importance of calories

kevin_bvbfan

Ok...so I re-evaluated my goals and I would like to maintain my weight but drop the body fat around the mid-line. My understanding is that in order to drop fat, you have to drop the number of calories. But in looking at my calorie intake over the last 10 days, I have never hit a maintenance level of calories and am always in a deficit. This has been my typical eating pattern forever, I just never put in a system to look at calories. So, what advice does everyone have on what I should do? I have hardly ever hit my maintenance level of calories...is this the problem? I exercise about 5-7 days a week (Heavy weights, light weights, cardio and HIIT)

geoblewis

Exercise does so little for weight loss. It's good for so many other things, but not really weight loss. You don't really burn that many more calories above your basic metabolism rate while exercising. But keep doing it, because it's good for so many more aspects of health.

Calories are merely a measure of energy. Calories in, calories out...oh, if only it were that simple!

What makes us gain, or not lose, is how our body reacts to the types of food that we eat. How our bodies process the food we eat is important to understand. I'm a type 2 diabetic. I know that if I eat refined or processed carbohydrates, or if I overeat protein, this will increase my blood sugar levels. And because I'm insulin resistant, my body pumps out too much insulin, and I also inject insulin, to deal with those blood sugar levels. That elevated insulin, while it's coursing through my veins, is scavanging sugar and converting it to fat. Even if I limit my calories, I will gain weight because of all the insulin my body has in it.

Things that burn up that excess sugar is a variety of exercise, so that's when timing of exercise is important. A brisk 30 min walk or 20 min on my rowing machine after a meal usually does the trick. Body weight exercises in the evening, like a Pilates class, or weight training, creates a prolonged blood sugar burning effect, for at least 24 hours. Every bit helps me.

You might rethink what you're eating. I don't know what your macros look like, but you might, in general, eliminate processed carbs, eat more vegetables, and increase your health fats like nuts and seeds, avocado, coconut oil.

middlehaitch

Unless you are geoblewis his information probably isn't for you.

It sounds as though you may do well eating at maintenance and lifting some weights.
Chose a programme from one of the many mentioned on this forum and follow it.
This should help re- sculpt your body.
A recomp is rather a slow process.

You may chose to lose weight (lift while doing so) to a lower BF% then do a bulk to get to your preferred weight with more muscle.
Getting about 1g protein per lb of body fat is often a good goal to help preserve muscle, otherwise your preferred eating style is fine so long as you are hitting your calorie goal.

Cheers, h.

Sued0nim

khddabq wrote: »

Ok...so I re-evaluated my goals and I would like to maintain my weight but drop the body fat around the mid-line. My understanding is that in order to drop fat, you have to drop the number of calories. But in looking at my calorie intake over the last 10 days, I have never hit a maintenance level of calories and am always in a deficit. This has been my typical eating pattern forever, I just never put in a system to look at calories. So, what advice does everyone have on what I should do? I have hardly ever hit my maintenance level of calories...is this the problem? I exercise about 5-7 days a week (Heavy weights, light weights, cardio and HIIT)

How much weight have you lost?

If you have "not been eating at maintenance forever" you would always be dropping weight

So you're not aware how much you're eating

Start logging

Yi5hedr3

Obviously your calculated maintenance level is incorrectly too high. Reduce it.