Day 236

Thoughts: Understanding calories. Don't stress, The Earth Diet is not a calorie counting diet! Once you understand the calories/energy it becomes second nature. Understanding calories thanks to Big Al's Family Fitness! :) 
Calorie has become a household word, although exactly what a calorie does is a mystery to many. Ask one hundred people what a calorie is and most will tell you it is "the thing in food that makes me fat." Calories have gotten a bad reputation and are considered by many to be the enemy. Few people truly understand what a calorie is and why it is so important to their bodies.
By definition a calorie is the energy it takes to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water 1 degree Celsius. The important word to take away from this definition is ENERGY. Calories are ENERGY that fuel our bodies; much like gasoline fuels our cars. Without sufficient calories our heart would not beat, our lungs would not function, and our brain would not work. Many of us have no idea how many calories our body needs just to exist.
I never did - until today!!! 
Today at Big Al's Family Fitness I met with Dr John Ruddy, the chiropractor (It is inclusive in the membership!) where he used advanced technology to determine a lot of things about my body. 
This is what I found out!
-I am 23 years old and my current health age is 20. -I weigh 120 Pounds - 54.5 kilos-That 33.1 pounds (15 kilos) of me is fat-86.9 Pounds (39.5 kilos) of me is Fat-free mass - bone, muscle, water-23.1 Pounds (10.5 kilos) of me is lean dry mass - bone and muscle-Inside my cells I have 16.4 litres of water!-Outside my cells I have 12.5 litres of water!-I have 27.6% body fat-BMI (body mass index) is 19.37
-My basal metabolic rate is 1357 kcal! Which means my body burns 1357 calories without doing anything - so that's how much my body regularly burns. 
-That the more muscle I have the more my basal metabolic rate increases and the more I can eat! 
-Every 1 pound (.45 kilos) of muscle I gain, I can eat 50 more calories per day with my metabolism eating it right up ;) 
My goal is to gain 10 pounds (4.5 kilos) of muscle and bring my body fat % down from 27.6 to 20-23%. This means my basal metabolic rate would be 1857 per day! That's a lot of yummy foods woo woo! 
After discovering my basal metabolic rate at current is 1357, I wanted to find out exactly how much I could eat with my bodies metabolism completely doing all the work for me. 
I looked at what I ate today:
Orange Juice:-3 oranges 44 x 3 = 132 calories
Nectarines:-3 x 30 = 90 calories
Avocado Sweet and Spicy Salad:-Avocado (160 grams) 330 calories-Garlic 27 calories-Onion 10 calories-Kale 4 calories-Spinach 7 calories-Cucumber 3 calories-Ginger 7 calories-Dates 54 calories-Lime 9 caloriesTotal: 451 calories
Total calories for the day: 673 calories! 
When I calculate yesterdays calories:
-2 avocados : 380 calories-3 orange juice : 132 calories-2 nectarines : 60 calories-macadamia nuts : 1540 calories-1 avocado : 190 calories-blackberries : 52 calories-pineapple : 42 calories
Total calories for yesterday: 2396 calories!
Calories and Weight GainIf you exceed the number of calories your body requires each day you will eventually gain weight. It takes an excess of 3500 calories to gain 1 lb. of fat. For example, if your body needs 2000 calories a day to maintain its current weight and every day you consume 2500 (one 20 oz Mocha Swirl Latte could add 500 calories) in one week you would gain 1 lb. One day of overindulging does not cause instant weight gain. 
Yesterday I consumed 2396 calories and today 673. Over the past two days I consumed 3069 calories. If I were to spread those calories out evenly over the past two days I would have 1534.5 each day. Since my basal metabolic rate is 1357 kcal I would require a little exercise and I would maintain my weight. If I did no exercise I would store those extra 177.5 calories as fat on my body. Obviously if I ate less then my metabolic weight I would burn fat. 
Calories and Weight LossTo lose weight you need to use/burn more calories then you consume. Example: If you eat 2000 calories a day, and are maintaining your weight, you would need to burn 250 calories (30 minutes high impact aerobics for a 150 lb. person) per day to lose a 1/2 lb in one week. If, in addition, you decreased your caloric intake by 250 calories a day (a 20oz soda), a 500 calorie a day total deficit, you could then lose 1 lb per week.
Calorie restriction has been shown to promote longevity. People think calorie restriction involves tiny portions, but these people are eating huge amounts of low-calorie, nutrient-dense food. The Earth Diet is eating all whole foods naturally created by the earth which are low-calorie nutrient dense food - so the good news - you can eat!!! 
I realized that people on The Earth Diet can eat more foods as they high lower calories and are higher in nutrients. People that eat processed foods compared to Earth Dieters have to eat less if they want to maintain or lose weight. I have certainly dropped some weight since eating 100% raw foods. My last test which was in April, I weighed 131 pounds with 35% body fat. I lost 11 pounds of fat and 5% body fat effortlessly. If you enjoy eating like I do, the more whole raw foods you eat the less calories they have so you can eat and eat and eat! Processed foods are high in calories and so you have to eat less of them - unless you want to put on weight.
My goal is to be consistent with my health and food consumption. I am creating it so I will eat the same amount of calories each day, extra obviously if I am doing exercise. 
Don't go too crazy with calorie counting!I will not be calculating my calorie intake each day. After a few weeks of getting to know the calories for each thing I eat, I will lock it into my memory and each time I eat food I will know a rough estimate of the calories I am consuming. I will also gauge where my body is at, and if more calories are required or less to ensure smooth consistent health! 
If you want to find out your metabolic rate contact Big Al's Family Fitness at www.bigalsfamilyfitness.com or call 631 264 711
Challenges: What you eat cannot purify your mind - but is there greed behind your choice of eating? If yes the mind that eats is not pure. 
Triumphs: If you light a lamp for somebody, it will also brighten your own path.
What I Ate Today:
Food fest 1: Freshly squeezed orange juice!
Food fest 2: A white flesh nectarine. 
My favourite summer fruit; white flesh nectarines! 
Food fest 3: 2 more white flesh nectarine - beautiful and sweet!
Food fest 4: Avocado sweet and spicy salad. It is Andrew and I's favourite salad - a little spicy, a little sweet, avocado is the meet, so many herbs and flavours mmm mmm mmm! Ingredients: Kale and coriander (cilantro) from our garden, baby spinach, avocado, garlic, spring onion, lemon grass, ginger, dates, green chilli, coriander seeds, cucumber and freshly squeezed lime mmm mmm mmm! 


Recipe: The recipe for Avocado Sweet and Spicy Salad can be found on The Earth Diet website www.theearthdiet.org and will also be in The Earth Diet book being released in November! 
Exercise: Practicing thinking nice thoughts about myself and being in the space of gratitude. Listening; listening to the birds. Physically: I went to Big Al's Family Fitness and climbed some stairs, did some ab work and some squats with weights, then sweat it all out in the sauna! Beautiful way to start the day ;) I then rode my bike today all over Amityville!