Eat to live...

Working out requires energy.  I realize that this is hardly a news flash, but I want to point it out because sometimes we try to work out without any.

We have reasons.  If one of the motivations behind our workouts is weight loss, we may also be reducing how much we eat.  However, reducing our calories too much or timing our eating in such a way that we show up at our workouts too tired and hungry to lift or run or dance does not help.

This is why I always have emergency snacks around for clients, just in case.  (They may not be the best snacks in the world; this is what makes them emergency snacks.)

We have to tune in to the messages of our bodies.  If we find that we are getting light-headed or particularly spacey, if directions stop making sense, maybe we need to think about having a snack an hour or so before we workout.  (Any closer and we risk upset stomach or worse…)  We also have to consider getting in some protein after we are done and hydrating throughout the process.

To lose weight, we want to use about 500 more calories per day than we eat.  Restricting our intake more just stresses out our metabolisms and leaves us unable to get out of bed.