It’s really easy to get caught up in the figures of what ‘we should be consuming’, this egg vs. that cookie and ‘If it fits your macros bro’…
To a degree, there is always elements of each that can certainly be used with flexibility to assist the overall big picture of an effective rounded dietary process…yes, yours may be different to mine.
I only ever agree with calorie counting when all of the fundamental nutritional principles are in place with the true understanding of why and how calorie counting can be used. Just merely ‘losing weight’ isn’t ‘healthy’.
It’s not quite as simple as a one dynamic of fuel in fuel out, yes I HEAR you, energy balance at the end of the day is the determining factor that will dictate whether you lose or gain in positive contextual scenarios.
But! but but but!
How do we sometimes eat more, yet lose weight or get leaner?
Or we ate fewer calories than we thought we should and we gained weight?
Or you started to eat breakfast or to skip it and you dropped a few notches on the belt buckle or dropped a dress size?
According to the equations that measure energy balance, none of this should happen…
The reason it does, is because we are a complex, organic, dynamic, insanely sensitive network of systems that ALL interlink with one another to create the ultimate piece of biochemical master class, that makes the most sophisticated of machines look….well, bang av in comparison.
The human body is so much more and deserves much more respect than just ‘filling’ the tank to that of a car….In a sense yes, the analogy of fuelling the body is correct, however, the difference to the lesser sophisticated engines couldn’t be more vast and inaccurate or actually insulting to the sophistication of the human body.
Not all calories are created equal, eating a cookie because it’s less calories is not better than eating two eggs that may be more calories. That approach will harm your metabolism, your mindset and your relationship with food.
We require a vast amount of nutrients to sustain our incredibly sophisticated organism.
How we express our hormone’s (mission) control, how fight against disease, how we up regulate our digestive systems, how our cardiovascular system functions in conjunction with the energy transfer process for activities, energy and vitality, how we metabolise fat cells, build muscle cells and change the way our cells function in order to maintain the amazing systems of YOU functioning like a DON. The cool thing, is this happens without you even having to do anything other than making sure you give it the right kinds of fuel.
Pretty smart ay?
I don’t want to learn about amino acids, vitamin-C sources and where to get my iron from…you’re not a scientist or a nutritionist, as always, it’s down to systems and easy action steps.
Build your meals around 4 categories:
- Protein
- Veggies
- Fats
- Carbohydrates
With variety and to suit your likes, dislikes, tolerances, intolerances, availability, finances, preparation methods etc, your daily activities, exercise frequency/intensity and goals…You will cover most of the bases required, you’ll mop over any deficiencies and create more balance for your awesome body to thrive….Oh, as a bi-product you’ll maintain a healthy weight and body composition.
Learn and invest into the long term. The short term quick fix to a long time requirement for the change will only waste your time.