The Power of Calorie Counting

I have this week's episode still to watch in the DVR. In the meantime, I'd like to change the focus a bit from the prior posts on home workouts.

In my opinion, there is way too much complexity when it comes to approaching weight loss. I think the Biggest Loser really helps to underline the fact that weight loss is about the balance of calories eaten and calories burned. The Biggest Loser takes obese people and places them on a calorie restricted diet. In addition, the weight loss is supercharged by daily calorie burning exercise.

Losing weight by burning calories is a extremely difficult job. Consider this fact...

3500 calories burned are required to lose a pound of weight. 

Truly, few people are able to burn 3500 calories daily on a consistent basis. This fact alone makes it very clear that calorie intake is the dominant factor in either losing or gaining weight.

Calorie counting combined with mindful eating is a powerful weight loss tool. The targets from the USDA for daily calories are shown in the table below:

Counting calories requires focus and practice but can be well worth the effort. Eating 10%- 15%  less than your daily calories will put you on the path for weight loss especially if combined with an exercise program.

Addition of a calorie calculator can help with counting calories. You can work out how many calories you need to perform daily activities or exercises to give you more control and knowledge about how many calories you should include in your diet.

Lastly, mindful eating combined with calorie counting completes the plan. Mindful eating simply means looking at the content of your diet. Eating lower fat foods and avoid high sugar foods are some powerful steps.