Usually at some point, we burn out. Usually due to exercise, grinding, parenting, planning, relationships and work. Of course, my ongoing issue is that I never burn out. It’s always felt like, right on the verge of burnout, I simply disengage from the source of potential burnout. Before you know it, I’ve caught a second or third wind. Thankfully, I don’t surround myself with people that would like to see how far they can push me until I’m roasted.
This seems to really stem into my eating as well. During my studies on sports Performance Enhancement, the subject came up regarding calories in vs. out. This is usually factored initially with your Basal Metabolic Rate (calories your body roasts on a 24 hour period if doing nothing), then activity. Your BMR is usually based on your current age, biological sex/gender (i.e. if you were born XX, you’re a female, XY is male, therefore the equation is adjusted accordingly), height, & weight. The default number will vary from person to person. If you use Cronometer or MyFitnessPal to track calories and activity, you’ll see your estimates, as well as how activity affects your needs that your goals require throughout the day.
Where things get hairy usually involves the activity part due to intensity, time & variety. Keep in mind, if you’re trying to cut some weight & you set your caloric deficit by 5-10% for a slow but steady weight loss, once you factor in exercise, the recovery eating needed can and will throw a slight wrench into things. For example, at my job during 7 hours, I am walking nearly 20 miles. This is not considering the weightlifting I do for about an hour 3x/week. If my goal’s a gradual cut, for me, is at about 1,861 calories but then add in the workout (292 calories roughly for me) plus work (1,703), I’m no longer needing 1,861 — I now need 3,856 calories!
I will be honest with everyone here in the Gunz Crew, on a day off, eating is a pleasurable thing but on my days of work, I dread it more than when I had to clean dirty diapers. This also isn’t accounting for the gallon of water I have daily. Having said that, it becomes simpler to understand why just a fixed number in a deficit is not enough for your eating due to daily activity that may alter your needs.
How my body hasn’t burned out due to not eating enough is beyond me, given that due to the nature of my job & training schedule, I’m functioning at worst around 50% but 62% at best during the work week but on my days off I’m between 80-110%. The next time you see someone like myself or others in the fitness profession having a bad case of the hangry or crying because they need to eat more than you perceive needed, consider everything you just read into their living equation — as well as into yours for your benefit!
