Surely you are already thinking about your New Year's resolutions, which may include weight loss. There is nothing wrong with losing a little weight, or even going on a low calorie diet to do so, as long as you do it with a healthy mindset and habits. After all, losing weight requires burning more calories than you consume. But how much is too low? Is a 1500 calorie diet a bad idea?
Some weight loss diets suggest that men should consume 1,500 to 1,800 calories per day and women 1,200 to 1,500 calories per day to lose weight safely. However, when your goal is to maintain weight, active men should consume up to 3,000 calories a day, while women should consume up to 2,400.
As you can see, it is a big difference. And as athletes, we burn a significant amount of calories each day we train, so severely restricting our calorie intake can do more harm than good.
Dangers of a 1500 calorie diet
Fifteen hundred calories sounds like a lot when you think in terms of exercise. If a 200-pound cyclist burns about 540 calories in an hour at an average speed of 12 miles per hour, it would take almost three hours of exercise to burn those 1,500 calories. It is not uncommon for you to get to that wear on a weekend that you do a 3 hour route. Also, exercise is not the only way to burn calories.
Most adults are likely to have a basal metabolic rate close to, if not greater than, 1500 calories per day (based on age, body weight, and height). Metabolism is the amount of energy your body needs to function properly and stay alive, regardless of physical activity or daily exercise. Knowing this, it is easy to see why 1500 calories does not meet the needs of most adults or active athletes.
When you are active, you need even more calories to meet your energy needs in addition to your basal metabolic rate. And not meeting the basic energy requirements for the body to function properly compromises your normal bodily processes such as digestion, plus it will cost you much more to finish your workouts.
Not consuming enough calories also increases the risk of losing essential nutrients . This includes adequate intake of carbohydrate, fat, and protein macronutrients, as well as micronutrient intake of essential vitamins and minerals. Consuming the correct types of calories is very important because you not only need carbohydrates for short-term energy, you also need healthy fats and protein for stamina, recovery and to keep you feeling full.
What happens when you restrict calories?
Athletes are not immune to the idea that the fewer calories you consume, the lighter and leaner you will be, and the better you can perform (especially when trying to be aerodynamic or float uphill on a bike). But the key word is power. Restricting calories can make you lighter, but it can also make you more tired, weak, and prone to injury.
When you don't have enough energy, your body can go into starvation mode. If you don't have enough accessible energy (i.e. calories), the body will shift to slow down metabolism and save energy by increasing body fat stores. At some point, the body stops allowing body fat to be fuel and starts using muscles.
So create a big calorie deficit can make s lose muscle mass. If you don't eat enough calories after exercise, that can affect muscle protein synthesis. And if you don't have enough energy available (especially if you're not eating enough protein, your body will begin to break down muscle for energy. Adequate calorie intake is very important, not just to allow muscles to recover and develop after the workout. training, but also to prevent the loss of existing muscle mass.
On top of that, you can see the energy imbalance manifested throughout the body . Digestion will begin to slow down, making you feel full faster, enzyme production slows down in your gastrointestinal system, and you may become more intolerant to certain foods; your body temperature drops, making you colder; even the menstrual cycle will start to function dysfunctional and may disappear. For men, testosterone will drop, causing them to have less libido and less facial hair.
You may also see changes in your mood and sleep cycle , and you may experience fatigue, exhaustion, lack of sleep, difficulty concentrating, increased risk of injury, slower recovery time, and increased risk of illness.
How does it affect exercise performance?
Losing muscle would be detrimental to your training power and likely directly affect your training and fitness goals.
Also, if an athlete does not consume adequate calories to meet their needs, it can have a cascading effect in which performance during training is reduced due to poor energy availability. Muscle protein synthesis deteriorates after training, resulting in reduced training adaptations and glycogen stores are not replenished, resulting in reduced energy availability during the next training session.
Additionally, you will have to work harder to see the same effects as your rate of perceived exertion decreases. You will slowly lose your endurance capacity, which means you will hit a plateau sooner. And since energy reserves have been depleted for basic body needs, you won't have as much to help with recovery.
What is a better way to lose weight?
Weight loss shouldn't just be about reducing calories. You have to consider the calories that come in versus the calories that go out, but it is not that simple. The quality of those calories is important . Weight loss is so individualized and dependent on a variety of factors, including body size, age, gender, fitness level, workout schedule, stress, environment, medication, and other chronic conditions. health, if present.
Making smaller changes, such as cutting out alcohol, replacing highly processed carbohydrates with whole-grain carbohydrates, or cutting down on refined sugars are simple changes that can improve your health without diminishing performance.
It is common for endurance athletes to consume a minimum of 2,500 calories, and some may need up to 5,000 calories. There are experts who recommend caloric intakes ranging from 25 calories per kilogram of body weight for an active and healthy individual to 80 calories per kilogram of body weight for an elite athlete.
A healthy amount of weight loss for the average person is a little over a pound a week, or about two to three kilos a month . That translates to a calorie deficit of 500 calories a day. But remember that calories are not everything. Focus on the composition and quality of the calories you are consuming and eating what makes you feel best when you are training.
