Calorie Counting

Good morning, world! It's day 4 of calorie counting and I've officially been scolded by one of my closest (and most in shape!) friends. Not to mention my calorie counting app. Let me explain.

Jamie Eason's training program falls into three "phases". Phase 1 is all about re-learning how to eat clean and how to build lean muscle through diet, exercise and supplementation. She explains the benefits of a nutrition "stack", or in regular grrrl speak - a combination of additional nutrients: vitamins, multivitamins, and protein powder.

Phase 2 gets a little more technical because the participant has ideally figured out a gym schedule, figured out a meal prep schedule, and built the habit of taking their supplements. The exercises require a little bit more attention, and there's an addition of cardio to start boosting that heart rate and shedding those extra pounds. But, ideally, by now, I've gotten a pretty good handle on that schedule. For example, on a light week, my schedule looks a little like this:

I've figured out ways that work for me and Phase 1 helped me come to terms with the fact that I'm not always going to be perfect at following my own schedule; things change and often we must react with calm, flexibility, and most importantly, gentleness. Gentleness toward ourselves and toward others. We'll see what I have to say about that, though, when I get to Phase 3.

This concept of gentleness is often a hard one to master, especially in terms of fitness. We always hear about "going hard" or about two hour work outs, or about "go big or go home" - but these things are not necessarily sustainable (or healthy!) for all folks. Now, I'm not saying that you want to be too easy on yourself - you're working to overcome challenges and attain goals, not to plateau. And remember, my goal here is not to go to extremes by having a body like runway model or a bodybuilder, my goal is to be comfortable in my own skin, energetic, and healthy. If extremes work for you, then more power to you!

It's important (and difficult!) to be gentle on your nutrition, too. I've often been too gentle, indulging in entire bag of potato chip sessions, or two bowls of ice cream a day sessions, but my handy calorie counting app for iPhone, My Fitness Pal, has really made a difference in how I value what I eat. (This app is available on the web as well as for iPhone/iPad and Android, too! Handy!) You're able to set your current and target weight, age, and height and decide how many pounds you'd like to lose or gain per week. Now, one caveat for those following Jamie Eason's calorie counting method: My Fitness Pal does not factor in "heavy" days at the gym (leg/butt day!). Not to mention, if you decide you'd like to try to lose two pounds per week (which is the most the app will allow) you will be below your "safe" baseline. Here is my personal caloric intake according to Jamie Eason's method:

That seems pretty reasonable, doesn't it? 

Well, I decided I'd "go hard" and step it up a notch with the app. I entered my current and goal weight and how many pounds I'd like to lose a week: 2. 

For the first two days, this worked. Granted, Tuesday was Day 1 and I still had the blush of a new bride, wedded to my 1200 calories. Tuesday I spent more time entering in what I was eating then I spent actually eating, I think. Wednesday was Leg Day (Butt Day!) and I allowed myself to go FAR over my caloric limit in order to celebrate a friend's birthday. Thursday I worked 14 hours (including commute) between two jobs and began my day at 0430AM. By the time I got home at 2130PM, I still had 200 calories left (roughly) and prepared myself one chicken slider with bun, leaving me 18 calories after that. 

And then, it happened. I tracked my progress, completed my "diary" entry, and this warning popped up on my screen: 

STARVATION MODE. This immediately triggered warning alarms in my head. I've recently been obsessing over two food documentaries, "Food Matters" and "Hungry for Change" and learned that body fat and cellulite can be partially caused by tricking our primitive bodies into thinking that a drought or famine is coming by fluctuating our caloric intake through fad dieting. This causes our primitive bodies to react instinctively by packing on fat stores that will be "saved for later" - when our bodies recognize that we're in thinner times and need to sustain ourselves in order to live. 

In the present, it's not often that I (speaking as a working class but comfortable, white, North American woman with visible privilege) will find myself in the midst of a famine. I'm lucky enough to be supported by my three jobs, have family supports, and be aware of community resources available to me. So "starvation mode" does exactly what the above photo says: it lowers our metabolisms to protect and sustain our internal, life giving organs. I don't want to lower my metabolism, I want to boost it! 

The moral of this story is, as always, balance. We want to build lean muscle and lose weight and in our fast paced society, when bathing suit season comes upon us quickly (as if that's something we need to be afraid of!) those of us who work toward certain fitness aspirations can often find ourselves trying to cut corners in order to "boost" our progress. But, as I learned last night in my downward spiral of potato chip crumbs and Easter chocolate, sometimes that extra boost we think we're giving ourselves results in "one step forward, two steps back". Balance and clean calories are the key here, not gigantic reductions. 

And, it's possible. I've seen the changes that balance can make and I'll leave you with this little bit of inspiration from my Instagram account. The photo on the left features me, two weeks ago, after having built muscle from December to February in Phase 1, then lost motivation for approximately two weeks in February, and jumping back on the gym band wagon for March. Phase 2 began in the second week of March (two weeks ago) that I began to add cardio, and the photo on the left was taken at the very beginning of Phase 2. The photo on the left was taken on Wednesday afternoon after two weeks of medium intensity cardio for 45 minutes (not including daily dog walks), and two days of counting calories: 

For me, this is the picture of balance through clean eating and exercise. And when I do it properly, my primitive body responds quickly, gently, and calmly - not in panic. 

And yes, you can do this, too.