Calorie intake | Calories and strength training

Calorie intake

The ideal calorie intake in strength training depends not only on the number of calories, but also on the distribution of nutrients. Each of the macronutrients has its own important function in the body.Proteins are particularly important for muscle building, since muscles are made up largely of proteins. Carbohydrates provide fast energy, which is brought into the cells.

Fats are long-term energy suppliers and therefore also very important. Although low-fat diets result in a low calorie intake, these diets are also difficult to keep up with and in addition, particularly unsaturated fatty acids are also very healthy for the body. Another important factor for the right calorie intake is continuity.

This means that a healthy, balanced diet for strength athletes must be consistently maintained. Crash diets and starvation cures are just as unsuitable as “eating attacks” in cases of ravenous appetite. In order to lose weight with weight training, the aim is usually to achieve a high calorie consumption through sport and at the same time a lower calorie intake.

This results in a so-called calorie deficit. How high this deficit should be, depends again on factors such as height, weight, etc. Most experts recommend a calorie deficit of about 250 kcal per day for healthy weight loss.

It makes sense to make sure that you do not take in any “empty calories“. They are usually found in ready-to-eat foods, which often have a high sugar content and a high number of calories, but are not nourishing and filling in the long term. The high sugar content is quickly absorbed into the blood and gives a brief feeling of satiety. However, the insulin level also rises rapidly, which can lead to ravenous appetite after a short time. For this reason it is particularly important for healthy weight loss and strength training in which form the calories are absorbed.

Importance of muscle mass

Strength training, as is well known, provides for muscle building. The more muscle mass someone has, the higher his basal metabolic rate and calorie consumption increases. The basal metabolic rate is the amount of calories a body needs per day at rest.

One kilogram of muscle mass consumes between 25 and 50 calories per day at rest. The problem with many diets is that a low calorie intake means that some muscles are lost as a source of energy. This reduces the calorie requirement of the body and the yo-yo effect is promoted.

If four kilos of muscle mass have been lost through a diet, then it is important to ensure that you take in about 100 – 200 calories less in order not to gain weight. The Anabolic Diet is a diet that pays particular attention to reducing weight in the form of fat and at the same time building up mass in the form of muscles.