So here are SCB's tips to achieving your summer goals.
My first tip is to make sure you know your caloric requirements. Free apps like MyFitnessPal can calculate your caloric needs pretty well. You need to enter some information like your gender, weight, activity level etc... and from that it gives you the caloric guidelines to achieve your goals. So, if you want to drop a few pounds it will calculate your requirements to do so.
My biggest piece of advice is to use that caloric number as a guideline, but don't try to eat less than what it recommends as a way to 'speed up the process'. The program will have already accounted for your fat loss goal, and will likely put you at a 200-300 calorie a day deficit; which is more than enough. If you cut more than this you will likely drop the pounds quicker, but wont last. You will be depriving your body of nutrients and the result will be a very irritable and tired individual. The Webster's Dictionary definition for this term is "Hangry"... or at least it should be.
On top of this you will likely get some metabolic damage that can last weeks or even longer.
When you cut too many calories from your diet your metabolism slows down to make up for the lack of energy (calories). When you start to incorporate more food into your diet for whatever reason ('yay, diet is over!' or 'time to have that cheat meal I've been dreaming about all week! or 'sweet, dream body achieved!') your body is all like "holy crap! Energy! I need to store this stuff because this jerk has been starving me". And by 'store this stuff' I mean the way a bear stores stuff for the winter- fat storage. Junk in the trunk. Muffin top McGee.
The main point I want to get across is to follow the recommended numbers. They're recommended for a reason- so if it would be more optimal for you to cut 600+ calories, chances are the app or the program you're looking at would recommend it.
Another note is about caloric deficits in general. I really don't recommend you carry on at a deficit for very long. It's hard on your body. If you're at the point where you have 30+ lbs to drop I recommend cutting 300 or so calories. When your body weight has dropped and what was your caloric deficit is now your caloric maintenance you should stick to that number for a few weeks so your body has a chance to function this caloric equilibrium. Then, cut another 200-300 and repeat until you have reached your goal.
I tried to simplify this calorie mumbo jumbo the best I could, I know it may seem really confusing to some of you, and pretty juvenile to you experts out there! If you have any questions feel free to send me a message and I'll be happy to answer them as best I can.
Finally to optimise your nutrition, I recommend using a scale, or at the very least measuring cups when preparing your food. If you measure your food you're much more likely to hit your caloric goals. Why? With the constant portion distortion that surrounds prepared meals it can be easy to underestimate your actual serving sizes, and as a result how many calories you're consuming. Even if you're using an app such as My Fitness Pal, it isn't useful to you if you're guesstimating portions and entering in totally inaccurate amounts of food consumed.
To test your skills- try and eyeball a 15g (tbsp) serving of peanut butter. Weigh it and you may find that you've been giving yourself a double dose without even realizing it! Hit me up on Facebook and let me know if you tried!
My first tip is to make sure you know your caloric requirements. Free apps like MyFitnessPal can calculate your caloric needs pretty well. You need to enter some information like your gender, weight, activity level etc... and from that it gives you the caloric guidelines to achieve your goals. So, if you want to drop a few pounds it will calculate your requirements to do so.
My biggest piece of advice is to use that caloric number as a guideline, but don't try to eat less than what it recommends as a way to 'speed up the process'. The program will have already accounted for your fat loss goal, and will likely put you at a 200-300 calorie a day deficit; which is more than enough. If you cut more than this you will likely drop the pounds quicker, but wont last. You will be depriving your body of nutrients and the result will be a very irritable and tired individual. The Webster's Dictionary definition for this term is "Hangry"... or at least it should be.
On top of this you will likely get some metabolic damage that can last weeks or even longer.
When you cut too many calories from your diet your metabolism slows down to make up for the lack of energy (calories). When you start to incorporate more food into your diet for whatever reason ('yay, diet is over!' or 'time to have that cheat meal I've been dreaming about all week! or 'sweet, dream body achieved!') your body is all like "holy crap! Energy! I need to store this stuff because this jerk has been starving me". And by 'store this stuff' I mean the way a bear stores stuff for the winter- fat storage. Junk in the trunk. Muffin top McGee.
The main point I want to get across is to follow the recommended numbers. They're recommended for a reason- so if it would be more optimal for you to cut 600+ calories, chances are the app or the program you're looking at would recommend it.
Another note is about caloric deficits in general. I really don't recommend you carry on at a deficit for very long. It's hard on your body. If you're at the point where you have 30+ lbs to drop I recommend cutting 300 or so calories. When your body weight has dropped and what was your caloric deficit is now your caloric maintenance you should stick to that number for a few weeks so your body has a chance to function this caloric equilibrium. Then, cut another 200-300 and repeat until you have reached your goal.
I tried to simplify this calorie mumbo jumbo the best I could, I know it may seem really confusing to some of you, and pretty juvenile to you experts out there! If you have any questions feel free to send me a message and I'll be happy to answer them as best I can.
Finally to optimise your nutrition, I recommend using a scale, or at the very least measuring cups when preparing your food. If you measure your food you're much more likely to hit your caloric goals. Why? With the constant portion distortion that surrounds prepared meals it can be easy to underestimate your actual serving sizes, and as a result how many calories you're consuming. Even if you're using an app such as My Fitness Pal, it isn't useful to you if you're guesstimating portions and entering in totally inaccurate amounts of food consumed.
To test your skills- try and eyeball a 15g (tbsp) serving of peanut butter. Weigh it and you may find that you've been giving yourself a double dose without even realizing it! Hit me up on Facebook and let me know if you tried!
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