Most personal trainers will preach about calories in versus calories out for any type of fitness or weight loss/gain goals. The first Law of Thermodynamics states that “Energy cannot be created nor destroyed, but it can be transformed from one form to another.” How does this apply to your diet? It is simple; if you consume less calories than you burn, you will lose weight. If you consume more calories than you burn, you will gain weight. However, from a weight loss stand point, the deficit should not be more than 800 calories or so. If the deficit is so great that the body thinks you are starving, your weight loss goals and metabolism will come to a screeching halt.

I have had client after client sit down with me and tell me they eat twice a day, and still can not lose weight. They also tell me that they have heard about the “six meals a day thing,” but do not know why. In our hectic society, we will be awake for at least fifteen hours. Eating two meals in this amount of time is basically teaching your body that you are in survival mode. It tells your body, “do not use any of this food for a good cause, and store some fat because I do not know when I can feed you again.” Your metabolism will become so slow and inefficient, that these two meals are actually hurting your goals. During exercise or daily activity, fewer calories will be burned because your body simply can not afford to burn these precious two meals you served it.

I will continue to preach that everyone should consume at least six meals a day. The body will become much more efficient with energy production, nutrition absorption, and caloric output. The more times you turn on the digestive system, the faster the metabolism will ultimately become. Your body is an extraordinary piece of machinery and will adapt and change with your habits. If you eat every few hours, your body will feel free to use the nutrition you have provided it to do the things it needs to do, because the metabolism knows it will be receiving more fuel within the next few hours.

Do not take nutrition as rocket science at this point. You are intelligent enough to know what is good for you and what clearly is not. Eat from a variety of food groups and eat a lot of lean proteins, carbohydrates and healthy fats. Healthy fats come from olive oil, nuts, and some other sources. If results start to slow down, this is where more intense nutritional counseling may be beneficial.

A good rule of thumb for males is as follows: assume an active 180 pound man will burn about 2300-2600 calories a day. Add or subtract about 100 calories per ten pounds of body weight difference to figure out how many calories you burn a day. For example, a 160 pound man will burn 2100-2400 calories or so, per day. For females, an active 150 pound female will burn around 1700- 1900 calories a day. The same math may be applied to the females for calculating the number of calories you may burn in a day.