Weight loss is almost 100% reliant on a very simple formula – Calories in vs. Calories out. Our bodies burn calories constantly- when we are walking around, working, out to dinner, and even sleeping. The number of calories you burn depends on your body weight, metabolism and your caloric output- ie how vigorous your daily activities are. The more vigorous, the more calories you burn.
As long as you adhere to a healthy diet full of whole, natural, and minimally processed foods, controlling the number of calories you take in vs the calories you spend is the single best way to calculate how much food you need to gain, maintain or lose weight. Unfortunately, many popular diets promote cutting out an entire component of your diet for optimal weight loss. However, this can often result in nutritional deficiencies. Take, for example, carbs, which have become the devil of dieting in modern culture. Fruits are carbs. Whole grains are carbs. Both are essential to our health and well-being, so how can we rightfully go ahead and eliminate them when trying to lose weight? And you certainly wont lose a single pound if you cut out the carbs, but stuff yourself full of unhealthy proteins like steak!
The answer is simple. Eat a healthy, well-balanced diet, be aware of the calorie content of the food you are eating, and step up your activity level to burn more calories. There are many convenient online resources out there to get you started. Self magazine has a great caloric needs calculator on their website, where you can also find out how many calories you burned doing a certain activity. They also have other great calculators that can tell you your ideal weight range, and your “happy” weight.
I’m not saying to drive yourself insane counting every last calorie and spending your day calculating intake vs. output. Just make sure you are aware of your portion sizes, what you are eating, and familiarize yourself with the calorie count in the foods you eat often. Stick within the correct number of calories you need and you are guaranteed to start seeing the pounds come off!
