Good Calories vs Bad Calories
Is there such a thing?…
It felt right to kick things off by talking about how we view calories at Brickfields, as it’s a regular topic of conversation with our members and PT clients.
There is so much you could talk about when it comes to calories it’s difficult to know where to start but I’m going to pick out my most frustrating calorie myth that a huge percentage of people believe…
“Calories from healthy food aren’t the same as calories from ‘naughty’ food.”
When the HELL did this ever become a thing?! There is literally no such thing. Calories are calories!
Saying there’s a difference is like saying a £1 coin holds a different value to another £1 coin. Calories are the same if they come from a carrot or a burger.
I blame fitness professionals for this as much as anyone. Some will spout utter nonsense to push their own agenda on food. If they can overcomplicate it so you don’t understand you’re then reliant on them to help you figure it out.
Using myself as an example, I need 3,400 calories a day to maintain my weight so anything above that I’ll be adding weight and anything below that I’ll be losing weight. Whether that’s from rabbit food or fast food doesn’t matter.
I’m currently trying to add some size so I’m probably creeping up to between 3,600-4,000 cals p/day. I’m not worried how I get there right now but I’m mindful not to eat my 4,000 cals just in chocolate and cookies.
More nutritious food (Team Carrot) will give you a better body composition (muscle definition/being toned) than less nutritious food (Team Burger).
If you want to have the lowest possible body fat % then join Team Carrot and only eat nutritious food (Team motto = ‘food is fuel’).
If you’re happy to have a slightly higher body fat % then join Team Burger where you can enjoy the occasional fun meal without worrying whether it fits your macros and micros (Team motto = ‘YOLO’).
The approach for a big chunk of our members would be best described as ‘work hard, play hard’. The gym is there to allow us the freedom to enjoy ourselves outside of it. Our Friday beers after the 5pm WOD is the best example of that mindset in full effect.
In my opinion, the terminology we’re using is problematic. Terms like cheat meals, junk food, good food, bad food, are all terms we need to stop using when we refer to the food we eat.
We’re demonising certain foods by doing this and a lot of people have an unhealthy relationship with food as it is, so there’ll be an immediate sense of guilt for eating ‘junk food’ even though this might be the only ‘unhealthy’ meal they’ve had in months and if their goal is weight loss they could still be under their calorie limit for the day so where’s the issue?!
Still using weightloss as an example, I usually find the best long term approach is to initially look at how clients are already eating and drop the calories if we need to. 9 times out of 10 we need to as well as upping the activity levels.
Easiest way to drop calories is by slightly reducing portion size. “Show me what you’re eating now…great!…just eat a little less of that”. Simple. Then once we’ve got the calories nailed down we can look at what’s making up the diet and adjust. Magnum for dessert every night? Let’s lose a few of those. Not all of them. I’m not a complete sociopath. I want happy clients that achieve their goals not miserable ones that cry when a Magnum advert comes on.
It’s a more gradual process but it leads to lasting results.
Personally for the majority of the year I don’t stray too far from the shape I want to be in. Plus I train relatively hard. It’s not elite athlete level hard, but it’s probably above average. This allows me to enjoy my food without feeling any guilt, and then I can just tighten up the diet a few weeks out from holiday so I’m trimmed down for the speedos by the pool. Much easier to maintain than having single digit body fat 52 weeks of the year.
As a general rule of thumb we find that for most people aiming slightly towards Team Burger might be more sustainable in the long run than the super strict Team Carrot approach but you just have to choose what approach suits your physical goals at the time.
Most importantly - do what you’re happiest with. Because SHOCK how you look and what you put in your mouth should be about your own happiness and not what anyone else is pushing on you.
Maybe next time we’ll discuss the shocking revelation that your happiness is important.
”If the methods are unsustainable, the results will be unsustainable.” Layne Norton PhD
Everybody love everybody - peace ✌🏼🤙🏼
Some fine eating establishments for those on Team Burger:
Wingmans - for the chicken wing enthusiasts and my personal favourite wings
Hawksmoor - best steaks in London
Bleecker Burger - go to their instagram (@bleeckerburger) and drool over all that gooey cheese
Sticks’n’Sushi - black cod good. Belly rib good. Basically everything they do is good (They actually do some unreal broccoli too. Balance and all that.)