Contrary to popular belief, cravings have nothing to do with a lack of willpower. We crave sleep, sun and alone time simply because we need it. It’s no different when we crave food; especially salty, sweet and savoury foods.
“Eat Enough and Exercise”
Why do we think we can get by on less food than we require? Perhaps it has something to do with the nutrition advice “Eat Less Exercise More”. For more than 50 (unsuccessful) years we have followed this advice in an attempt to lean down.
What if we followed the advice “Eat Enough and Exercise”? This translates to eating enough to meet our Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) and exercising enough to burn slightly more calories than we eat. Consequently, the body is forced to give up a little extra fat. Unfortunately it means we have to take a second to figure out how many calories we burn on a daily basis.
How to Determine How Many Calories You Burn
Do an Internet search for “BMR calculator”. Fill in the boxes and 65% of your TDEE (daily caloric requirement) will be calculated. Next, multiple that number by 100 and divide by 65 to figure out your Total Daily Energy Expenditure – how many calories we burn in a day.
It’s shocking to realize how many calories the body actually burns on a daily basis. Over the course of a few days, look at the number of calories you are eating at one breakfast, one lunch, one dinner and one snack. Add them up. Are you within 500 calories of your TDEE? If you aren’t (and especially if you are exercising), there is the reason for your cravings.
So, my advice? Eat enough and exercise. The cravings will go away and your body can get into a fat burning mode that is sustainable. If you continue to eat less and exercise more, you will forever be craving foods, binging on weekends, and obsessing over why you can’t lean down. It’s not rocket science, it’s just common sense!
Our Power Up Mission is simply to educate our customers on the importance of using quality food as fuel. For all your Power Up news make sure you check out Vince’s Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Also make sure to follow @VincesMarket and #powerupwithvinces, sign up for our Power Up Newsletter and keep an eye out for nutrition tips and tricks from me, our in-house nutrition expert!
To our health & wellbeing,
Shannon, Guest Blogger
