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Health and Wellbeing

Health and Wellbeing

In today’s health conscious world, most people are working out the basics behind weight management.

That is, to create weight loss we simply need to ensure that we burn more calories (or kilojoules) each day than we consume.

If we achieve this - BOOM! Some fat will disappear as our body metabolises it for the extra energy it needs to keep running.

Obviously there’s the bit about ensuring we get the full range of nutritional components within our daily intake, like all those vitamins and minerals that they always used to talk about. The above mentioned science is definitely workable when seeking to generate weight loss – or should I say, fat loss?

For those of you though, that seek to achieve the body beautiful through a calorie deprivation and the application of copious exercise, much more needs to be thought about. The same goes for those that are seeking to recover from injury.

Consider this, if you consume just 2500 calories per day and burn all of it and some surplus body fat to keep you going through your rigorous training regime, where does your body get the protein it needs to help your muscles and any other stressed and damaged cells recover from your training sessions?

Also consider that, if you’re in constant daily deficit and recovering from an acute injury, where is your body going to obtain the full spectrum of elements it needs to grow and repair your body tissue?

Not from your daily dietary intake, that’s for sure. You just burnt it all for energy and saved none for your aching body. The only other place these important chemical compounds exist is within your existing body tissue. If your body requires extra calcium to regenerate bone tissue, it’s going to take it from calcium stores or compounds from within your body – your bones! Ever heard of osteoporosis?

There’s one way of increasing your risk to this disease. Apply the same theory when you think of your body’s protein needs – same outcome. You start eating yourself to feed yourself.

Losing weight is what many of us are recommended to do to achieve better health, as apparently most of us are overweight. With the above considerations, there needs to be a few key points adhered to so this healthy lifestyle advice doesn’t become a pitfall.

For the active fat loss crusader or injury rehab individual, here’s some basic advice:

If you’re going to seek a daily calorie deficit, accept longer timelines and try not to exceed a deficit of 500 calories a day. If you’re getting married on November 19, don’t start your 5kg weight loss program on November 1. (As fat loss, that would actually require a 2138 calorie daily deficit – ouch!)

If you’re skimping on calories over the course of the day, DO NOT do it before, during or just after vigorous exercise. Your body needs energy and sustenance to work with and then potentially even more to recover with. Starve your body at this time of the day and you will definitely eat away at your important and required body tissue and you will feel crap.

If you’re injured, strive for a calorie balance and be intent on acquiring your daily protein and calcium requirements, along with any other nutrient that even sounds like it’s a compound or element that your body needs – like sodium! This is not a good time to starve your body. Seek fat loss once you are up and about again.

If you’re already of a healthy BMI and like to train hard, consider a slight daily surplus. The surplus needs to be in the form of healthy and usable calories – even carbs! It may be the difference in getting into the “shape” that you were after as finally your muscles are able to develop a little tone and size. Once active and growing, those same muscles will also consume a lot more calories on a daily basis.

If you train hard and want to lose fat, ensure that on training days you always hit a calorie surplus of quality nutrient loaded around your training. On non-training days seek a minor calorie deficit. Over the course of a week, this will always result in a deficit for the individual that trains three to four times per week and it will have you feeling a lot better!

For everyone else, calories are your friend, all the time. Just the right amount is all. If your body gets all the energy it needs to function its systems and its special little brain each day, you will actually feel pretty good. Combine that energy content with a broad spectrum of foods and nutrients and you will feel even better.

Anton

If you want to know more about how Anton and the team at Genesis Southbank can help you with your health and fitness needs please feel free to drop a line to [email protected] or pop into the club at Level 3, 4 Freshwater Place, Southbank (PWC building).

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