Fuel Your Body

So often I hear, "I used to eat x amount of calories, then I increased it to x more calories, and I am still starving. What am I doing wrong?"

The issue is not necessarily that you are not eating enough calories, but you are not eating enough of the right calories. Food is fuel for the body. Your body is a machine. If you do not keep it fueled with the right stuff, you will shut down, be starving, cranky, and more. 

Think about it this way. What would happen if you were to fill your car with diesel instead of unleaded gasoline. Chances are it may run for a few minutes, but then it will konk out and you will be stuck. So now you have to flush that out, put the right fuel in it, and then you can go.

Your body is the same way. Imagine if you only ate foods like pizza, mac n cheese, and heavily processed foods.  Sure, your body will go for a little while, but that spike in energy will wear off and then your stuck. Not to mention, because those choices are lacking in so many nutrients, your body isn't fulfilled, so the brain keeps saying I need more! So what do you do? You grab another slice of pizza, have another serving of mac n cheese, and slam a coke to wake you up. This vicious cycle will continue over and over.

However, by just changing your nutrition up a little, and adding in more fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and "healthy" fats, your body has the right stuff. You are now filling it with all those macro and micro nutrients the body needs to perform it's job. When you have the right balance of foods and nutrients, you will feel better, have more energy, be more alert and....not as hungry. Because your body now has what it needs. 

I used to make this same mistake. I would eat anything I could find to hit that magic calorie intake number, and then still be hungry hours later. And, I wouldn't lose any weight. Once I actually paid attention to a nutrition guide that came with one of my workouts, I found I was eating less, but still feeling energized and full, and actually started losing weight. 

So I challenge you. The next time you have these thoughts or feelings, take a good hard look at what you ate for the day and see if you are balancing it out with the right calories. If you're not sure what those are, then chat with me. I would be more than happy to help you out.