Ever hear the words “conventional dieting” i.e. calorie counting? Let’s be honest, almost everyone has tried a conventional diet at some point in their life. But what was the outcome? Let me take a guess, you either failed to lose fat or you regained it all plus some shortly after. Truth is conventional dieting programs are designed to make you fail. They are temporary solutions that make you become lifetime dependent upon them. The founders of these programs aren’t stupid, they want your money, over and over again! You can’t turn on the television without some company advertising the magic pill or weight loss program that will intend to give you the results you want. Simply stated, conventional dieting is not a way to lose body fat or a way to get you within reach of harvesting your dream animal! You absolutely do not learn anything from following these types of diets; except for how far you can push your will power until you give in and bounce back like a rubber band.
Thanks to these programs, most individuals have a negative outlook on eating. So called experts, have trained our minds to think calories make people fat. So we all look at eating as being bad because eating is the process of ingesting calories. Typically, the first step in most conventional diets is to cut calories. There are approximately 4 grams per calorie in proteins and carbohydrates and approximately 9 grams per calorie in fats. So, the first macro-nutrient to be eliminated from the diet is fat. Fat consumption has almost diminished from our diets, but yet the obesity rates have increased. I don’t ever recall seeing someone who is obese sitting down at the dinner table drinking a glass of extra virgin olive oil. It’s the consumption of preservatives and highly refined cheap carbohydrates mixed with low quality fats that make people fat. Not all calories from fats, carbs, or proteins are created equal either.
In order to lose weight, you have to burn more calories than you consume, right? WRONG! The idea that we must equalize the amount of calories that we eat with what we burn throughout a given day is not your answer. The concept “calories in vs. calories out” is false. Why? Simply due to the fact, it only measures the amount of calories present within the body at ONE given time. It also does not distinguish what happens to these calories once they have been consumed. How do you know how many calories you burn in a day? Every-one’s body is different, that’s what make us unique. I honestly cannot answer that question for myself much less would I want to sit down every night and input several numbers into an equation or get hooked up on a machine just to reach an inaccurate verdict. “But, the treadmill said I burned 500 calories.” My advice, question the machine. The treadmill does not take in consideration the amount of muscle mass vs. body fat vs. bone density vs. water weight from the time when you first get on and when you finish. Some individuals strides are longer than others, resulting in different total amounts of calories being burned. Was the temperature in the gym warm or cold? Training outside is much more difficult than training inside. Of course you are going to sweat more when the temperature is hot exerting more effort and burning more calories. The type of exercise, weight training or cardiovascular, changes the amount of total calories burned too.
So now what? Hormones regulate whether available calories are either stored as fat or used for energy. What you consume or drink both quality and quantity creates a release of hormones that will determine a good (burning body fat) or bad (storing body fat) outcome. Your hormones can either fight against one another or work in synergy. It does not take rocket science! You can have six doughnuts a day or have six meals of lean wild game and broccoli throughout the course of the day. The total number of calories are the same, but which do you think is a better choice? Are diet drinks and water equivalent? No! “But, they have the same amount of calories, zero.” Yes, but they DON”T have the same ingredients either.
How a scientist determines a given food or drink item’s total number of calories is by using a device known as a calorimeter. They burn the food item in the calorimeter, which measures the total amount of heat produced. The results for fats (9 calories per gram), carbs (4 calories per gram), and proteins (4 calories per gram) are just approximations not set in stone. Guess what? Your body is not a calorimeter and does not burn the calories in same manner. If you are progressively lifting weights, breaking down muscle, your body is utilizing the protein for muscle repair and growth much more efficiently than a calorimeter.
Here are two ridiculous examples pertaining to calorie counting assuming your activity level remains the same:
Example 1:
Let’s say you consume a total of 420 calories (example: 6 eggs) extra everyday for a year. This would be a total of 153,300 calories (420cal. X 365 days in a year). One pound of fat equals 3,500 calories. 153,300 total calories consumed during year one divided by 3,500 calories in one pound of fat equals a weight gain of 43.8 pounds. Now for the following year, consume an extra 630 calories (9 eggs) everyday. The total amount of calories consumed over year two would be 229,950 (630 cal. X 365 days in a year). 229,950 divided by 3,5oo = 65.7 pounds gained. In two years, you would gain a total of 109.5 pounds. Is this likely? I think not. I am sure that in this two year span, you will put on some weight due to overeating, but not 109.5 lbs.
Example 2:
A 200 pound man goes on a diet restricting his calorie intake in half, 3,000 calories to 1,500 for an entire year. For a month, he loses a total of 12.86 pounds (1,500 cal. cut X 30 days in a month/ 3,500 cal. in 1 pound of fat). If he keeps this up for one year, he would lose a total of 154.29 pounds (12 months X 12.86 lbs) resulting him to weigh a total of 45.71 pounds (200lbs staring wt. – 154.29 lbs. ending wt.). Sounds crazy huh? You will lose some weight, mostly muscle and not fat, but not 154.29lbs. I see ads in magazines and on TV stating that you can lose 20 lbs in a week and people buy into this gimmick or magic pill.
Have you ever seen an obese lion or deer? I think not. These two types of species are much different from one another. The Lion, a carnivore and the Deer, a herbivore, both are lean animals. They also can’t count, much less count calories. My point, it is unnatural to consume an excessive amount of calories, but we do. Our body’s first priority is to protect itself from diseases and sickness, so why would your body tell you to eat more and become unhealthy and fat? Answer, CRAVINGS!! Certain hormones within the body cause cravings which forces you to gain fat and overeat. You will only be as good as your last meal.
If you want the truth, contact me today at IHuntStrong@gmail.com and train our way, The Hunt Strong Way!