Calories In vs Calories Out

A great debate.

Let's preface by saying this. Are you trying to tell me that if we were to duplicate your genetics, and we were to feed one of you 2000 calories of chicken, and the other 2000 calories of ice cream, they'd end up the same?

It just sounds hilarious to begin with.

Once again, this depends on your goals.

Most people would like to retain muscle mass and lose their bodyfat.

Let's go over some elementary concepts first however.

If you eat 2000 calories, and you're burning 2500 a day by your total daily expenditure, you will lose weight.

If you eat 2000 calories, and burn 1500 calories, you will gain weight.

Remember what we've talked about, how "weight" means water, fat, muscle, glycogen and a host of other lovely variables.

This is where what the calories are coming from matters.

This is why "eating smaller portions" will only work for so long, until you change WHAT those portions are.

Remember the macro nutrients: protein, carbohydrates, and fats.

Having the macros set up in the correct amounts will be the key to your success more so than how many calories you are eating, depending on exercise, goals, the whole shabang.

And something else quickly I wrote on my face book page:

If you eat an ice cream sandwich, and expect to get on the treadmill and "burn it off" you're out of luck. Your body isn't that smart at tossing out crap, it will toss out a mixture of things, possibly fat, possibly hard earned muscle.

It doesn't work that way, crap in does not mean crap out. It could be crap in = muscle out.

There are tons of formulas out there for how to set up your meal plan, but try to remember:

Clean it up first. If your big fallacy is crap, then cut it out or at the very least minimize it.

If what you're eating is clean and progress has stopped, figure out what macronutrients are in the foods you're eating, and change them around.

Hope that helps!

This is Earned

All of this.

It's all earned.

Even the people who claim to eat crap and look great. Which, yes, there are people out there like that. They're jerks. Only because that's not me.

A side note, right quick, is those people, the ones above, have to watch their health. The way your body looks has nothing to do with how healthy you are on the inside.

Back to topic.

It's earned.

Your physique, your stamina, your health.

All of it.

It's going to be work. Sure it is. Did you REALLY, deep down inside, think you'd only have to eat clean for a bit? Did you REALLY, deep down inside, think you'd only have to do a tiny bit of weights or cardio?

If you did, shame on you.

I like to use the analogy of money. I've stolen this partially from Chris Aceto.

The people who have always had money very rarely care about money (in terms of losing it all or having none). These people are the ones with naturally great physiques.
But, if you had nothing, and you built a fortune, you're going to care a heck of a lot more about your wealth than someone who inherited it.
These are the people that have been through the grind.

These are the people that earned it.

These are the people who saved. Dollar after dollar. Cent after cent. And waited.
Gaining the wealth. Making the proper investments. Not being stupid with their money. Not buying into bogus schemes and money traps.

This is your physique. It's earned. You have to lay down foundation. Then save up. Build more muscle. Lose more fat. Gain more strength. Not taking insane supplements or relying on them.

So, with the proper mantra, the proper guidance, you can earn at least a very plausible physique.

Will you win a show/contest? Maybe not. But can you look back and be MUCH, much better than where you were?

Only if you earn it.

All the cliches come into effect.

"How hard are you willing to push?" is what I ask my clients all the time. Some people reach a limit, where sacrifice becomes suffering. That's fine.

Some people it's early in their progress, some people it's very late, or never.

The bottom line is:

If you can't sacrifice, if you can't eat all your meals, if you can't make it to the gym, if you can't stop drinking booze, if you can't cook your food, if you can't remember to take your vitamins/supplements, then you can't complain.

If you do, you may as well tell it to the wind, because no one will want to hear it, and it will only be whisked away anyways.

Have some damn pride.

Putting it All Together

So, lets assume you've followed quite a bit of my blogs. This is a huge assumption, because I know there is quite a bit of information to absorb in them.

so, as a recap

1) You understand the BASICS of program design (even doing the beginner routine I outlined).
2) You understand the basics of nutrition (how to put together a general guideline based upon your needs)
3) You have a proper cardio regimen to fit your goals.

How the heck do you ALTER this?

This is where, to me, having a Trainer has the greatest potential for help.

If you got from X to Y, and Y is still not good enough for you, or you want more, now you need to get some advice.

I've talked about getting reputable sources to give you opinions. Getting these is challenging and tough.

Because let's say all 3 factors at the top are in line.

BUT results are lacking or not happening?

What If I told you it COULD be something else?

What?

Yes. For instance, myself and Chest development was/is an issue. In other words, it just would NOT develop at all. It looked awful, and it was behind every bodypart, even my lagging biceps.

So, I had to get opinions. And here's the worst part: a lot of them were garbage, and worse, I got a subluxation in my left collarbone thanks to it. Incredible.

So, through some PROPER advice and research, I have figured it out for myself what to do, and have put quite a bit of mass on my chest, not enough by any means, but much, much more than there was.

I have diagnosed a couple clients also with low testosterone. In other words, 3 of my male clients were doing great in terms of
1) following meal plan
2) doing their workouts
3) prescribed meal plan.

Yet seeing CRAP for results. So it was NOT their fault.

I had them go see their doctors, and get their testosterone levels checked.

Sure enough, they were low. Very low.

Where am I going?

Maybe there ARE things outside of your control affecting your progress, such as the ones above, or thyroid, digestion issue, something.

Having that educated 2nd, 3rd, 4th opinion is always great to have there.

But this is also saying don't take everyone's advice, implement it, and not know what was the factor that worked. Change something. Not everything, and see if that works. Then arrive at your conclusion.

To get past X, and into Y and Z, you have to get smarter. For me, smarter is keeping even smarter people around me to help and train. Progress should always occur, but the reasons why can be elusive.

On top of this, don't expect to get a ton of results constantly. You have to put in time/effort and it actually has diminishing returns. In other words, the harder you work and the further you go, the less results you'll eventually see. To keep packing on muscle or whipping off fat at the same pace is a dream.

This is how to put it all together. Get opinions other than your own, and try it out. Don't try out everything at once, but try SOMETHING if NOTHING is happening.