Energy in, Energy out

As I have begun more nutrition coaching outside of myself or my own family I find that a consistent tread of conversation repeats itself over and over.  It is called, “I ate this so I need to do this.”   Or “Damn I wish I didn’t eat that.”  Since when was eating a calorie a bad thing? 
Calorie=Energy, Energy= Output, Output= Calorie burn…It is a nice happy cycle of love.  Yet, so often, especially when trying to lose weight we are afraid to eat.  Afraid of everything we put in our bodies, thus creating an unhappy cycle of hunger and conserving calories. 
When your body feels hungry it is afraid that it will starve so it conserves calories instead of burning them.  Do you know where those mystical calories are stored????  Fat cells.  Now, I don’t want you to think calories stored in fat is wrong because it is not.  In fact, we all want a certain amount stored so we have a constant supply of energy waiting to use.  Without fat storage, we would be constantly cold, die with the slightest sniffle and God forbid we get lost in the woods, we wouldn’t even survive a day. 
But here is the bad news, calories that are stored in fat cells give our bodies shape, and the more unused calories the larger the cells become, the larger the cells, the larger we become.  Fat cells never go away for the whole purpose explained above.  They are the necessary evil we need to live and thrive. 
So how do I know how much I should eat?  There are couple of rules to think about and truly, they are only guidelines, these are not an exact science. (Helpful, right?!)  The average women need to eat about 2000 calories per day, 1500 if they want to lose weight.  A man typically need 2500 per day or 2000 to lose weight.  STOP!  This does not account for body type, activity level and medical conditions. 
​
Body types are broken down into three different types:
The endomorph, has more body fat and underdeveloped muscles. 
The mesomorph, has well-developed muscles and gains muscle easily.
The ectomorph, has a lack of fat or muscle tissue, has a hard time gaining weight. 
 
Knowing the right number of calories is also pretty tricky, but with all things there are more rules to follow.   I need to caution that this is also a guide.    For example, if you are 200 pound female endomorph you are not going to 3000 calories...you will eat closer to the lighter side for weight loss.
​Endomorph:  Multiply body weight in pounds x 12-15
Mesomorph:  multiply body weight in pounds x 14-17
Ectomorph:  Multiply body weight x 16-18 (notice the fittest out of all body types gets to eat the most…higher metabolism needs more input)

Below is a great article from Precision Nutrition regarding how each body type should eat and sensitivities your body type might have.   I hope this blog today is helpful.  If you have any questions, comments or would like future blogs on this topic, let me know. 
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-body-type-eating

---