The saying "You can Never Out train a Bad Diet" will always hold true unless you're an Olympic Swimmer or Decathlete.
These athletes, under extreme training burn so many calories it's a chore to eat enough. I'm assuming that this isn't you and that you're the average American that sits on your hind-side 50% of the day and is looking to lose that 10-50 pounds you've accumulated since college. Let's face it, left to the will of your daily schedule, you move significantly less than your parents did, and probably 75% less than your great-grandparents.
This creates quite a problem when combined with the ease of acquiring food and the dense calories of most people's food choices. We burn a lot
I'm guessing you're either on a diet, thinking about getting on one or have been on one in the past. That darn "D" word! I hate it! Let's face it, there's a lot of diets out there and guess what, they almost all work. The problem is they have a beginning and an end. At the end, people usually revert back to their old ways. I challenge you to stop jumping on the latest fad diet and start paying attention to the other "D" word... DETAILS! Here's what I mean by the details. It's all the little details that add up and will sabotage your whole day. Dressings, nuts and seeds, a taste here, and a chip there. Some bread brought out before your meal. Guacamole here and a sprinkle of cheese there. The little things add up. Let's play out the scenario.
You've decided to follow a proper eating plan consisting of four "meals" or eating times, per day, adding up to 1500 calories. This is perfect to help you lose 1.5 lbs per week. Your daily activities add up to 2250 calories burned and creates a 750 calorie deficit, which then has you burning 5250 calories of body fat off per week, aka 1.5 lbs of fat off your body. In 16 weeks you'll be down 24 pounds!! Now let's take a peek at the details from sun up to sun down that can easily sabotage this phenomenal success.
It all starts with your coffee. Have you really ever measured out a 50-70 calorie serving of creamer. You know, two tablespoons? Scratch that, it's actually teaspoons, but who's measuring. Probably not. You think oh, "It can't make that much of a difference." It can! Most people pour about 4 times the proper serving adding a total of 200-280 calories to their coffee. Always pay attention to the liquids you drink. It's the fastest way to increase your calories.
Next, your making lunch for your kids. You're doing the right thing, being the better parent by making a lunch. While you're doing so you nibble a few fish crackers. Probably 8-10. No biggie it's only 30 calories. Kids are off to school and
Finally, it's lunch and you head to the organic farm to table place that has those amazing salads! Yum! Eating healthy never felt or tasted so good! You order that quinoa salad, it's all the craze. Cha'ching add it up. Did you know quinoa has just as many calories as rice or a potato? It's definitely healthy and has tons of nutrients, but buyer beware it's not low calorie. Don't forget the pesto sauce. Whoops, we just ate a 1000 calorie salad. Truthfully, are you really going to need that amount of energy while you click away sitting at your keyboard for four more hours? Uh NO!
You're feeling good about yourself! You had coffee and skipped the latte, had one fun size candy instead of the donut, ate a salad for lunch and now you've got dinner planned. I can smell it now, fish and gluten-free pasta! Everyone says you got to have salmon, it has omega 3 fatty acids, it's oh so good for your hair and skin, heart and cognitive synapses. Oh, you can't forget that gluten-free pasta. It's better on your gut and digestion. After all, that's why you've haven't been able to lose weight. You can't digest the food properly and your body is just holding onto it. I have a feeling it's maybe a few other reasons other than your mild to insignificant gluten allergy. These are all healthy choices that are truly very good for you. Honestly, I love all of these food choices. The salmon is great, but realize this, one serving of salmon is 2-3 oz and is 233 calories. Almost guaranteed, the portion you ate, unmeasured is about 6-8 oz. Multiply 233 times 3.5 and you have 815 calories, almost 600 more than a proper serving. But wait there's more (insert cheesy game show host announcer voice), the gluten-free pasta! 1 cup is 233 calories. Add that, yes healthy, but also very hearty dinner. 1048 KILOCALORIES!!! OMG!
Ready to recap just the extra details?
Grand Total of EXTRAS 1328!
Yes, this may be just a bit of an exaggeration, but it's not too far from the truth. It's no wonder why people get so frustrated thinking they are eating healthy and in reality, they are, but if you don't pay attention to the DETAILS of serving size, macronutrients, and snacking habits, one can become extremely discouraged and throw in the towel.
Don't give up, get detailed and pay attention to what you are putting into your body. You only get one body and it's an amazing machine capable of spectacular feats. The downsizing is in the details!!
Peter San Nicolas, a Ramona resident, owns Ramona Fitness Center.
