"I Just Want To Know What I Should Eat"

“I just want to know what I should eat.”

It’s the number one way that intro calls start off when I first talk to a client. They have their goals, they know where they want to get to, but aren’t sure where to start. With today’s nutrition space being an absolute disas-tah, it’s easy to see why- headlines range from “cut out all carbs” to “it doesn’t matter what you eat as long as it fits your macros”. While everyone has their own goals, and every body is unique there’s some basic math and experimentation you can do to kickstart your journey, whether your goal is weight change, healthier eating or just understanding what you’re putting in your body. So if you’re curious about stepping up your nutrition game but not sure where to start- start here. 

First things first- Staying Alive

Your first step in figuring out how much you should be eating every day is to figure how many calories you need to function- this is called your BMR and it’s how much energy your body needs to do the basics like pump your heart, work your brain and keep chugging along. Adjust it for your daily activity (like how much you walk around/ workout, etc) and you get your TDEE, Total Daily Energy Expenditure. Most online BMR calculators factor in activity level to give you your TDEE-   start with this one, which gives different targets based on your daily activity level.

Got it? Great- eating this many calories every day will keep you at your current weight and keep you chugging along. Go over this number consistently and you will gain weight; fall under it and you will lose weight. Going significantly under will start to impact bodily functions and energy levels (so will going significantly over.) 

If you exercise you will burn additional calories and increase the number of calories that you need for that day, because your body will need additional energy for the additional activity. And again, going over = gain weight, going under = lose weight. The only thing that changes is the baseline number needed. 

Keeping your baseline TDEE in mind- generally speaking in order to lose 1 pound you need to “lose” 3,500 calories- either through exercising them out, or reducing calorie intake. In order to gain 1 pound you'll need to "increase" 3,500 calories, which is most likely coming from food intake rather than energy reduction (unless you just want to sit around and be a sloth, no judgement). Over the course of a week this means 500 calories per day.

So what does 500 calories look like? 

• Slice of bread with PB, banana & a glass of milk 

• 3 cans of coke

• 3 glasses of wine

• Half a cheeseburger (patty + cheese + bun)

• Plain bagel with cream cheese

• 1 poptart

• Dunkin Donuts medium frozen coolata

• 40 min running at a 12 min pace

• 1 hr of cycling 

• 45 min moderate- high intensity boxing class

Using this information you can start to play around with your calorie intake and output. A food tracker like MyFitnessPal, even if you just use it for a few days, can give you an idea of where you’re falling calorie-wise and how you feel on different calorie counts. Like I said, everyone’s a bit different but understanding energy in vs energy out is always the first step. 

Some things you want to keep an eye on as you adjust your calorie intake (especially if you’re reducing):

• How are your day to day energy levels? You need to make sure you’re taking in enough to support your daily function. If you’re consistently wiped and falling way under on calories, your body may not have enough energy (or the right energy) to keep moving.

• How is your sleep? Being too restrictive or eating too much can both have an impact on sleep quality and duration. If you notice major changes in your sleep this could be the reason.

• How are your workouts? Your body needs enough energy to push through and enough fuel to recover. 

• How hungry are you? This is not an exercise in starvation! While it may take a week or two for your body to adjust to a different calorie count you should absolutely not feel constantly hungry. Conversely you should not feel constantly bloated/ full if you’re gaining. 

This is a very high level overview on how to adjust your overall calorie intake to support your body composition goals and daily activities. Next up we’ll cover how to get these calories. While overall calorie count is important, if you’re getting the majority of it from junk foods or non-nutritive foods you’re not doing your body any favors. In next week’s blog we’ll cover the major macronutrients and how you can adjust those to support your goals. 

Happy eating!