Hello my fellow fitness fanatics,
What if I told you that there is no such thing as “healthy” or “unhealthy” when it comes to food. Well, maybe there is, but it’s not so simple. There has been a huge miscorrelation between eating “healthy” and losing weight. In reality the average person could theoretically eat McDonald’s everyday and still lose weight, let me explain.
The misunderstanding people may have for this topic was actually brought to my attention by my sister. My entire family recently decided to eat healthier in an effort to shed a few extra pounds (y’know summer bod goals). Anyway, my sister was making a “healthy snack” and kindly offered me some. When I declined she was puzzled, “but it’s healthy” she said. Maybe so, but it’s extra calories, I replied.
When it comes to losing or gaining weight the be all and end all comes down to Calories. Everyone has a unique BMR or basal metabolic rate. This is the amount of calories that your body will burn each day if you were to do nothing but sit on your couch. The exact number will vary based on a large number of factors including but not limited to one’s height, age, weight, sex, genetics, etc… Whatever this number is, if you ate exactly that many calories everyday, you would never lose or gain a single pound. The best way to find out your own BMR is to set a specific number of calories you will eat each day over some period, at least a few days. If you gain weight after said period, your BMR is lower than the set calories. On the contrary, if you lose weight your BMR is higher. Be aware that fluid levels and time of day can affect your weight so these also should be kept consistent throughout.
Now, you’ve tracked your calories and know what your personal BMR is but, you’re not pleased with the results. Your BMR is lower than you thought it would be. Well, you’re outta luck. Quit fitness forever and curl up on a sofa with some Ben & Jerrys. Psych! There are actually ways to increase this number! One of the best ways is to exercise daily or as consistently as possible so that your body has to burn more calories each day. In return for exerting this extra energy, you will be granted the luxury of eating more calories to counterbalance the ones that you’ve burnt. For example, if your BMR is 2200 calories and you burn an extra 300 calories while running, you’ve raised the bar to 2500 calories and now may be able to eat that Oreo sleeve cookie that will satisfy your sweet tooth. It may not be “healthy” but as long as you stay below that almighty BMR, you are good to go.
So, even though you can lose weight eating high calorie foods, it is definitely not recommended. Eating high calorie/ low volume food will cause you to be hungry, which will cause you to eat more, leading to the dreaded dad bod (or maybe not so dreaded as of recently). Instead, eat low calorie food and then sprinkle in some sweets and treats here and there. This will satisfy your cravings and keep you from binge eating. It’s also important to remember that to gain one pound, you have to eat an extra 3500 calories above your BMR. So don’t let one day of bad eating carry on and ruin your whole week. You can’t get fat in one day. Just like it takes consistently good habits to lose weight, it takes consistently bad habits to gain weight. So, try to shift your thinking from, “is this food healthy or unhealthy” to “is this food high calorie/ low volume or low calorie/ high volume” and I guarantee great results await you!
Thanks for reading! If you disagree with anything I said above, let me know below, I would love to further discuss. Stay safe and foster fitness!
Foster Fitness 