Community Update

Recently I have encountered a phenomenon with my newest
clients and it’s shocking.  They aren’t
eating enough.  Yes you read that right –
they aren’t eating ENOUGH.

It sounds counter
intuitive but my last three clients are struggling with health issues and
weight loss issues because they aren’t eating enough calories to support their
body.  How do I know this?  I have all of my clients keep a food log on www.MyFitnessPal.com so that I can see
what they are eating.  I love this
program because it not only tracks your calories but also the breakdown of the
macro nutrients – protein, fat, carbs – but also some of the micro nutrients –
sodium, potassium, sugar. 

Then I use a caloric
intake calculator.  I prefer to use the
one sponsored by the Mayo Clinic:   http://www.mayoclinic.org/calorie-calculator/itt-20084939.  This takes your age, height, current weight,
gender, and activity level into account.  
Depending on your activity level it gives you a range of calories you
need to eat daily to maintain your weight. 
For example I am a 47 year old female, 5’7” 185 lbs., very active.  To maintain my current body weight and
activity level I need to consume 2600 calories a day.  That’s a lot of calories especially for
someone who eats healthy. 

Many diet programs have standards like when I went to Jenny
Craig a couple of years ago.  They put me
on the women’s program which was approximately 1500 calories.  I told my counselor the first day that it was
not going to be enough for me.  She
reassured me and I suffered for a week being REALLY hungry.  When I went back she said, “Oh, we’ll put you
on the MAN’s program.”  That was 1850
calories.  Thankfully it was enough that
I wasn’t as hungry but I still didn’t lose any weight on the program because I
wasn’t eating the proper amount for my body.

Another time I went to a physician’s assisted weight loss
program to see what they had to say. 
They were going to put me on 1000 calories a day supported by a
prescription appetite suppressant.  When
I told him about my workout routine and that I felt I would be passing out, he replied,
“You can add a piece of fruit.”  Big
Whoop!  Needless to say, I didn’t do
their program.

Just for the record, no matter what eating plan or diet you
are doing, women should never go below 1200 calories a day and men shouldn’t go
below 1500 per day.

Unfortunately any way you slice it and dice it, eating
healthy and/or eating to lose weight means knowing what you eat and
expend:  calories in versus calories
out.  The calculator gives you how much
you need to eat to MAINTAIN your current weight and activity level.  In order to lose weight you need to lower
your calories or increase your output to make enough of a deficit to lose
weight.  The standard thinking is 500
calories per day to lose 1 lbs. per week. 
So for me to lose one pound a week I should eat approximately 2100
calories a day.  That number really
hasn’t worked for me in about 2 years – I’ve been at the same weight now for 24
months. 

Everyone is different. 
For some people a 300 calorie per day deficit is enough to cause weight
loss.  For some people it might have to
be more than the standard 500.  And the
only way to determine what works for you is trial and error. 

The important part is to give your body what it needs.  My clients aren’t eating enough therefore
their bodies think there’s a famine and they are starving so it holds onto as
much as it can so your body will survive during what it thinks is a lean
time.  So what to do?  Slowly increase your calories by 100 or 200 a
day each week until you are at your maintenance calories.  For example if you are eating 1200 calories
and you need to get to 2000 calories, week one increase your calories to
1300-1400.  The next week go up again
1500-1600 calories.  Repeat for as many
weeks a necessary until you are at your goal.

Stay there for about a month.  Let your body get accustomed to burning what
you are supposed to be eating.  Your body
is an amazing machine and works its best when you give it proper nutrition and
the proper volume it requires.  You may
see a slight increase in weight while you are getting to your upper goal – a
pound or two is not unusual.

Once it’s adjusted and leveled out, then you can shock it
again by lowering the calories by 300-500 or whatever your number is.  Try this for a week.  Your body adjusts to changes you make in
about 3 days.  When you lower your
calories you might be a little hungry for a day or two until your body makes
the adjustment.  Sometimes drinking more
water will help you through this minor issue. 

Now you are eating less for a week, see what happens.  Weigh yourself.  Makes notes and keep track.  No one is going to know your body better than
you.  If you didn’t lose weight, make
adjustments – decrease by another 100 or 200 – no more.

Also take into account how you are feeling with the higher
caloric intake – do you have more energy and vibrancy?  Are you sleeping better?  Are you happier? Are you more
productive?  Are your interactions with
others more positive?  Other things to
note of could include are your eyes clearer? 
Is your skin better?  Is your hair
shinier? 

Some of my clients
are having serious health issues and I believe it is partly caused by eating
too little.  If you don’t feed your body
it will feed on itself and your bodily functions could suffer because of it –
heart problems, thyroid issues, liver issues, kidney issues, stomach issues,
skin problems, the list goes on.