Count Calories cuz Calories Count
YES!!! And those that say, “oh I eat Healthy”, or I just watch what I eat, or I just watch the portions and have just one cheat day… but don’t know HOW MUCH or HOW MANY CALORIES THEY CONSUME, are by and large, those that either do not get permanent results, or keep trying diet, spa and cleansing fads.
No matter what diet you pick or how many “body-sculpting wraps and electronic gadgets or freezes or creams or weight-loss/fat-burning liquids you try, ultimately, your body only burns fat if you burn more than you consume, and you boost your metabolism. Period. End of story. Amen.
So many people tell me about how they’ve been wasting their hard-earned money on the latest concoctions and so-called clinical procedures, and these people are usually my new clients who are at their wits end. The bottom line is that this is what works:
Knowing how many calories your body needs (for your age, height, weight and fitness level or daily activity)
Consistent safe exercise (walking is not enough)
Periodic Variety and Challenge your workouts to both activate and elevate your metabolism to burn the number of calories you need
No diet is the one ultimate best! Not one works miracles! First, no matter what you eat, it should be nutritious food that your body processes, as opposed to processed food that your body just uses as excess calories for the time being. Over time, research shows that junk food, which is anything that is processed and/or containing too much refined sugar, eventually slows your metabolic rate, it can lead to or contribute to diabetes, heart disease, cancer and more wrinkles to name a few.
Secondly, eating too much of any food, no matter how healthy, WILL MAKE YOU FAT. I have often heard people say things like “I’m Paleo and you don’t have to count calories in a Paleo diet”. Wrong, untrue, and unsubstantiated. Bears eat paleo and they store loads of fat for winter-hibernation. And birds eat berries, which are not “paleo” – they’re (gulp) carbohydrates!!!! Egad!
Fat is just stored energy. A calorie is a unit of energy. When you give yourself more energy (calories) than it needs, your body doesn’t know what to do with it, so it packs it on as FAT. Overeating, or eating more (number of) calories than your body needs, leads to your body storing fat. The energy (or calories) you don’t use gets stored on your body as fat.
So, no matter what BS or sorry, miraculous story the latest weight-loss diet, product or procedure touts, the only thing that NATURALLY works in losing and keeping off excess fat, is to eat less - move more. As I always say, eat, don’t OVEREAT. You think, Ronnie, it’s not that easy.” I hear ya. It may not be. But it is that simple.
As a Certified Personal Trainer, I have helped many people finally lose it naturally, for good. (Usually). I calculate your BMR or Basal Metabolic Rate ( the number of calories your body needs to just exist when you are asleep or at rest), then factor in the estimated number of calories you’ll burn from your daily activity (work, kids, how much you move at work, with kids, exercise, sports, whatever), then give you a range of daily calories – to hit that end number within a week.
Counting your calories and zigzagging your Caloric Count works and not going over your Given Calories, will help you lose weight. After you lose the desired amount of weight (or body fat), then you increase your caloric intake to only how much your body needs. You satisfy your taste buds and your mind, and you won’t gain weight.
