~ Caloric Intake - What is right for You ~

Today I want to talk about caloric in-take, supplements and why I don't believe in them for the most part (notice I said most part), and why boot camp fitness is the greatest thing going!

Caloric In-Take:
Frequently I get asked, "how many calories SHOULD I be eating?" My response is always, there is no "standard" number that fits everybody in a certain category (i.e. my BMI is...) BMI stands for Body Mass Index. So, how does one know? Well, for starters, we all have a minimum needed calories per day. This are often referred to as your Resting Metabolic Rate. For those of you who have taken my class we test your RMR. I have NEVER had anyone have ann RMR of less than 1150 calories/day. What does this mean, this means IF you stay in bed all day (24 hours) this is how many calories your body need to function properly. i.e. energy in must equal energy out.

How do we come up with this number?
Everything is based on an algorithm determined by your height, muscle mass (muscle burns more calories than fat - fat burns nothing) and your body fat percentage. What I am trying to say here is when you are active, moving, walking, working, stressed out, your body is not at rest and your NEED more than that minimum amount of calories!

Won't I get thinner if i eat less?
You may temporarily at first notice your feel thinner, but shortly your body will think (and it does think on it's own) that it is starving and thus will take each calorie you do feed it and hold on to it as long as it can! What does this mean? It means your metabolism is shutting down to survive! What also happens is because the body knows muscle requires more energy, and because it is starving, it starts to eat your muscle to get needed nutrients and getting rid of this energy depleting source (i.e. you get fatter). Think about it what do we buy at the grocery store? Do we buy chicken, beef, fish (i.e. protein? - which is muscle - we eat muscle unless we are a vegetarian (this is a whole other subject of discussion). We do not go to the store and ask the deli man for a slab of fat! Does that thought horrify you as much as it does me? Well it should! That is exactly what you are doing when you starve yourself, you are creating more fat in your body andn slowing your metabolism down more (remember fat doesn't burn calories).

Why does this happen you might ask?
Well, fat can sustain you longer, so when in starvation mode the body has now found the path of least resistance (it's favorite way to get through life). So here it is plain and simple... YOU HAVE TO EAT GOOD CLEAN FOOD, Protein to keep your body happy and the more frequently you do this, (every 2-4 hours) the quicker the body realizes, I can use this now instead of storing it for long term survival. Thus you will have more continued energy throughout the day, increase your metabolism and lose weight faster, more efficiently, and look more fabulous!

Example:
I am 5' 9.5" and weigh roughly 130-134 pounds. I eat between 2500-3000 calories per day. Interesting that I eat 3 times what some "dieting" people do and still weigh less?

Here is why:
I get up at 4:30 a.m. - eat, teach 5:30 a.m. class, I come home and eat again at 7:00 a.m., do some work, teach my 9:00 class. Eat again at 10:00 a.m. Teach Noon class. Have a good lunch at 1:30 p.m. Do some computer work, eat again, maybe a protein shake I blend up around 2:30-3:00. Prep for evening class. Eat again at 4:45 p.m. Teach 5:30 p.m. class and come home to make a good dinner around 7:15 p.m. And YES, I may have another protein bar before I go to sleep about 9:00 p.m. (I hate sleeping on an empty stomach.) Did you count how many times I ate? If you didn't, go back and count now. See what I am doing, is teaching my body that you can use/burn these calories NOW, because I will feed you again shortly. Thus I don't go into starvation mode. If I want to gain more muscle, guess what - I have to eat more! Imagine that! If you could teach your body to use food as fuel to burn, instead of starving it and saving food for survival fuel?

What to eat?
Great, glad you asked! Clean food my friend. Prepare your food ahead of time, the night before. Egg white omlets with veggies and a wheat tortilla. Fruit and low fat cheese. Mojo bars, Cliff Builder Bars, Pure Protein Bars (I recommend these because of less sugar and good tasting with good protein and low fat). Whole grain bread with Turkey, low fat cheese and lettuce, a banana or apple, IsoPure protein shakes with low fat ice cream (only one scoop). And good clean broiled or grilled protein with veggies, salad, and some good carbs (brown rice, pasta - yes, I said pasta - Carbs are your friend when eaten properly) for dinner. If you teach your body to eat clean, it will thank you and it will use the food you give it because it has good things in it! Fast food generally lacks most if not nearly all nutritional value and does nothing good for you.

- Kelli Meier
Mile High Boot Camp Instructor
K2 CIA Kettlebell Instructor

For more information on how to make amazing tasty dishes
for you and your family check out our
Healthy Cooking Classes: www.milehighbootcamp.com/healthy_cooking.html

WINTER HUT TRIP!

Are you interested in getting out of Denver? Doing some snow shoeing? Having someone prepare all your meals? Being lead in group mediation and serenity relaxation? Hanging out with other like minded women? Snowshoeing in the mountains by full moon light?

Then get registered NOW! Date is mid February. Space is limited for this amazing experience put together by Bella Rock Adventures. For more information and to get registered go to: http://www.bellarockadventures.com

Have a Beautiful and Fit Day!