Written By: Coach Intern, Dylan Broadfoot
First off, lets disperse a myth: calories aren’t bad, nor is ‘calorie’ a bad word!
A calorie is a form of energy, sometimes referred to as ‘kCals”, this is the amount of energy food/drink gives you.
A calorie is neither good nor bad, it’s just energy.
That being said, from a nutrition perspective, there are more ‘whole’ ways to get your calories (ie. nutrient dense, whole foods) rather than calories that don’t necessarily leave us feeling full, satiated or nutrient dense.
If we have a goal of changing our body composition such as decreasing body fat and increasing muscle mass, we can add in strength training to bolster your metabolic rate, therefore utilizing the calories you intake in a positive way!
Did you know you can burn calories when you sleep? Yes, you naturally burn calories sleeping but you can increase that amount by doing strength training.
If you work with a coach and you achieve the proper stimulus from strength training, you will be increasing your resting metabolisms rate of burning calories for the next 24-36 hours after your strength training.
During your strength training you might not burn as many calories at that time as a cardio session but, over the 24-36 hours after strength training you can burn just as much!
Strength training = increased resting metabolisms rate + muscle growth = burning calories (energy!)
Fun ways you can see the difference with this would be having a device like a Fitbit that can track calories burned. See how many calories you burn when you are sleeping, then go for a strength building session and compare your two-night sleeps.
As always, speak to your primary healthcare provider, or Registered Dietitian (
click here to book a meeting with our in-house RD!) for your unique needs and goals. These are different for everybody so getting specific ratios and ranges is important!
Ready to get started working with a Coach towards your goals? Email
[email protected] or
click here to book a FREE meeting with one of our coaches so we can get to know you, your goals, and help you create the path you want!
