Are You Eating Enough Calories?
Some people aren't eating enough. They're trying to lose weight or shrink their pant size by following the old formula of burning more calories than they consume.
The problem is that if the calorie counts are off, your body will probably think it's starving and you won't see the results that you're looking for.
The first thing to consider is how many calories you burn in a day. Here's a breakdown of my burnage, in a day of the life of a massage therapist:
- 1,500 calories just being alive - heart beating, digesting food, maintaining temperature, thinking, etc,.
- ~250 calories per 1h deep tissue massage
- ~500 calorie workout after work
So if I do 5 1h massages, I've burned a total of 1500 + 1250 + 500 = 3,250 calories.
If part of my plan is to gain muscle, then after I have replenished what I've used, I need more so my body can repair and grow larger muscles.
Here are some signs that you might not be eating enough:
- feeling tired
- feeling sluggish
- feeling weak
- feeling a little off, not quite yourself
You won't know until you try, so if you're feeling like this, consider increasing your food intake. Eat real food, not the fortified corn syrup stuff. Try snacking a bit more so you're not filling up too much with meals. Snacking can signal to your body that resources are plentiful and therefore it will burn calories and shrink more readily.
If you're looking to lose some inches on your waist, the bottom line is that if you eat 2,000 calories but are burning 3,250 daily it could be signalling to your body that you're starving. If that happens you won't shrink at all. Eating less can be important, but it is possible to eat far less than you should. Try eating a bit more, of real food, and see what happens.
*Disclaimer* RMTs are not registered dietitians. Part of our job is to help clients and patients understand and learn how to help themselves in-between appointments. This is simply information that you can use to guide your decisions about food, not health advice regarding what you should or shouldn't do. If you have detailed questions, always refer to an expert. In this case, that would be a registered dietitian.