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Counting Calories to Lose Weight
By Chris Chenoweth
All the hype about losing weight and burning fat boils down to one simple fact, you must use up more calories than you take in. If you eat more calories than your body needs to function effectively, the additional calories will be stored as fat.
Before you make any changes to your diet by reducing your calorie intake, remember, you must never deprive your body of food. Limiting your food intake too drastically will cause your body to go into survival mode, slowing down metabolism.
A decrease in the metabolism rate will decrease your body's ability to burn off excess calories. Over time, the metabolism will continue to slow down, making it much more difficult to lose weight and keep it off.
The best way to make sure you are consuming less calories each day than you are burning up is to learn how to count the calories you are taking in. Counting calories, combined with a low fat diet and exercise, is essential for healthy weight loss.
As you learn how to count calories, it will become easier for you. Counting calories does not take a lot of time or effort and is flexible enough to fit into any personal preferences. As long as you eat less calories than you burn up each day, you will lose weight, regardless of the foods you eat.
The first thing you need to do is figure out how many calories you need each day to maintain your weight, usually this is around 2000 calories for women and 2500 for men. To lose weight, your calorie intake must be less than the calories you burn.
To lose weight, cut down your calories intake by around 500 calories per day. At this rate, you would lose around one pound per week. If you cut out 1000 calories per day, you will lose around two pounds per week.
When you consume less calories, your body has to use its fat storage to make up for the calorie deficit. Combining exercise with your reduced calories count is the healthiest way for you to lose weight.
Use a calorie calculator to make counting calories easier. It can tell you how many calories you need and give you more control and knowledge about your calorie intake.
To be successful at losing weight, you must combine changes in your lifestyle with changes in your food choices. This involves not only cutting down on calories, but eating smaller portions, and being more physically active.
You can enjoy all foods as part of a healthy diet as long as you remember to eat in moderation. Enjoy your food, but do not stuff yourself. You will regret it later.
TIPS FOR MAKING CHANGES IN YOUR DIET
+EAT SMALLER PORTIONS REGULARLY - Eating every 3-4 hours revs up your metabolism, burning fat quicker and more efficiently. Your body will not get hungry in this way.
+EAT LOW FAT – Eat a diet low in saturated fats and trans fatty acids (beef, veal, lamb, pork, lard, butter, cream, whole milk dairy products and can be present in processed foods like frozen dinners and some canned food) and high in monounsaturated fats (olive oil, flaxseed oil, peanut oil and avocados). Watch those calories in your fat intake.
+EAT COMPLEX CARBOHYDRATES – Eat a diet rich in complex carbohydrates (fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes).
+EAT LEAN PROTEINS – Choose lean meats, poultry, and fish. Bake, broil, or grill. Do not fry, as it adds to the calorie count and is not healthy! Beans, nuts and seeds also provide protein.
+AVOID SUGAR – Avoid foods containing sugar. You know what they are! Always check food labels to see how much sugar is present. Some foods contain sugar that may surprise you. Remember, sugar-laden foods are also calorie-laden. Beware!
+AVOID ALCOHOL – Avoid alcohol. If you must drink, limit intake to one drink a day. Some alcoholic beverages contain more calories than others. Check the labels for calorie content.
+DRINK WATER – Drink lots of water, at least 8 glasses a day. Sip slowly throughout the day. Water speeds up metabolism and flushes toxins out of your body.
+INCREASE YOUR ACTIVITY LEVEL – Walk to work or park your car in the parking space farthest from your destination. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Go biking with your kids. Work in the yard, clean house with a little more vigor. Any activity is good for you body.
Make sure you always read the food label found on almost all processed foods, If you are restricting calories and portions, the food label will let you know whether or not the food gives you the nutrients you need and will tell you the serving size and number of calories in each serving.
Losing weight is all about making healthy changes to your diet and lifestyle. Once you have cut down on calories and are more physically active, you will start losing weight and start feeling and looking better.
About the Author
Chris Chenoweth is the author of the DO-IT-YOURSELF HOME, HEALTH & MONEY GUIDE, 500 pages of household tips, home remedies, diet and nutrition information, health issues and 1000's of recipes! http://www.money-home-biz.com. Learn how to burn fat with one of the most effective fat-burning systems available, the BURN THE FAT program. http://www.ezniche.com/data/article.php?l=18
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