You don’t need a professional. You don’t have to have it down to an exact science. There are calculators online that will get you in the ballpark and from there you just keep track of if it’s working or not and adjust your intake according to your goals.
For example, on paper I’m supposed to be consuming about 1600 calories a day to maintain but I’ve found that if I actually do that I gain weight. The real number is around 13-1400. Which can be quite challenging with the food options that I have but I do it. If I keep it under 1200 I lose weight until I get down to about 13-14% body fat (according to the scale I have which admittedly is probably not 100% accurate) and it levels off. I don’t go below that because I start feeling like shit all the time. This is all while living off mostly fast food and the boxed crap from costco that my housemates prepare.
Your personal experience does not make universal truth. Many people have highly fluctuating hormones and digestion. It’s great that it works for you, but it won’t work for everyone. There’s a myriad of invisible diseases that can affect this. And that’s not even counting that some people don’t have the resources to even think of anything outside work, eat whatever is accessible, sleep, repeat.
Even if personal experience was universal: based on MY experience, nobody should be able to figure out how much to eat, even with professional help.
I desperately wanted to gain weight for over a decade. I started counting calories. The amount I was supposed to be consuming to safely gain would make me gain a few kilos over a few months and then, keeping the same amount since I wasn’t at my goal yet, would make me lose them again. The rates of gaining and losing would vary wildly, too. After reaching my goal and eating for what was supposed to be maintenance, I suddenly lost 5 kg in less than a month. And I’m seeing a specialist for hormone tests once a month. Imagine how bad it would be if I couldn’t.
Perhaps I should have said a professional is not always necessary. If your biology falls within the normal range then you can figure this stuff out on your own. If you have something going on that makes your body not work the same way as most then yes you may need to consult a professional.
You don’t need a professional. You don’t have to have it down to an exact science. There are calculators online that will get you in the ballpark and from there you just keep track of if it’s working or not and adjust your intake according to your goals.
For example, on paper I’m supposed to be consuming about 1600 calories a day to maintain but I’ve found that if I actually do that I gain weight. The real number is around 13-1400. Which can be quite challenging with the food options that I have but I do it. If I keep it under 1200 I lose weight until I get down to about 13-14% body fat (according to the scale I have which admittedly is probably not 100% accurate) and it levels off. I don’t go below that because I start feeling like shit all the time. This is all while living off mostly fast food and the boxed crap from costco that my housemates prepare.
Your personal experience does not make universal truth. Many people have highly fluctuating hormones and digestion. It’s great that it works for you, but it won’t work for everyone. There’s a myriad of invisible diseases that can affect this. And that’s not even counting that some people don’t have the resources to even think of anything outside work, eat whatever is accessible, sleep, repeat.
Even if personal experience was universal: based on MY experience, nobody should be able to figure out how much to eat, even with professional help.
I desperately wanted to gain weight for over a decade. I started counting calories. The amount I was supposed to be consuming to safely gain would make me gain a few kilos over a few months and then, keeping the same amount since I wasn’t at my goal yet, would make me lose them again. The rates of gaining and losing would vary wildly, too. After reaching my goal and eating for what was supposed to be maintenance, I suddenly lost 5 kg in less than a month. And I’m seeing a specialist for hormone tests once a month. Imagine how bad it would be if I couldn’t.
Perhaps I should have said a professional is not always necessary. If your biology falls within the normal range then you can figure this stuff out on your own. If you have something going on that makes your body not work the same way as most then yes you may need to consult a professional.