Calories are only part of the battle in the weight war, but It's the most important part. Balance your calories, and you're sure to lose weight. Along with counting calories, everyone needs to know which calories are good and which are bad. If you take in mostly bad calories you're going to find yourself in an uphill battle.
A big part of losing weight is burning more calories than you take in throughout the day. Cut down your calorie intake, and make sure you are burning more than you're taking in. But this doesn't mean starve yourself to cut calories. Still eat 3 regular sized meals or 6 small meals for the day. The average intake of calories for the day should be from 1,200 to 1,700, depending on your activity level and metabolism.
Calories are fuel for the body... You need them to give you energy for everything you do. Carbohydrates, fats and protein are all nutrients that contain calories, making them the main source of energy for the body. The amount of calories in each varies. Carbohydrates and proteins have about 4 calories to every gram, and fats have about 9 calories per gram. All calories that you eat are either converted to fat and stored within your body or converted to energy, which is used during physical activity. So, if you reduce your calorie intake and up your physical activity you'll see the pounds come off.
There's about 3,500 calories in a pound of fat, so you need to burn double that to take off 1 pound... You can do the math for the amount of weight you want to lose. The more aware of calories you become, the easier it will be to avoid overindulging. Simple things like avoiding that high calorie cupcake, and trimming some of your portions here and there will help you take off the weight.
Avoid foods that are high in saturated fat and processed. Calories that come from fruits and vegetables are the better calories that you can take in. Meats that are high in saturated fats are not a good source of calories. When you get your plate of food, put less on it than you think you'll eat. Don't eat until you feel full. Stop eating right before you start to feel full. You can find calorie calculators on the web that will help you count the calories in what you're eating.
Hope these tips help you shed those pounds! And Remember, make your exercise as fun as possible.
All About Calories
Finding MotivationFinally I'm back! So, It's been about 7 months since my last post... Too long! Well, for the last 7 months things in my life have not exactly been good. Not at all good! I've had a lot of personal and family problems. I'm not going to go into any details, I just want to say that I'm sorry. All the problems I'd been having have kept me from writing. With that being said, I decided my first entry in 7 months should be about MOTIVATION! After everything that was going on, it has been very hard to find the motivation to do much of anything. I've decided to share some good tips about finding motivation.
First, you need to find reasons for motivation. If you want to lose weight you have to find reasons for losing weight and living a healthier lifestyle. Some good reasons to lose weight are better looks, the ability to be active with your children, reduction of cholesterol, keeping your mind sharp and keeping your immunity high. These are only some of the things I can think of right off the top of my head. Once you figure out why you want to lose weight and eat better you need to write this down.
Motivational Tools
Say you want to lose weight for your children. Post pictures of them where you are going to see them all day. Make little notes that say things like, you need to take off the weight so you can be here when your grandchildren are here. On the desktop of your computer write your goals, and why you need to reach them... Make lists of the benefits for following through with your goals, and the consequences of not doing anything. Get a pen and paper, and each day write why you want to lose weight 100 times. Example: if you want to lose weight for your children, then that's all you write, 100 times of course. If you keep looking at this stuff and writing it it will get pounded into your brain, which will push you to do what you're telling yourself to do. Everything your brain makes into a habit, has to be learned over time. It's the same with this. If you keep pushing that on yourself you will make it easy to exercise more.
Partners
If you have trouble going to the gym and working out, then have someone call you everyday to tell you that you're supposed to workout. A lot of people need to be pushed into doing things like this. It's just like when you check into a hotel and you tell them you need a 6am wake up call. You can do the same thing with your workout routine.
Better yet, partner up with someone for your workout. If you can find a friend to workout with, you'll find it easier to get in there and get it done. When you have the days where you don't feel like working out, your partner will be right there pushing you, forcing you into the gym.
Therapists
You may not notice it, but there is a lot of emotions involved with exercising and the motivation you need. If you've ever watched "The Biggest Loser" then you've probably seen the contestants breaking down after a while. This might even have happened to you before. This is why people need partners, to keep them on track and to help them through these times. Another great option is a therapist that specializes in this area. Therapists can help you find those deep feelings of guilt, inferiority and the fear of failure. If you see a therapist that specializes in this area, then you are sure to make some serious strides.
Last, there are always trainers. Trainers have all the tools you need! Don't have a partner and not ready for the therapist, then get a good trainer. They know exactly how to get weight off, and what you need to eat. The one downside is the price, they can be really pricey.
Finding Motivation
