The concept of being ‘above’ or ‘below’ is a strange one.
Being ‘above’ or ‘below’ might dictate… whether or not you get to ride the rollercoaster, your status at work or even your score average on a test!
Postive outcomes vary person-to-person.
It is hard to say whether ‘getting to ride the rollercoaster’ is a positive or a negative.
You might really dislike rollercoasters…
It really does depend on the individual.
The idea of being ‘above’ or ‘below’ can be misleading.
For example, when it comes to losing weight and getting back into shape, many people access their calorie intake.
They may wince at the idea of being ‘above’ the recommended calorie intake.
So instead, they try to eat ‘below’ the recommended calorie intake.
The idea of being ‘below’ implies that you burn more calories than you eat, resulting in weight loss.
This is incorrect!
I guess if no-one has explained the concept of calorie intake… how would you know better?
You MUST develop an understanding of being ‘above or ‘below’ regarding calorie intake.
Get ready to learn!
Most people understand the ‘above’ bit.
That when they consume too many calories it will lead to weight gain.
(In other words, eating more calories than what your body needs to function on that day)
Therefore it makes perfect sense to reduce their calories in order to lose weight.
However, things start to get a little confusing when it comes to the ‘below’ part.
That being too far BELOW the calorie requirement can also contribute to weight increase!
Science tells us that a diet consisting of too little calories (as many restrictive and harsh diets out there require) will not assist your body in losing weight.
Your body actually SENSES the reduction in calories and reacts by adapting in the following ways…
– It messes with your body’s thyroid production which can lower your metabolism, resulting in your body needing less calories and making it difficult to achieve weight loss.
– A muscle decrease. Having muscle is super important! Calories are required to maintain muscle. Working out in the gym creates muscle and boosts metabolism and therefore the number of calories you will burn!
If your are on an extreme, low-calorie diet, your body will rush to burn muscle instead of fat.
Because fat has many more calories per gram compared to the amount of calories found in muscle.
So, it is an easy deal.
Why would the body attack the fatty reserves when it could go for the disposable muscle tissue?
The body happily breaks down your muscle tissue to use it for energy!
You are also at risk of potentially lowering your testosterone levels! Yes, I am referring to both men and women here. Both genders carry testosterone in their bodies.
Similarly, testosterone is a hormone that is reduced when you restrict calories in your diet.
Testosterone supports the growth of muscle tissue meaning that a reduction of testosterone makes muscle much harder to maintain or grow!
This further results in a possible decrease in your leptin levels
Leptin is another hormone which regulates energy levels!
When the Leptin levels are high, it sends out signals which remind the body to stop eating.
Likewise, when your leptin levels are too low, the body lacks in energy and cries out to be fed! How confusing for your poor body.
There are both physical and phycological effects of not eating enough calories..
Neurotransmitter production is a phycological effect! It can be responsible for a lack of or a boost in motivation.
Slowing motivation is one incredible way your body tries to conserve energy by slowing down.
Mind vs. Body vs Mind.
So there you go!
You are now more educated in calorie intake than you were 5 minutes ago.
Keep reading our posts for bite sized chunks of invaluable knowledge!