Does this sound familiar?

How many calories did I burn in class today? Am I allowed to eat more today because I came to class?

A few of you have asked me these very questions and I would be willing to bet that almost all of you have wondered the same thing at some point. Let’s take a look at the whole “Calorie In/Calorie Out” idea.

The first law of thermodynamics states:

Change in energy stores = Energy intake – Energy expenditure

Applied to the human body, energy is in the form of calories and it is stored as either muscle or fat. It is from this very equation that people assume that you will lose weight as long as you burn more calories than you consume.

We all know what happens when we assume though…

The idea that overeating and/or sedentary behavior causes obesity is a misinterpretation of this law. This misinterpretation has cause and effect in the wrong place. Simply having a positive caloric balance is not going to cause excess weight gain…even though they are usually associated with each other. In reality, we eat more, move less, and have less energy to expend because we are metabolically or hormonally driven to get fat. (Hmm….what does THAT mean?) What it means is that you aren’t gaining excess weight because you’re eating more….it’s actually the OPPOSITE. You are eating more because your hormones are telling you it’s time to gain weight.

Anyone driven to put on fat by such a metabolic or hormonal defect would be driven to excessive eating, physical inactivity, or some combination. Hunger and inactivity would be side effects of such a hormonal defect, merely facilitating the drive to fatten. They would not be the fundamental cause. Likewise, a lack of hunger and the impulse to engage in physical activity can also be driven by a metabolic hormonal disposition to burn calories rather than store them. It’s all in the hormones!

This can be likened to growing children. Their hormones decide when it is time for a growth spurt, causing their appetites to increase to satisfy the energy requirements. Another obvious example is pregnancy. Women are driven to fatten by hormonal changes. This drive induces hunger and lethargy as a result. (No offense Mariah, you are CLEARLY the exception to this rule!)

A second misinterpretation of the law lies in the assumption that the human body is like a machine, resulting in each of the three variables being independent of one another. The idea that you can adjust your calorie consumption without affecting how many calories you burn is flat out wrong.

The human body is an incredibly complex system and will compensate for any changes in energy consumption or expenditure. Eat too little and your body will conserve energy by slowing down and making you feel lethargic. Eat too much and your body will become more active to expel the excess energy. This is why a severe calorie restricting diet and/or increased exercise does not result in long-term weight loss. Do you plan on drinking 2 slim fast shakes a day and jogging 4 miles before bed? Well then be prepared for your body to compensate by making you more hungry than you’ve ever been while it tries to store as much body fat as possible!

To sum it up, control your hormones if you want to successfully control your weight. This is why it is so important to focus on the quality of your food rather than the quantity. Stop stressing out over calorie counting and put that energy into eating the right kinds of foods, exercising regularly, and getting adequate sleep each day. This will help keep your hormones in check, resulting in long-term, healthy weight loss.

p.s. Can you guess who edited this for me

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We have all seen what my nutritional suggestions, combined with CrossFit,  have done for Jennie, Zach, and Bender. Dave, Garth, and Tom have all seen and felt some changes themselves. They did this through exercise and diet though.

Click here for some before & after pictures of 3 of Robb Wolf's clients. In the befores, they were all CrossFitting a few times a week, but not dialing in their nutrition. The afters are the effects of changing what they were eating while continuing to CrossFit. For all of them, the before and after photos are only months apart. This just proves that it works for people outside of the Fort too

The take home message of this post is that exercise alone will not get you the results you are after. You must alter the way you are eating if you want to alter the way you look and feel.

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This is a picture of Brian's lunch after yesterday's Team Saturday workout. It consisted of 18 oz. of steak, 6 eggs, and some cheese all cooked in EVOO. Brian is eating Paleo + dairy in an attempt to put on some extra LBM. Well done!

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I have added a link to some resources on the left sidebar of this page. Hopefully this provides some additional help. There will probably be some confusion for those of you who came to me for specific dietary prescriptions. When comparing what I originally gave you guys to the Zone, you will notice that protein is about the same, carbs are lower, and fat is higher. Please don't hesitate to ask questions if this is confusing.

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[vimeo width="640" height="480"]http://vimeo.com/4533065[/vimeo]

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The following is an excerpt from the Zeroing In On Health blog:

We get these diseases because our immune systems aren’t up to the job. One way in which our immune systems are compromised is found in the so-called healthy carbohydrates we eat which lessen our white blood cells’ ability to mop up invading microbes. It is clear from these studies that, if you eat ‘five portions of fruit and veggies’ and base your meals on starchy foods, as we are all advised to do, you could lose a major part of your immunity to infection for the whole of the day.

Of all of the sugars, fructose (found in fruit and high-fructose corn syrup) was found to impair the immune system the most.  Steak and eggs just scored another point.

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Just a reminder that Ultimate Test Lab will be at our facility from 8:00am - ?? tomorrow. Everyone is invited, but those who signed-up are being expected. Please show up with the understanding that testing will be conducted on a "first come, first served" basis. This doesn't mean that you should wait until noon to show up. If all tests are completed and nobody else is waiting, the lab will pack-up and go home.

With that being said, here are some guidelines to help you prepare for the tests:

RMR

• Be as relaxed as possible
• No exercising of any kind for up to 5 hours before testing
• No eating for up to 3 hours before testing
• No caffeine or stimulants for up to 4 hours prior to testing

VO2-Max

• Come as if you were ready for a moderate to intense workout
• No eating before testing
• Wear running shoes with laces that won't come undone
• Come well hydrated

Hydrostatic Body Composition

• Any type of swimsuit may be worn
• T-shirts are also acceptable

Please note, the RMR test must be completed before the VO2 test.

As for tomorrow's WOD, class will not be affected by the testing. A couple of people may miss class due to testing, but everyone else will enjoy Team Saturday as only CrossFit Fire member's can.

See everyone tomorrow!

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