There has been this recurring theme lately. It keeps coming up in conversations with friends, coaching clients, and even all over instagram posts. This idea that if you eat less and workout more, if you restrict, if you just had more willpower, then you will lose weight and finally be happy in your body. It isn’t just women, either. Men also have this programmed deeply within them. I cannot even count how many people come to me saying they strictly eat 1400 calories, do cardio like crazy, but are still holding on to 20, 40, or more extra pounds.
For me, this formula does not add up. If it did, these people would be as thin as rails. The pounds would be flying off. Losing weight is NOT AS SIMPLE as calories in minus calories out. Weight is not only a product of our diet and fitness habits. It is also a product of our environment and hormones. Stress anyone?!? Not just external stressors though. The number one most stressful thing in our bodies: NOT EATING ENOUGH FOOD. That is incredibly stressful on our internal systems. Our bodies do not run on thin air. We need calories, we need nutrients, we need vitamins to simply function.
The Math
I love this website. It does a great job putting into perspective just how many calories you need a day. I am a 34 year old female. I weigh around 175 pounds and am 5’9″ tall. If I laid in bed all day, I would still need 1600 calories for my bodily systems to function. On an average day though, with work and chasing around kids, I need about 3500. If I do not consume around 3500 calories, I am not operating on all cylinders. I do not count calories. I eat when I am hungry and stop when I am full. Both things that have taken practice and mindfulness to get right. I also need more or less based on where I am in my monthly cycle. My whole point here is that 90% of us are not eating enough.
Permission to Eat
So I am here to tell you that you have permission to eat. Not only that, you have permission to eat frequently and eat well. You have my full permission to ENJOY food and not count calories or log everything you put in your body. You have permission to eat snacks in between meals, too. You don’t even have to do intermittent fasting, actually, just DO NOT do intermittent fasting. Do the opposite. Feed your body so well that it feels safe. Feed your body so well that stress has a fraction of the effect it once did. Feed yourself so well that you have energy and can ditch the caffeine habit. Do it so your body can fight off viruses easier. Eat so often that your hormones and menstrual cycle work for you and not against you. Eat so well that you feel so damn good.
Ready to make the shift, but do not know where to start. Lifestyle coaching is a great way to make changes with someone on your team.
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