9.22.17 Calories// Part 2// Energy Balance

MetCon//

For time

Row 1k

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 Floor Press 155/100

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 Candlestick Burpee

Don't get it twisted! The Energy Balance Network funded by Coca-Cola is complete crap. They're telling us that all we have to do is move more, still enjoy a couple cokes a day, and that whole grain Cheerios are good for your kids. Energy balance is a real thing, but move-more-eat-less hardly scratches the surface. 

When we talk about energy balance we're referring to what your body already does very very well... keep you alive. We need the energy stored in plants. (that includes animals, they eat the plants, we eat the plants, they eat each other, we eat them). We use that energy for all sorts of stuff. 

1. Fuel for movement. We can't expect to magically move without energy. Obvious! What isn't so obvious is how that is manifest in our behavior. Sure you need energy to move, but you also need energy to WANT to move. Yep, your body is so awesome and complex that your motivation has a lot to do with available energy. If you want an active lifestyle and you enjoy movement, it's gotta be fueled.

When you go on a very restrictive diet, your body not only responds in that cliche "starvation mode," but it also just responds by shutting you down your motivation to move. You can loose weight, but not necessarily fat that way, until of course you crack, binge, and start the process over. 

2. Energy for recovery. Training just simply causes stress on the body. In the right amounts, its a really good thing. We adapt to the stress and our bodies get stronger, faster, etc. Those adaptations and recovery take energy as well. If you like to train hard, you really need to keep up with the stress you're causing. More stress, more food. Over-training/under recovering is different from just soreness. It feels like achy limbs. Some of you have experienced this recently if you're trying to do the WOD and Oly Class in one day without adjusting your food intake. Someone came to oly class just Tuesday, loaded their bar ready to snatch, and ended up just sitting on their weights. We just had a good laugh about it, but in reality he had a lot of other stuff going on, a pretty full life plate. No wonder he didn't feel like snatching. 

3. Energy for thought. Ok obvious, my brain needs fuel. When you're well fed (not necessarily over-fed), you're happy as a clam and the world is good! Under-fed for too long, and you're a monster. When you're starving, being nice to your spouse isn't very high on your priorities. Cheetos are though! Diets that restrict calories or specific micro-nutrients like carbs are notorious for causing crazy mood swings. 

What does all this mean for those of us who want to loose fat? Something you should always keep In mind, is that you can't in any healthy way, starve yourself skinny. With the exception of severe eating disorders, you can't voluntarily starve yourself to death. Restricting calories makes you hungry, irritable, and irrational, and without consuming enough calories, you don't even have the motivation to move and use the energy you're trying to get rid of. We crack, binge, get depressed and repeat the cycle. 

So what gives? If I need to move more than I consume, but my body won't allow it, how do I change my body? Check out Calories// Part 3