dietary regimen, then you are going to see great results along with the following:

Better sleep, increased concentration (no more adhd), increased immune response, decreased risk of heart attack and stroke as well as less joint pain (inflammation) and depression.

wow, if I could find a "diet" that did all those while still being able to eat stuff like chicken wings and bacon, I would be all over it. . .  no more miniature servings of fake meat (tofu) and small unsatisfying cups of yogurt for me!  

So, we need to:

Increase cals from fat, drop carbs and add in a moderate amount of exercise while keeping our protein at a moderate (1g per lb of bodyweight, unless you are super heavy and should be seeing someone like myself to get proper guidance) intake and that is what it takes to drop the lbs and keep it off. 

After you master the basics, you can get into stuff like "carb reload days" which I lovingly call "insulin smashing" to help get that last stubborn fat off your midsection and other trouble spots.  

Well, the insulin smash will be for another day:)  

Stop eating like a baby and start eating like an adult...just eat the right stuff.