It’s Easy, It’s all about
Calories In vs. Calories Out, Right?
By Dr. Rick Kattouf II
In the famous words of Lee Corso, ‘Not
so fast my friend.’ No, it’s not about calories in versus calories out. It’s so
much more, read on…
When it comes to nutrition and fitness,
calories are always a hot topic, right? Everyone asks, “How many calories do I
need to eat?” It is conventional thinking to take calories at face value and
think that changing one's body composition is all about, calories in versus
calories out. Sure, calories are important, but, getting leaner and achieving
that amazing physique one desires is much more in-depth than simply a numbers
game of calories in versus calories out. As I say in my 3-DVD set, Rx Nutrition
“If it were as easy as calories in versus calories out, it would be that easy.”
I want to help individuals avoid being
over-focused on calories and help them focus on other nutrition keys that are far
more important. When it comes to nutrition, we do not want to live by a “bank
of calories”, because if we do, we are going to end up bankrupt.
Let's review some real-life examples;
these are examples where individuals ate the “right amount of calories”, but
never got any body composition results. These were not one-time occurrences;
rather, these individuals lived this way, nutritionally, more often than not…
An individual wants to eat 1500 cal
each day and, this individual wakes up at 6 AM and does not eat until 10 AM.
The 10 AM snack is a small container of yogurt; and then, lunch is a bed
of greens with a grilled chicken breast. And then, the remainder of the 1500
cal is consumed from 4pm on. This is not going to produce any positive results
because there was a large gap, 4 hours, upon awakening before the 1st meal was
consumed. And, in addition, approximately 80% of the day's calories were
consumed from the midafternoon on (sound familiar?). Even though this
individual stayed on task with the “Bank of calories”, 1500, they still end up
bankrupt and Zero body composition change.
Another individual has a goal of 2000
cal each day. On this day, they have a nice dinner planned, so, they want to be
sure to “save up” calories during the day in order to enjoy the dinner that
evening. They eat immediately upon awakening, 6 AM and then their next meal is
lunch, 12 PM. In their bank of calories, they have only used up 800 cal, 'allowing'
them to have a hearty 1200 cal dinner that includes plenty of food and a few
adult beverages. And this was a typical day of nutrition, each and every day. Now,
just like in the example above, this individual hit their calories spot-on,
but, still, Zero body composition change.
These are just 2 of many examples of
individuals trying to manage their nutrition using a bank of calories. Now, no
mixed message here; calories, of course, are important and have their place.
But, let's focus on what really matter so that we can avoid another calorie
counting disaster…
Let's start with our TeamKattouf® principles
of frequency and timing. Stick to these like glue and you will be on the right
track. TeamKattouf® principle #1…
Fuel your body immediately, and I mean
immediately upon wakening. Remember, we want to think about fuel like kindling wood
for the fire; continue to throw small
amounts of kindling wood on the fire all day long and you will
keep your fire (your metabolism) burning.
TeamKattouf® principle #2…
Fuel your body every 2-3.5 hours
thereafter all throughout the day; let's keep it simple, every 3 hours. If this
means you need to set an alarm on your phone, schedule this in your daily
planner, etc., do whatever it takes. We need to bring a ‘whatever it takes’
mentality to the table if we want to achieve our goals.
Now, the key to the high frequency of
eating is that this will help to keep an individual from over eating at any
meal/snack. In order to stimulate hunger every 3 hours, we have to eat the
right amount of food. If we eat too much food at a particular meal/snack (this
would be like smothering the fire and letting it die out), we are not going to
be hungry in 3 hours. On the flip side, if we are hungry within one hour of our
previous meal/snack, most likely, we did not eat quite enough.
And then, let's close it out with
TeamKattouf® principle #3…
The macronutrient balance and eating
healthy vs. Eating Right. At every meal/snack, have the ideal balance of
carbohydrate-protein-fat (50% calories from carbohydrate, 25% protein, 25% fat).
By following the 3 TeamKattouf®
principles above, you will help to change your mindset and take the focus away
from a “bank of calories.” And, by following these principles, your calories
will start to fall right into place.
In summary, it is not a matter of
how many total calories we consume on a given day; rather, the question is, how
did we arrive at our total calories on a given day? How did you arrive
at your total calories today?
SHOW YOUR WORKOUT WHO’S BOSS®!
Download the TeamKattouf®
Nutrition LLC app: Apple Android
Rick Kattouf II, O.D. is a
2x Best-Selling Author and Fitness & Nutrition expert and has been named
one of America’s PremierExperts® and one of the World Fitness Elite® Trainers
of the Year. Rick is a Sports Nutrition Specialist, Heart Rate Performance
Specialist, Master Personal Trainer & Triathlon Coach. He has been seen on
ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox affiliates around the country as well as in the USA
Today, Chicago Tribune, National Examiner, Ironman.com, Livestrong.com,
Runner’s World, Bicycling Magazine, Men’s Health UK, FIGHT! Magazine, Florida
Cycling Magazine and The Independent in the UK. Rick is the CEO/Founder of TeamKattouf® Inc,
CEO/Founder of TeamKattouf® Nutrition LLC, CEO/Founder of Virtual Gym
LLC, Creator of TeamKattouf® Nutrition Supplements, Host of Rx
Nutrition, author of Forever Fit, Creator of 5-Round Fury® Nutrition
Supplement, 5-Round Fury Fitness® workout app, Creator of Coach2CEO,
Creator of Fuel Keeper®, Entrepreneur and Inspirational Speaker. Dr.
Rick has personally coached individuals in 30+ states and 10+ countries.
