As you may know, your weight is a reflection of a constant exchange of calories. If the calories you take in (food) are more than the calories your body uses (RMR + TEA + TEF), weight gain will result. If the calories you use are more than the calories you eat, weight loss will result. If you are in energy balance (calories in = calories out) your weight will stay the same. Please keep in mind that this is a very simplistic and general explanation - our bodies are much more complex than this, and we don't work like cash registers. Eating more than your needs on one occasion does not lead to overnight weight gain; weight change is a reflection of long-term trends. In other words, you would need to consistently eat more calories than your body needs to experience weight gain, and you would need to consistently eat fewer calories than your body needs to experience weight loss. Even though this adds a layer of complexity to weight management, this is good news. This means we can have flexibility with our food intake and not live in fear of indulging every once in awhile.
[Note: Another layer of complexity comes from the Set Point Theory - a theory that each person has a genetically-determined set weight that the body strives to maintain, even with calorie excess or deficiency. That's a topic for another day.] No matter whether your goal is to lose, gain, or maintain, you can benefit from following a few simple guidelines:
- Focus on health. Focus on eating real, healthful foods and not on counting calories. This is a simple and beneficial attitude to have toward food, and a healthy body will result from healthy habits.
- Change your habits. Crash dieting never benefitted anyone, and weight loss achieved by severe calorie restriction is mostly water, which means it will return when you begin eating normally again. Instead, focus on improving yourself one habit at a time. This will make it much easier to turn your actions into a lifestyle and maintain your healthy self for the long haul.
- Be active. Regular exercise can help improve mood, reduce stress, and improve your physical health. In addition to purposeful exercise, make it a point to be active throughout the day. It has been said that sitting is the smoking of our generation, and research shows that prolonged sitting - even when accompanied by daily exercise - increases mortality risk. This is easier said than done, particularly if you work a desk job. Take breaks every hour to walk around, or better yet, look into a standing desk.
- Accept yourself. Some people were built to be tall and slender, others were built to be athletic and strong. There is no right or wrong, and this is no different than one person being business-minded and another having artistic talent. Our unique qualities make us who we are, and we can only change ourselves to a certain degree without becoming unhealthy and extreme. Learning to embrace and celebrate our bodies' distinctive abilities can be incredibly freeing.
Dangerous Dieting
There is an often-neglected flip side to the weight issue. Our bodies are amazing machines, and we can survive even when we don't fuel ourselves adequately. Under-eating can be just as dangerous to our health as over-eating. Unhealthy calorie restriction, which is considered under 1200 calories per day for women and under 1500 calories per day for men, results in the metabolism
sloooowing doooown as an energy-conserving survival strategy. This means your body will become more energy efficient, using less fuel to power its essential tasks. This can cause gradual damage to the body if calorie restriction continues long-term. Remember all those important organs and their fuel requirements listed above? Without adequate calories to support the body's basic needs, heart rate will slow, dizziness and low blood pressure will occur, digestion becomes less efficient, deterioration of bone may occur, hair and skin suffer, brain matter is lost, and anxiety and depression may result. At best, eating under 1200 calories per day is an unhealthy crash diet that likely will not result in a person meeting their health and lifestyle goals. At worst, it could be a sign of a larger problem at hand. If you feel you may be struggling with restrictive eating, you feel guilt following meals, or you find yourself compensating for calories eaten via exercise or other behaviors, please inform someone you trust or contact me - I'm happy to point you in the direction of non-judgmental help. Life's too short to be spent worrying about weight and calories all the time. Food is fuel!
