suffering lack of energy? , keep cutting down calories and you are still gaining weight? this article is for you

Here is a question I get a lot of times from my clients:

     How can I maintain my energy level while at the same time reduce body percentage??. Have you ever tried dieting and you found out that you did not have the same amount of energy and felt weak and sluggish throughout the day??. Keep reading this article is for you.

     A number of studies suggest that the asnwer may lie in consuming small but frequent meals to stay in better energy balance throughout the day, Energy balance has typically been assessed in a 24 hour unit. That is, if you consume a 3000 calories diet during the day and you burn 30000 calories during the day, you are in “ energy balance”. However , what happens during the day to achieve a state of energy balance makes a difference. If you spend most of the day in an energy decifict state ( you burn more than you consume) but then eat a huge a meal at the end of the day to satisfy your energy needs, you might still be in energy balance. However, it appears that people who do this have different outcomes than those who stay close to an energy balanced state throught the day. Eating small but frequent meals has the followeing benefits :

• Matain of metabolic rate
• lower body fat and lower weight on higher caloric intakes
• better glucose tolerance and lower insulin response ( making it more difficult to manufacture fats from the foods you eat)
• lower stress hormone production
• Better maintenance of muscle mass
• Improved physical performance

Surveys have suggested that people tend to delay eating until the end of the day, and many experience severe energy deficits earlier in the day ( perticularly on days when they train hard and need the energy the most!). Problems with energy deficits include:

• Difficulty maintaning carbohydrate stores ( this impedes endurance in high intensity activities)
• problems maintaining lean ( muscle) mass
• Lower metabolic rate
• Difficulty meeting nutrients needs ( food carry both energy and other nutrients)
• Increased risk of injury ( undernoursihed athletes may develop mental and muscular fatigue that, in some sports, would predispose them to injury)
• Missed opportunities to aid muscle recovery.

      Maintaining energy balance throughout the day by consuming small but frequent meals during the day is an excellent strategy for reducing these problems. Many experts suggest 4-5 meals a day spaced every 3 hours is the best way to achieve consistent energy levels throughout the day. There you guys have it!!!. Next nutrition article I will write will be on how much to “ exactly” eat.

Stay healthy!!!