Episode 9: Understanding Calories and How They Work With Our Bodies

LISTEN: Apple Podcast | Spotify

When you think about wanting to lose weight, get stronger, and become healthier overall, what’s the first thing you think you need to do in order to do that? I’m betting it’s cutting calories, which also means cutting out carbs, sweets, and all of your favorite foods. While that’s what we’re taught and are constantly hearing from the health and fitness industry, that’s actually the LAST thing we should be doing!

It's not your fault-you don't know. It seems like the right thing to do when you want to lose weight, so you eat less. In very basic theory without a lot of thought, that makes a lot of sense. Not understanding calories is such a huge detriment to women in genera honestly, because it's such a basic concept-even if it doesn't always seem like that! I want to keep this episode in simple and easy to understand terms. I feel like to have a really good foundation of how to lose weight, how to feel the way that you want to feel physically and mentally, you have to lay the groundwork for that, and it all starts with calories, and the basis of how they work.

In today's episode, I'm covering:

• What calories actually are, and how they work with our bodies to keep us alive and functioning properly

•  Maintenance calories, and the importance of knowing this unique number for our health and fitness goals

•  How your body can change by simply adjusting your calories, no matter what season of life you’re in

Finding your maintenance calories is a really overlooked step, and on the contrary of losing weight to gain muscle, you must be in a caloric surplus. You must be eating more than your maintenance calories. If you want to gain muscle or gain weight, your body will use these calories to grow muscle if you are lifting.

Even if you're eating more calories, which you've heard me say before, your body will store that as fat. It won't always store it as fat though, because if you are lifting weight and moving your body appropriately, if you are going to go into a calorie surplus, or a calorie deficit, you want to go gradually.

I want you to keep in mind that knowing your calories and knowing the basis of this information will stick with you forever! This isn't something that is just like something quick that you kind of get in and get out, and it goes away. You will always need to know that calories are the basis for everything, and they're a game-changer!

If you’re not consuming enough calories for your body and your health needs, you won’t be able to function well, and you definitely won’t be able to reach your goals. This is one of the biggest misconceptions out there, and I see it time and time again when I first start working with my clients. It’s time to change your mindset when it comes to calories, and how you view your body all together;  I hope this episode encourages you to start creating habits that are healthy and sustainable!