I don't know that I would call it pandemic level, but it's definitely more common than it should be. I would say that most women, probably quite a few men, too, have done it for at least one period of time in their lifetime. I know I have.
Undereating, or eating too few calories, has got to be one of the most common ways to lose weight. Have you seen or heard suggestions of eating 1200 calories per day for optimal weight loss? It's nonsense. A 7-year old girl needs more calories than that in a day, let alone a grown person.
But, we think if we need to cut calories to lose weight, that if we cut even more, we'll lose more faster, right?
Wrong.
The American College of Sports Medicine recommends a 500 calorie deficit per day to lose weight. There are calorie calculators online to help us determine the number of calories we need versus what we're eating - be sure to include any activity.
After that we need to deduct 500 calories from our intake. Track your intake each day - there are also many options for that online. Over the course of 7 days that equates to a 3500 calorie deficit a week, or 1 lb of loss per week.
Now, I wish it was that easy! Don't we all!!
On paper, it all makes sense. However, everyone has different caloric needs based on things beyond our control, such as age, gender, genetics, hormones, and general health and health conditions (to some degree), as well as those within our control, such as food choices, activity, body composition, stress, sleep, and even our past eating habits. All of those factors effect our metabolism, or the processes in our cells to provide energy to our bodies.
And, who wants to track their calories day in and day out? It's okay for a time, but everyday forever and ever, amen? Aahhhh, no thanks. The eventual goal is for you to learn how to eat, to listen to your bodies cues and to discern when you're really hungry and when you're not.
But, wait! There's more!
Athletes can actually get to a state called low energy availability (LEA), where there is not enough energy consumed after exercise to provide energy for normal body functions. That means athletes may be eating enough food to fuel their workouts or performance efforts, but not enough to maintain optimal health and organ function. Women athletes, for instance, may stop menstruating. It should be noted that sometimes low calorie intake is intentional, and not necessarily disordered eating, but often times it's unintentional. It's just the way we've been taught or coached to eat.
Now, elite athlete or not, LEA can become serious - and it's quite common. Dr. Stacy Sims, MSC, PHD (author of ROAR and Women Are Not Small Men TED talk) found studies where LEA was quite common in female athletes, especially those in long-distance running, soccer, ballet dancers and synchronized swimming. In her article, Are You Draining Your Body’s Battery Power?, Dr. Katie Schofield likens LEA as low power mode on your phone - it's still functioning, but the screen goes dim not all of the apps work.
David Roche from Trailrunner magazine in The Science of Low Energy Availability and Performance said this:
Low energy availability can be unintentional and not associated with disordered eating, especially with the high caloric requirements of hard training. But as low energy availability becomes more chronic, it can cause Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (RED-S), which a 2014 IOC Consensus Statement in the British Journal of Sports Medicine defines as “impaired physiological function including, but not limited to, metabolic rate, menstrual function, bone health, immunity, protein synthesis, cardiovascular health.”
We also know from Feasts or Fasts?? Part 2, that once energy stores are depleted from food sources, fuel comes from the breakdown of fats and amino acids (aka protein or muscle tissue). Breakdown of muscle tissue isn't ideal for any of us, but it can be detrimental to the performance and health of athletes.
So, the point of today's writing is that we need to eat! We need to ensure we're eating the fuel we need for our bodies, for the activity AND normal body functions that are essential for health.
No one can seem to find the origins of 1200 calories as the optimal number of calories for weight loss - Selene Yeager, from Feisty Media and host of Hit Play Not Pause podcast, has searched and searched. What experts have found is that 1200 calories is not healthy or recommended for most people.
Is it any wonder why people are requesting the services of health coaches? The information out there is confusing and conflicting. It's a lot of information to stay on top of and attitudes toward the low calorie diet are changing.
I used to listen to Dave Ramsey's show on managing money and getting out of debt. He always says that people aren't willing to make any changes until they are sick and tired of being sick and tired. He has his 7 Baby Steps to getting out of debt and it's helped a lot of people who haven't been successful in past attempts, even though they feel they know how to do it without the steps.
I can't say how many times I've heard, "I know what to do...." The difference is not on the amount of knowledge we have, but in our commitment to changing - changing the way we do things for the long-term.
I also know that if someone tells us we have to do this or that, it may or may not become important to us. It's not until we feel the pain that it becomes urgent. Once we decide for ourselves that something is a priority, that is when real change starts to happen - whether it's money management, health and diet, or painting almost every wall in your entire home (Arrrgh! Yes, I'm still finishing up that BIG project!). It's actually taking action steps that makes the difference - and if you can sustain those changes, that's where lifestyle change materializes.
Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? Are you to the point where you are committed to making serious changes? Or, maybe you just want to try things out to see what this whole health coaching thing is all about.
Either way, you are in luck! You can always complete this application to work with me if you are ready right now. Congratulations to you! Fill it out and let's set a time to talk.
If you still need some convincing you feel sick and tired, I've got a plan for you that will be starting on April 28th, 2024. It's a 5-day commitment. Let me just say, after these 5 days you will feel soooo good! That's when you'll realize you DO feel sick and tired. More details will be coming in the next couple of days so keep a look out!
In Courage, my friends! Dani
Komentar