Fueling Your Lifestyle
With the theme for this months’ newsletter focusing on nutrition and exercise, I thought I would touch on both subjects in this article. Before I dive into the topic at hand, I thought I would share a brief video clip I watched some time ago. The video showed a small vehicle that was driving down an urban country road in England. This small car had incredible amounts of thick, black smoke billowing from the rear tail pipe. As the person shooting the video continued to follow the car, the smoke got thicker and darker until it absolutely looked like a rolling forest fire. It turns out that the operator of the vehicle accidentally filled the gas tank up with diesel fuel instead of unleaded! The wrong fuel caused havoc on that poor vehicle’s engine, to the point that the engine seized and was permanently destroyed! Let’s think of food in the same terms as the fuel that went into this poor car as we think of ways to “fuel? our new lifestyle.When we think of the word “fuel? as it applies to food, what does it mean? Well, the simple answer is…calories equal fuel! One of two things happen to the fuel we put into our bodies: 1) It is burned as we exert ourselves in physical activity, or, 2) The fuel gets stored because it is not used, and the way our body stores it is in the form of fat. Given these simple statements, there are only a few options that are realistic IF you desire to reach your goal weight and thenMAINTAIN it.
One option you have is to eat very few calories, maybe 400-600 calories a day. While you will drop a considerable amount of weight very rapidly, you unfortunately will lose a good majority of your muscle mass with this amount of fuel. Now, I will preface my statements with the FACT that you should ALWAYS follow the protocol and plan that your surgeon has put in place for you! The following are some of my opinions. If you consume 400-600 calories in a day you will absolutely lose weight, however, you will most likely have barely enough energy to get you through the day, let alone adding a workout to the mix! Your body has a Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) which represents the amount of calories your body needs in a day to allow your vital organs and systems to function properly. My Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), for example, is 2450 calories per day. Aside from your BMR, you also have what is called your Resting Metabolic Rate or RMR. This represents the number of calories your body burns while at rest. My RMR typically consumes 80%-85% of my BMR. So, at rest, my body burns about 2000-2100 calories per day. The way you increase your BMR and RMR is by cardiovascular fitness coupled with lean muscle mass. With that in mind, I typically train 2-3 hours a day and burn anywhere from 2000-2500 calories a day. So, with my RMR at 2000 calories and burning 2000-2500 calories a day, I can consume 4000-4500 calories a day and maintain my weight.
We all know the person who can “eat anything they want and not gain a pound?. The simple fact is that they were either incredibly blessed with an awesome metabolism, or, they have trained consistently over a long period of time to develop a strong and healthy metabolism. So, how canYOU develop a healthy metabolism? Easy, it’s the same thing we have heard since we were children. Eat multiple smaller meals throughout the day, a well-balanced diet consisting of lean proteins, complex carbohydrates, fiber, and dairy. Also, drinking lots of water and staying hydrated will allow your metabolism to stay busy throughout the day processing the food and drink we put into our bodies constantly. Most importantly, DAILY EXERCISE is the crucial ingredient. Without it, we are eventually doomed to regain…I PROMISE!
So, the other option to starving yourself, and not having energy to do anything, is to give your body the right kind of fuel that will allow you to live a rich, fulfilling life, and allow you to have fun and be an active member of society. We know what the “right? choice is between a carrot and a Twinkie, but how come, so many times, we choose the latter? The simple answer is because we do not think of food or calories in terms of fuel. If you want your engine to run good, put Premium Unleaded, or as it relates to the body, put in Complex Carbohydrates such as fruits & vegetables (After you get your protein in of course), and wheat, grains, and oats. If you were to drive from New York to California, you certainly could not get there on a quarter of a tank of gas. Think of your day in terms of taking a road trip! In order for you to get from point “A? to point “B? with enough energy or fuel to get you there, you MUST make good food choices.
Going back to the car story I discussed in the beginning, do you want to be the poor little car chugging down the road, billowing out nasty smoke, or do you want to be the well tuned Porsche, purring like a kitten all day long? The old cliché “garbage in, garbage out? absolutely applies to us and our food choices. In the end, you must decide if eating sugar free this, fat free that, or simply deprivation, coupled with a sedentary lifestyle is your long-term success path, or if a healthy lifestyle that includes wonderfully nutritious, wholesome and tasty foods working tandem with regular exercise is the plan that will allow you to get the most out of your new-found Post-WLS Lifestyle. May we all achieve the greatness that is within us, and I will see you out on the road!
Your Friend In Health & Sport,
Dan Benintendi
Click here to visit my ObesityHelp.com profile
Click here to visit my ObesityHelp.com profile
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