Day Fourty-Three: It's Not Working

I had a conversation with someone the other day about their frustration. This person works out 4-5 times each week, and each workout is a quality one.

But, she consumes a lot of late-night calories.

Eating well all day long is great, but your net caloric intake at the end of the day, when you go to bed, is what matters. If you've consumed 1200 calories all day long, but then top it off at night with a couple of drinks at 100 calories each and a munchies binge of 400-600 calories, you've up'ed your intake from 1200 calories for the day to almost 2000 calories.

If your daily intake should be between 1200 and 1500, you've over consumed by 500 calories. Remember that 3500 calories equals one pound, so that means that each week, you can obtain that 3500 deficit if you intake around 1500 calories and work out (burn) 500-800 calories 5 days each week.

It's really an exact science when it all boils down, and just like your checkbook, there's positive numbers and numbers in the red.

What I told her is that her exercise was just maintaining her weight. Late night bingeing of at least 400-600 calories on top of her daily caloric intake would make her GAIN weight if she wasn't working out. All of her work at the gym is being sabotaged by what she consumes.

If it's not working for you, examine what you're eating. At least 80% of weight loss comes from proper nutrition. You can work out and still gain weight if you're compensating by eating more calories.

Do: If it's not working, take a candid look at what you're eating.

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