Red Deer Life - August 2, 2006

Appetite is nothing to be afraid of, and it's certainly not something we should be actively trying to suppress. Yet I encounter people every week wanting to do just that. This week I hope to clarify the importance of appetite and the correct amount of food we should be consuming on a daily basis. The answer is to eat more than you are now, not less. Let's explain.

If you were right now sitting in a crowded room you might look around at all the individuals and witness all sorts of metabolic contradiction. The norm these days is working a 40+ hour work week, often in a sedentary job leaving little time or desire for exercise. Our busy schedules don't always permit 5-6 meal breaks in a day. The sheer exhaustion and fatigue as a result of a stressful career or a crowded urban environment usually are not conducive to continual preparation of wholesome meals. Dinner a la drive thru.

As a result of all of this a large percentage of that crowded room, the one you are still sitting in, maybe overweight, gaining weight, or actively trying to lose weight. In spite of knowing they should exercise more and eat better it seems the short cut "easier" solution would be to eat less. After all less food in means the body has to find alternate means and that should equate to some fat loss. Simple, makes sense, but is an eternally flawed logic.

Our body is a machine, an incredible machine, near perfect in so many ways. An analogy I often use when discussing metabolism is to compare it to your car. We all service our cars regularly in hopes of maintaining reliable transportation and more than ever promoting fuel economy. The next time you take your car in for an oil change consider instructing the technician to only replace half the recommended amount of oil. This would be similar to trying to suppress your appetite. Your car will run fine for a while with only half the needed oil but eventually it will break down. Our body is no different.

If our food intake is too low much of our metabolism and immune system shuts down. Sickness and injury are much more likely and weight loss is near impossible. More than 90% of the time my initial guidance to a client is to more than double their current food intake, and nearly 90% of the time they begin to lose weight within 10 days. Less than 2% of my clients ever increase in weight initially by increasing their food intake. Put yourself to the test next time you are in front of your computer. Type "BMR Calculator" into Google and perform the calculation for yourself. This number is the minimum number needed for your body to function over a 24 hour period if you didn't even get out of bed. Any and all extra activity in a day requires additional calories. If you find the BMR calculation you may also simply multiply your body weight by 13-15 to put you in the ball park.