Do Calories really count? (Please chime in)

[jamesnwv]

I have been counting every drop of food going in for the past 3 months. I have lost a lot of fat (YEAH!!!), but I started thinking about something...do calories count?

Before being chased around the room by the members here... please here me out. I require 2200 calories a day to lose 1-2lbs per week in theory, now I have been shedding fat easy but what happens if I don't sleep for about 36 hours or more. I work night shift and some days I have to do things for the kids which prevents me from going straight to bed after work. Now if I ate my daily caloric requirement for the day, how am I suppose to carry on the rest of the day if I don't get any sleep?

Would it be safe to say that we burn calories in real time... as in our bodies need a certain number of calories at one sitting no matter what or it will slow things down to compensate the shortage of calories or store fat because of a calorie surplus at the time of feeding?

I am trying to understand this because there are days when I am up longer than 24 hours and how would you all adjust your nutrition if you were in my shoes?

Thanks in advance... much help would be appreciated.

James

 

[the small soldier]

I think you should still base calories on a 24 hour period no matter how long you are up. Just keep eating every 2-3 hours, but be aware of the time. If it's getting close to bed time, up the protein and fat a bit and cut back your carbs

 

[EZ_E]

Hey James, LOOKING GOOD BRO! I remember seeing the pictures of you B4 the surgery and then when you 1st joined EF. GREAT PROGRESS!!! I'm jealous! Keep it up, bossman!

 

[jamesnwv]

Thank you so much!! I am trying to get that ripped look! This is the place to come to learn from the masters!

 

[Makavelli]

You have to adjust your cals according to your activity level. If you are more active, ie awake as oppossed to sleeping, then your bmr will increase. And the converse applies here.

 

[jamesnwv]

Absolutely! I agree. I was reading Dr. Dan Bernadot article on real time fat loss and he explained a bit about how the body burns fat in real time. This got me thinking about what the heck do I do if I stay awake more than 24 hours? Could fat storage be determined in a matter of 2-3 hours of eating and once the body has made the choice, does it reset itself until the next meal and the whole process repeats. This is important in my case because the body was not created in 24 hour units (Example, there are people in Alaska that loses tons of sleep due to the night time thing they have to deal with up there. If these people are up longer than 24 hours because they can't adjust their sleep patterns for a couple of days, how does the body react in that situation?

Thanks
James

 

[timtim]

lack of sleep will effect fat lose. during the 36 hour days, you may want to watch you calories during your "sleep" time.

 

[Makavelli]

Absolutely! I agree. I was reading Dr. Dan Bernadot article on real time fat loss and he explained a bit about how the body burns fat in real time. This got me thinking about what the heck do I do if I stay awake more than 24 hours? Could fat storage be determined in a matter of 2-3 hours of eating and once the body has made the choice, does it reset itself until the next meal and the whole process repeats. This is important in my case because the body was not created in 24 hour units (Example, there are people in Alaska that loses tons of sleep due to the night time thing they have to deal with up there. If these people are up longer than 24 hours because they can't adjust their sleep patterns for a couple of days, how does the body react in that situation?

Thanks
James

I understand what you're saying bro, but you're analyzing this way too closely. Step back and look at the forest. If you have to be up that long, and you're starving, then eat. Just keep it clean.

 

[jamesnwv]

Definitely good advice. I am sure so many of us experience this O $HIT moment once or twice in our journey to Shred Land. I have been eating pretty clean all day today, I think I am at about 2800 Calories today, about 200 calories over my maintenance level. I am going to hit a protein shake later and do some sets later and call it for the night. Thanks for helping a brother out!