OK, Cylon Disciples, here's Pinch posting through The Cylon from an undisclosed location where from which he cannot post himself:
As we delve further
and further into the nuances of nutrition one topic that continues to generate
significant debate is calories. What is a calorie? Are all calories
equal? Should we count calories? Is counting calories even possible?
There are numerous questions and the topic of calories as been studied ad
nauseum. I'll do my best, partly based on science and partly on personal
experience to break down the mystery of the calorie.
Technically, a
calorie is defined as either of two units of heat energy or the energy needed
to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water through 1 °C (now usually defined
as 4.1868 joules). Way too scientific for our purposes but the main take
away from both of these is ENERGY, more specifically the energy we need to
fuel the human body. Calories are critical for the human body to
function properly and just as critical, if not more so to monitoring weight
gain/loss or athletic performance. Counting calories, however is an
inexact and time consuming science. How many of us have time to measure
and weigh every portion of every meal or snack we eat to get an exact calorie
count? Unless it is our profession I doubt any of us do which is why
"counting calories" can be so maddening.
To avoid the time
commitment and frustration of counting calories it's helpful to take a step
back and ask another question, "Are all calories the same?"
Scientifically, a calorie of pure sugar is equal to a calorie of protein,
but their effects on the body are dramatically different. It seems
like common sense but think about it this way, would your body process
calories, look the same and perform at the same level if you consumed 1,500
calories worth of candy bars versus 1,500 calories of lean meat, egg whites,
fruits and vegetables? Study after study has shown that diets based on
the same amount of calories, but different proportions of fat, protein and
carbohydrates result in different amounts of weight loss. This is due to
the fact that calories, in all their forms have different effects on the human
body. Sugar, for example, spikes insulin levels and tells the body to
"store fat" while foods high in protein or fiber tell the body to
"burn fat" because protein and fiber require the body to work that
much harder to digest than do sugars and fat. At the same time protein
and fiber leave the body feeling "fuller" for a longer period of time
and cut down on the amount of "cravings" that may lead to unhealthy
or excessive caloric intake. That seems like a great combination for
those looking to lose weight or stay lean.
The easiest ways to
"count" calories that doesn't want to make us pound our collective
heads against our refrigerators are as follows:
1. Smaller
portions - This may seem obvious but in today's world every restaurant and
even many meals at home are WAY TOO BIG. Some times the best solutions
are the easiest ones that simply arise from common sense...when trying to lean
down go to smaller portions.
2. Focus on
Protein/Fiber/Natural Carbs - Putting it in perspective, one cup of
chocolate ice cream has approximately 300 calories while one cup of broccoli
has only 30 calories. This is an extreme example but serves a much
broader point that, in terms of calories it takes a lot of "healthy
food" to equal a normal or even light amount of crappy food loaded with
sugar and fat. When eating healthy you can actually eat more food because
it tends to be much lower in caloric content and at the same time loaded with
the protein, vitamins and minerals that will help you excel in any athletic
competition or training.
The great news is
that if you use common sense and eat healthy foods you can actually eat more,
but will likely be consuming less calories. A lot of the above is based
on articles I have read but at the same time based on personal experience.
When I played college football I ate 5-6 meals a day, but many of those
meals were purposely loaded with pasta, bagels and foods heavy in fat and
processed carbohydrates to pack the weight on and my caloric intake was
somewhere around the 4,500 calorie/day range....and I weighed in around 265
pounds. Now, however, I still eat 5-6 meals a day and rarely ever feel
hungry but I avoid the breads, pastas and foods high in fats. Because of
that my caloric intake is roughly half of what it used to be and my weight is
down to a fairly steady 212 pounds. As an aside, while I don't focus on
heavy squats anymore most of weight lifting numbers are similar to those I
achieved when I weighed 265 pounds and was 14 years younger.
The key to weight
loss is burning more calories than we take in, but I've found that the key to
sustaining that weight loss and enhancing athletic performance is largely found
in the quality of the calories we consume.
For more on the
art/science of calories check out:
http://home.trainingpeaks.com/articles/nutrition/a-calorie-is-not-a-calorie.aspx
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/dos-donts-counting-calories
http://www.naturalchampion.net/articles/article/2410291/51175.htm
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