Chapter 1 – What Are Calories? “I love food and feel that it is something that should be enjoyed. I eat whatever I want. I just don’t overeat.” - Tyra Banks Counting calories seem to be a norm for people who are managing their weight. Have you wondered why? What EXACTLY are calories? Something edible? DUH! Yes, but not exactly. Calories are the amount of energy stored within the food you eat. Every morsel of food contains an amount of calories. The more food you consume, the higher your total caloric intake for the day. An average person’s daily overall caloric intake is roughly ~2100 kcals, but it varies by an individual’s age, gender, metabolic rate and importantly, his level of activity. At this point in time, YOU have an average daily caloric intake. It isn’t just a value, but a range of values. Your caloric intake can be 2000kcal today, 2300kcal tomorrow and then 2400kcal the day after. It depends on what you eat daily. At the end of each day, as you sleep, your body consolidates the amount of caloric intake it has for the day and decides whether to ‘keep’ or ‘burn’ fats. So, in a standard medium, a decrease in daily caloric intake will almost definitely lead to weight loss. [ You may also be interested in Chapter 3 - Metabolism, visit : http://www.marckys.com/chapter-3-metabolism/ ] So, how many calories do YOU need to consume daily to achieve optimal weight loss ? The answer: It is critical to choose the optimal daily calorie intake. Crash diets do not work, allowing yourself 1000kcal a day will cause irreversible damages to your body and also result in short term results. [ More explained at Chapter 6 -Haste ] If you aim to cut 10kcal each day from your meals, you will be achieving only minimal weight loss by the end of the month resulting in decrease in motivation. Your recommended daily calorie intake depends on age, gender, metabolic rate and level of activity. You may be an average male and your calorie intake will be approximately 2500kcal/day. ( If you are an active person then you may want to adjust for a higher kcal/day consumption as you expand more energy in your sports/activities.) You may be an average female, and your calorie intake will be approximately 2000kcal/day. ( Similarly, you may adjust it higher if you are an active person.) [ Try our BMI & Calorie Calculator! ] A key note is that these calories should come from healthy, balanced diets. You should be eating a balanced amount of fruits and vegetables, meat, beans and grains. A good rule of thumb is that a calorie deficit of 3,500 calories leads to a weight loss of ~1 pound. By taking 500 calories lesser each day for a week, you could lose ~1 pound in a week! You are able to do so by taking a well-balanced diet and/or by performing physical activity or exercises regularly. Some simple ways to do this are by eating or drinking 250 calories lesser than usual, and to burn the remaining 250 calories off by performing a short cardio exercise. It is not necessary to starve in order to lower calorie consumption. You just need to portion your food into smaller sizes. If you need to burn off extra calories, you do not necessarily need to do intensive exercise such as running a few miles a day or to join a fitness club for regular exercise. Take the stairs instead of the lift, or park your car further away from the nearest car park to your house. The extra walking might seem very little to you, but once accumulated, will make a whole lot of difference. Another way to cut back on calories is to watch your portion size. Go for smaller, leaner pieces of meat without layers of fat or skin. Eat as many vegetables as possible. Vegetables make you feel full faster, are low in calories and contain lots of nutrients and vitamins. Avoid deep fried food such as fried chicken and french fries. Drink water instead of soda. Put in a “cheat” day or two, where you can reward yourself with drinking your favorite soda or unhealthy snacks. All these simple steps you take will have a dynamic impact on your weight AND health. Lastly, remember how to find calories, how to count and cut them! You have to know your “enemy” before you can win. Yes, your fats is your enemy! By including exercise and sticking by a diet plan, you can definitely successfully lose weight and maintain it in the long run. Good luck! Important facts about Calories 1) Calories are NOT determined by the amount of food you eat. The amount of calories found in various foods differ. For example, a scoop of ice cream could contain 300 calories, while a small tub of yogurt could contain only 150 calories. 2) Calories and nutrition are two very DIFFERENT things. A high caloric intake does not mean a high nutritional intake. Likewise, a low caloric intake does not mean that there is insufficient nutrition. 3) High calorie foods are not necessarily more nutritional. Fruits such as apples and pears contain vitamins. Meat such as chicken and fish contain zinc, magnesium and iron. Fruits and meat provide a good nutritional value but this does not mean that they are heavy calorie foods. Food like ice cream and chocolate on the other hand contain 3 times the amount of calories compared to fruits and meat, but the nutritional value is much lower as they contain mainly carbohydrates and sugar. They are good on the taste buds, but they do not benefit your body or health. We’re not saying that you can’t have them anymore… The key is to have them in MODERATION. 4) There ARE 0-calorie foods. One example would be cucumber. These foods are known as 0-calorie or negative calorie snacks as they require more calories to digest than they actually contain, which serve as an excellent natural fat burning advantage. So the next time you feel hungry at midnight and want to reach out for a bag of chips… Consider having a bowl of freshly sliced cucumbers instead. You can satisfy your hunger and not risk gaining weight!
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