Nutrition is a difficult term to understand. It encompasses many different factors, each of which affects how our bodies respond to it. Some people want to lose weight and feel like they have done everything they can with no results. Others feel too thin and try to eat themselves as full as possible, again to no avail. So how can we take control of our bodies and thus the number on the scale? Here are some tips that can help you.
Of course, these tips don't apply to everyone. Some people have underlying symptoms that cause us to keep a lot of weight on, or let it go. For example, an illness, or a malfunctioning thyroid. If you have or think you have some underlying symptoms, I recommend that you first visit take at the doctor's office.
My name is Allon. I have been in the business for several years now and often encounter the same problems. This is very understandable because there is a lot of disinformation being spread on social media, among other things. I would love to help you get your weight under control.
Track your nutrition, know what you are eating
Often we are unaware of the amount of calories that go into our bodies each day. What we often encounter is that overweight people think they are eating very little (but in reality when counted, it is too much), and underweight people think they are eating like crap (in reality it is simply too little). Everyone reacts differently to a certain amount of calories, however, it has been randomly demonstrated through research that there is a trend in the ratio of weight versus calories required for weight maintenance. The basic rule is that we need to eat less than we burn to lose weight, and we need to eat more than we burn to add weight. The outcome on the equation (e.g., 2500=2500) must be zero to remain stable.
Awareness begins by looking at the nutritional values of a product. Next time we go grocery shopping, we will need to look at what exactly is in the products that we purchase to consume. At home, you can scan and track any product using various applications on your phone. The only thing left to do then is to weigh out. Exactly how much are we eating? Of course, weighing out doesn't have to take forever; slowly we become aware of our diet and learn to deal with it.
Although, it's still good to occasionally weigh in and fill in what we eat a week later in the process, just to check it out! Know what you eat; do you understand how nutrition works? Then get your body weight under control.
My metabolism is slow
A statement that often comes up to determine why someone is overweight is ''my metabolism is slower than yours.'' Of course, it is true that not everyone processes food at the same speed, however, there is a strong trend in the average, shown in a pie chart (see below).
Krieger, James. "The Metabolism Myth." lts.fi, 2019, https://www.lts.fi/media/lts_kuntotestaus/ktp19/ktp19_james_krieger_sunnuntai_esitys1_materiaalikansio.pdf.
The biggest consumer of energy on an average day is the "basic metabolic rate," or BMR. This can be briefly summarized in all the bodily functions of the body that keep us running. The 'TEF' stands for Thermic Effect of Food, or the thermal effect that food has on our body when we consume it (aka process food). Then there is Physical Activity, or all the movements we do in a day (sports, work, shopping, etc.). Because the BMR has such a large impact on the total burn of the day, it seems the statement could be true. However if we dig a little deeper into research we can quickly see, that the BMR will not endlessly travel with us when we lose or gain weight. On average at a weight loss of 10% of total body weight, we see a decrease of about 4 calories per kilogram of lean mass. A further decrease to 20% sees on average (in research) a decrease of about 0.1 calories per kilogram of lean mass. Thus, the decrease is not linear. To make a long story short, research shows that our metabolism tends to stabilize. There won't be many gains to be made with this.
NEAT
In the end, it always comes down to nutrition. Our diet helps determine how much energy we can spend in a day. We can then spend this energy on exercise, both during sports and during everyday living (ADL). From here it becomes a gray area. Earlier we were able to see that the BMR decreases somewhat when we lose weight, until it stabilizes. What will happen next is that our energy level will drop. A simple equation; we consume little energy, so we don't have much to spend. This then results in a lower amount of daily exercise. This hinders not only ADL, but also our athletic performance. We are less likely to get up from the chair and feel increasingly tired. In other words, our "Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis" decreases (NEAT). This can result in a difference of 150 to as many as 600 calories in a day (average from research). Then a big choice follows: are we going to eat even less to compensate? When the diet consists of about 1,200 calories, there is little to no room for calorie reduction. The energy balance thus remains zero! Now comes a piece of experience. What we want to do next is to increase our energy level without gaining weight. By increasing our energy level, the possibility for more NEAT. This will provide the opportunity for more weight loss.
These are my three tips that can help you get your weight under control. Do you have more questions or are you still looking for help on this? Send me an email, to contact@ironchurchprogram.nl.
