“How many calories should I eat?” 🙅♀️
I get this question a lot.
Like, a LOT.
So first off…I have to just say:
I really,
Really,
REALLY
am NOT a fan of counting calories or getting fussy about macros or stuff like that.
That’s diet culture. Ick.
Messes with people’s heads.
And also, who wants to live that way?!?
But I will admit that in some senses, I do think it’s important to have a rough idea of your basic caloric needs and how much energy you’re putting into your body.
Just a rough idea, not a myopic obsession.
Anyway, of course you would expect the basic answer to be: everyone is different.
But we can start with some basic assumptions based on a person’s baseline caloric needs, or “basal metabolic rate” (BMR) - that is, how many calories you burn at rest.
Asides your genetics, your basal metabolic rate/BMR is influenced by a few things, namely:
Your “non-exercise activity thermogenesis” or NEAT. AKA how much you move around and do stuff during the day. You actually burn WAY more calories doing day-to-day life things than you do exercising! Cool huh? I find that fun and empowering. Some days I don’t have time to fit in a real “work out”, but I can always manage to get on my walking treadmill (under my desk) a while, make food, do a chore or two and take the dog out twice...That’s a LOT of energy. Win! AND, NEAT can include the “heavy thinking” or deep, intense concentration I do all day while I work. Our brains are hungry calorie-burning monsters when we’re really focused for long periods, like say if you’re studying for an exam or prepping a big report. (Dr Andrew Huberman is always on about NEAT in any metabolic/fat loss discussion, and he’s bang-on.)
The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn at rest, and so the more you need to eat to sustain yourself, even while you sit on the couch. Yay muscle.
When you engage in more intense forms of exercise for any decent length of time (like a HIIT or Crossfit class), you will experience an “afterburn” effect…That means you will continue to burn calories at a higher rate well after your workout is over as your body repairs and builds your muscles and other tissues. It can last up to 48 hours, but on average, the afterburn effect lasts for about 12 to 24 hours. (48 hours would be for something super intense and more prolonged, like if you did a big long hike up a mountain with a heavy pack on.) So there’s no question that the afterburn effect is important in considering how to fuel your body, but it ONLY applies to high intensity workouts. You may notice that you’re extra hungry the day after such a workout - or even 2 days! - and it’s important to listen to that cue: feed your body a little more protein and complex carbohydrates, the favorite fuel of your muscles.
I know that’s not a numerical-type answer to the question we began with (like ‘eat 2100 cals and you’re good’), which maybe you were hoping for, but I can’t give you one, nor would I want to because ick, diet culture.
But I hope this provides you a little framework for thinking about calorie expenditure and how you might tweak your intake according to your NEAT, the amount of muscle on your body and your workout intensity the day (or 2) before.
I’ll offer some more thoughts on calories and macros in my next post, which may help a little more towards curating your calories.
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