You Don’t Need to Earn Your Food

Your body needs calories to function at rest. Another term for this is Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR). If we break that down into simpler terms, your RMR is the amount of energy it takes to keep you alive by performing basic body functions while you are at rest. These are functions that your body performs without you giving it any thought such as breathing, regulating body temperature, circulating your blood, regulating hormones, etc. Believe it or not, your body actually needs energy to simply perform these subconscious tasks.

It is very common to assume that the only calories you burn throughout the day are from intentional movement, like an intense workout. However, our energy needs actually depend mostly on our RMR. In fact, RMR accounts for approximately 60-75% of the amount of energy your body uses to perform essential physical functions. If we think about that number, that is approximately ⅔’s of our daily intake being used to perform basic bodily functions!

So what else contributes to our daily caloric expenditure?

Approximately 30% of our daily energy expenditure comes from physical activity. The vast majority of us are immediately going to think that “physical activity” means some sort of workout. Intentional movement like a workout does fit into this category, however, so does the remaining movement throughout our day. Think about all the movements you go through getting ready for work in the morning: getting out of bed, walking, taking a shower, getting dressed, making breakfast, brushing your teeth, etc.

The remaining 10% of our daily energy expenditure is known as the Thermic Effect of Food (TEF). This is the amount of energy needed for your body to process and digest food.

Who knew that our bodies required SO much energy to perform basic functions that we overlook every day! So, next time the thought crosses your mind of not eating as much because you didn’t workout, remember how little our daily energy expenditure actually depends on our workouts. Your body is ALWAYS working and needs to be nourished whether you workout or not!