I had always thought that working out or playing enough sports was the key to losing weight - that if I was active enough, I could eat whatever I wanted. Well... that was probably true when I was much younger (before high school), when my body was a metabolism machine, breaking up any calorie or fat content that got in its way, even when I sat snacking in front of the ol' boob tube. Now in my late 30's, things are much different, as my metabolism has been found to be taking more naps during the day than my brother's overweight 12-year-old beagle. As my body has changed (inside and out), it is clear that my habits needed to change as well.
I'm sure you've heard that it's important to keep an eye on your calorie intake. I had and never really paid attention to that before. I figured that working out at the gym and staying away from burgers and greasy fries was enough to feel that I was at least doing what I needed to do, and that everything would come together. That's not necessarily the case. I've learned that watching what I eat is just as important (or maybe more) than the exercise or activity I choose to perform. For me, the key to losing weight has been to burn more calories than I consume in any given day. Anyone can do that. I log each calorie I consume... for breakfast, lunch, dinner and any snack in between. Basically, anything that is heading down into my belly (including liquids), is either already or going-to-be recorded into my daily calorie log. It is very important for me that I know exactly what I consume, as this practice has given me a great start to controlling my eating habits. At the same time, I am always aware of serving sizes, as labels on foods might appear to be low in calories; it all depends on how many servings that product contains. So I am always doing the math with every meal/product that I consider eating. I must say that it is very easy to accidently consume more calories than I wish to, when not looking closely to the product labels on the foods I purchase. One rule I have is... if the product does not have a nutritional value label, I choose not to eat it. That's it, plain and simple. Of course, that makes it hard for me to visit restaurants, as I have no idea what cooks put into their foods or how they choose to prepare them. Would it be rude of me if I asked to go into their kitchen and make my own meal? Honestly, I would prefer that.
I try to consume less than 1,000 calories per day (around 300 per meal, plus snacks), which (for me) means me running at least an hour and fifteen minutes to burn 1,000 calories. Calories burned beyond that tells me my workout is contributing to burning even more off my ‘belly fat’, which is motivating enough. I must be clear about one thing, though... Calories are by no means the only factor to losing weight, as there are other factors (nutritional aspects in foods), that add protein and vitamins to my diet... as well as workouts only my body can handle. I continue to learn more about food groups and other workout programs that will help achieve my goal. Balancing both of those factors has definately given me a great head start to a healthy lifestyle.
For more on calories and calorie intakes, visit http://weightloss.about.com/od/nutrition/a/blwhatcal.htm
I'm sure you've heard that it's important to keep an eye on your calorie intake. I had and never really paid attention to that before. I figured that working out at the gym and staying away from burgers and greasy fries was enough to feel that I was at least doing what I needed to do, and that everything would come together. That's not necessarily the case. I've learned that watching what I eat is just as important (or maybe more) than the exercise or activity I choose to perform. For me, the key to losing weight has been to burn more calories than I consume in any given day. Anyone can do that. I log each calorie I consume... for breakfast, lunch, dinner and any snack in between. Basically, anything that is heading down into my belly (including liquids), is either already or going-to-be recorded into my daily calorie log. It is very important for me that I know exactly what I consume, as this practice has given me a great start to controlling my eating habits. At the same time, I am always aware of serving sizes, as labels on foods might appear to be low in calories; it all depends on how many servings that product contains. So I am always doing the math with every meal/product that I consider eating. I must say that it is very easy to accidently consume more calories than I wish to, when not looking closely to the product labels on the foods I purchase. One rule I have is... if the product does not have a nutritional value label, I choose not to eat it. That's it, plain and simple. Of course, that makes it hard for me to visit restaurants, as I have no idea what cooks put into their foods or how they choose to prepare them. Would it be rude of me if I asked to go into their kitchen and make my own meal? Honestly, I would prefer that.
I try to consume less than 1,000 calories per day (around 300 per meal, plus snacks), which (for me) means me running at least an hour and fifteen minutes to burn 1,000 calories. Calories burned beyond that tells me my workout is contributing to burning even more off my ‘belly fat’, which is motivating enough. I must be clear about one thing, though... Calories are by no means the only factor to losing weight, as there are other factors (nutritional aspects in foods), that add protein and vitamins to my diet... as well as workouts only my body can handle. I continue to learn more about food groups and other workout programs that will help achieve my goal. Balancing both of those factors has definately given me a great head start to a healthy lifestyle.
For more on calories and calorie intakes, visit http://weightloss.about.com/od/nutrition/a/blwhatcal.htm
Dave Pardo is not a licensed nutritionist or a medical doctor… and does not treat or make any personal recommendations on nutrition or specific workout programs. The purpose of this blog is for Dave to share his knowledge of dieting and exercising in order to inspire and motivate others to learn the basic practices for losing weight and living a healthy lifestyle.
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