Weight gain skyrockets around the holiday season…
and to off set these extra pounds people often diet by restricting calories.
If you’re looking to control your weight this season we strongly caution against calorie restricted diets.
But, According to the American College of Sports Medicine, caloric intake should never drop below 1200 calories per day for women or 1800 per day for men. Anything below this can result in the destructive process of muscle catabolism!
Basically, it eats itself to supply energy.
A calorie is a measure of food energy: it takes 1 calorie to raise 1 gram of water 1 degree Celcius. 1 gram of protein = 4 cal / 1 gram of CHO = 4 cal and there are 9cal in 1 g of fat
Our bodies need this energy to function but if we eat too much the body stores excess energy as fat, eat to little and well you can turn catabolic!
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported that overweight people who restrict calories lose a ¼ pound of muscle for each pound of weight loss. And for people who are basically lean but may have a few extra pounds of abdominal or hip fat to lose fair even worse- they loose ½ of lean muscle mass for every pound lost. And, losing lean muscle is NEVER a good thing …especially for our athletes.
It’s not so much about cutting calories as it is the type of calories. Moderation is always a good rule of thumb when it comes to food intake. And for our athletes we time when and how much we eat to compliment training, recovery and health.
In the end Diets just Don’t work!
It’s better to invest in an exercise & eating program to get results. And for our athletes, if its possible, we always try to schedule a transition phase of training over the holidays so the gluttony can commence. A great reward for a year of hardcore training.
So this holiday season, find a balance between all of the Holiday food and drink, watch how much sugar you take in and find time to get some daily exercise.
And, as the New Year approaches get ready to start planning the New Year Attack not just on the extra holiday pounds but your goals and objectives for the next 12 months because I really do believe Greatness is Up for Grabs, you just need to plan for it.
Happy Holidays to All
From Everyone here at Krush Performance & Lets get ready for a banner 2016.
Jeff
