Cutting Calories is a Good Thing Right?

Most people know that the common rule of weight loss is to eat fewer calories than you burn. This is true. In order to lose a pound you need a deficit of 3500 calories. But doing this in a short amount of time can back fire one you. How you ask? When you body gets too little calories it goes into what we call starvation mode. The body starts to store fat instead of shedding it in order to prepare for "starvation". It's afraid it won't get food so it stores up instead. This will cause you to either hit a wall or even gain weight. NOT WHAT YOU WANT! So the MOST that I suggest you deficit from your day is 1000 calories. Now ok this does not mean that you only eat like 500 calories and burn 1500 working out 6 hours a day! NO! Your body burns calories when you are asleep! This is figured into your burn for the day. A calorie burn is all of your burn for the day...this includes digestion, moving, chewing, EVERYTHING! The equation for your resting metabolic rate if you are a female is this: (10 x w) + (6.25 x h) - (5 x a) - 161. W= weight in KG (lb/2.2) h=height in cm, a=age. So a 143 pound 5'5 21 year old's RMR would be as follows (10x65) + (6.25 x 165.1) - (5 x 21) = 650 + 1032 (rounded) - 105 = 1577. This means even doing NOTHING all day you burn 1577 calories. So if you wake up and walk to the bathroom...boom more calories. A normal person with a sedentary job would most likely burn an additional 500-800 calories. I highly suggest going to www.teambeachbody.com and figuring out your caloric needs under "Eat Smart" then Nutrition Tools. This will give you the calories you need to eat based on the RMR, BMR, and activety level as well as goals! If you are really serious I highly suggest a BodyBugg. It's 90% more accurate in giving you your exact calorie burn for the day! The meal plans on the Team BeachBody site will also help you stay in your calorie goal. I did a review of the BodyBugg in an earlier post so please check it out! So don't workout all day then only eat 1000 calories. You will be fatigued, have headaches, and NOT LOSE WEIGHT! If you have more questions or need help figuring out you caloric needs just message me on fb!