When looking to get into shape the first questions everybody
asks include:
“What exercises should I do?”
“What routine should I follow?”
“What’s your workout plan?”
When trying to achieve your fitness goals regardless of what
they might be the most important piece of advice I can give to you is to
EDUCATE YOURSELF. Do not just be a “gym rat”. Don’t just go to the gym day in
day out and not improve. Don’t waste your time. Its not about working HARD its
about working SMART.
The first thing you need to do is understand is what a
calorie is. A calorie is nothing but a unit of energy used by our body.
CALORIES=ENERGY
To make this easier to understand a calories can be compared
to money, and our physical body can be compared to a wallet.
If a person is making MORE money then he/she is spending,
they earn a SURPLUS of money so the size of their wallet will get BIGGER.
If a person is SPENDING more money then he/she is making,
they will go into debt and have a NEGATIVE account balance, in other words the
size of their wallet will get SMALLER.
If a person is SPENDING just as much as he/she is EARNING
they wont lose or gain money. Their bank account balance will remain the same,
and their wallet will not get bigger or smaller, it will stay the SAME.
The diagram below represents Bob’s maintenance calorie
level.
The red line represents Bob’s maintenance level. This means
if Bob’s eats 2000 calories everyday, he will neither gain weight nor lose it.
This is equivalent to a person Spending just as much as money as he or she is
making. The size of the wallet will neither get bigger nor smaller. If Bob
continues to eat 2000 calories he will neither get bigger nor get any smaller
he will MAINTAIN his current body weight and stay the SAME.
If Bob were to start eating 2500 calories everyday he would
be eating 500 more then his body requires. This puts Bob in a 500 calorie
SURPLUS. Just like the wallet example, if a person earns MORE then he/she spends
the size of their wallet INCREASES. So if Bob continued eating 2500 calories
every day he would eventually GAIN weight.
If Bob were to start eating 1500 calories everyday he would
be eating 500 less then his body requires. This puts Bob in a 500 calorie
DEFICIT. And again just like the wallet example if a person spends more money
then they earn the size of the wallet will get smaller. Similarly, if Bob
continued eating 1500 calories a day he would LOSE weight.
This example is intended to help you understand how
“calories in vs. calories out” works.
IF
- CALORIES-IN>CALORIES-OUT= Weight INCREASES
- CALORIES-IN<CALORIES-OUT=Weight DECREASES
- CALORIES-IN=CALORIES-OUT= weight stays the SAME.
The reason Understanding this principle is so crucial is
because once you’ve established whether your fitness goals include getting bigger
(putting on muscle) or getting smaller (losing fat) you need to start
monitoring you calorie level accordingly.
Keep in Mind everyone’s body is unique so your body’s
maintenance level will NOT be the same as Bobs. Below I have attached a link to
a macronutrient calculator that will help you find your body’s maintenance
level. Keep in mind this is only a STARTING point so you may need to adjust
your calories slightly as you continue.
OR
I hope this blog was helpful and easy to understand. As always feel free to message me for any questions or concerns you may have or if you need anything clarified
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