How to Eat More Calories and Get Away With It.
The time in which we first encounter calorie counting, or macronutrients, is typically at a point in our lives when we have decided to make a much-needed change; when our lifestyle has caught up with us. For any longstanding change to occur, changes are introduced gradually, so we usually start with two key variables: nutrition and exercise.
We also commonly hear of the dangers of overconsuming alcohol on our long-term health, but that is a change we are much slower to make because, as with any ‘SHOULDs’ in our lives, this actually takes a backseat to more important ‘SHOULDs’, such as work. But what if I told you there is an immediate gain to adopting a lifestyle that is lower in alcohol intake? That you could actually consume considerably more calories, guilt-free, than you ever thought possible?
I don’t know about you, but I much prefer the carrot, than the stick.
Your Calorie Intake is Probably Too Low
The most interesting client for me to work with is always the intermediate fitness enthusiast. Typically, they already have some knowledge of how to track their nutrition, and they train with some regularity, but they’ve come to me because they’ve hit a wall and want to take the next step in achieving their goals.
A common trend among such clients is that their caloric intake is far too low, coupled with little to no change having occurred in their weekend drinking habits. They are burning the candle at both ends, and wondering why they are low on energy, and having to be ultra-regimented in their approach to their diet to see results.
In a previous post of mine, I discussed how results are absolutely still possible with alcohol, but that does not negate the need to make a sacrifice. The sacrifice, in this case, is precious calories that could be better served to fuel every activity involved in your existence, not just your training. A weekend party binge can easily add upwards of 2,000 calories to your weekly total, and that’s before fried midnight munchies are accounted for.
At the age of 22, I first started tracking calories, eating 2,200 calories per day while weight training four times per week, cutting down to achieve visible abs. It certainly worked, but years later, I was getting even better results, but eating 3,000 calories per day. At the time, I was convinced that either my metabolic rate or non-exercise activity (NEAT) increased significantly. Both probably did increase, but not at the rate required to make such a big difference.
The main difference was that I wasn’t getting hammered every weekend when I was cutting on 3,000 calories per day. By then, I had completely caught the lifting bug and had also found a great love for entrepreneurial and creative endeavours. Drinking so much simply wasn’t worth it to me anymore. Then, once I realised just how much food I could eat every day without alcohol in my life, it went much lower on my list of priorities.
The General Recommended Calorie Intake is Too Low
The recommendations around calorie intakes for adults are based on survey data, taken by the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) in the 90s, where people self-reported how many calories they consumed in a day, and this data was used to create a benchmark for the average daily caloric intake [1]. There are a number of problems with the fact that this data has been used to recommend the 2,000-2,500 calorie per day range:
Survey data proves little more than opinion. It does not prove fact.
Self-reported calorie intake is typically under-reported by 20%, with as high as 50% not uncommon either. [2]
In the 90s, they US alcohol consumption had gradually risen, compared to previous decades. [3] At the time this survey was taken, the US alcohol consumption was almost on par with today’s rates of consumption. I highly doubt that this was considered, and if it were, then most people would greatly under-report their true consumption.
What This Means for You and Your Daily Caloric Intake
In determining your caloric intake, take any estimates you obtain from an online calculator with a pinch of salt, and do not buy into the 2,000 calories for women and 2,500 for men recommendations. When all snacks, bingeing and alcohol consumption are taken into account, we’re probably looking at a daily average that is closer to 2,500 for women and 3,000 for men to maintain weight.
Now, if you cannot see your life existing without six drinks on a Friday night and a weekly cheat day (not cheat meal), then yes, the old recommendations will suit you best. But suppose you want to get into your best shape ever, feel more energetic, and make every day feel like a guilt-free mini-cheat day. In that case, you need to flatten out the variance in your consumption of ‘dirty foods’, and consider a reduction in alcohol consumption.
I really don’t miss waking up anxious every Saturday and Sunday morning, and in return, I eat upwards of 3,000 calories when cutting weight and upwards of 4,000 calories when gaining weight. I meet my basic protein, fibre and micronutrient requirements most days, but I also eat some ‘dirty’ foods most days. I never binge because I don’t need to. If you never binge, conversely, you never need to restrict yourself.
My now 88-year-old grandmother always said it best; “A little bit of what you fancy”.
The Takeaways
The data used to build the recommended daily calorie intake ranges is flawed.
You can eat more calories per day than you think, particularly if you lower or eliminate alcohol consumption.
Bingeing on food and/or alcohol creates the need for low-calorie intakes as a form of compensatory restriction. You can tweak the dials here to find the optimal tradeoff between some indulgence every day and overindulgence on certain days. Optimal looks different for everyone, and is not the same as perfection.
[1] https://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/eat-run/articles/2016-06-14/who-actually-needs-a-2-000-calorie-diet
[2] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/002604959590204X
[3] https://news.gallup.com/poll/353858/alcohol-consumption-low-end-recent-readings.aspx