If You Really Want To Count Calories Then This Will Help

I know that counting calories is a popular way to lose weight - even though I don't agree with it. What I do agree with is actually cutting down on the number of calories you eat. Now that might seem like the same thing but it isn't and I'll get to why it's different in a little while, because I want to tell you about some interesting news first.

Anne McTiernan from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre ran a 12-month study, with over 120 women, looking at what helped participants to lose more weight. What she found was that women, who kept a food diary over the period of the trial, lost about 6lbs more than people who didn't. Skipping meals was also a significant factor. Those women who skipped meals ended up 8lbs heavier than those who ate regularly.

Those who went out for lunch just once a week ended up 5lbs heavier than those who didn't. The more you eat out the heavier you get - even when you are on a calorie controlled diet.

"For individuals who are trying to lose weight, the No. 1 piece of advice based on these study results would be to keep a food journal to help meet daily calorie goals"

Anne McTiernan, director of the Hutchinson Centre.

Of course keeping a Food Diary only works when you are honest and record everything you eat. So you need to carry it with you at all times.

So their advice is pretty much: vigilant self-monitoring of what you eat; cook all your own food; and eat regular meals. That's good advice, but I need to get back to why counting calories and cutting down on calorie intake are not the same thing.

When you count calories you have a daily limit so you have to monitor absolutely everything you eat. You need to obsess over food labels. You need to engage in a constant battle with yourself over whether or not to have something delicious, that you really fancy, but which is high in calories, or lots and lots of much lower calorie stuff. Hunger is a frequent accompaniment to this process, along with a perpetual thinking about food and the next meal. Willpower, that is mental force, is what is essential to succeed and willpower never works when you are tired, fed-up, emotionally exhausted, or just plain feeling sorry for yourself. So this method is bound to fail - or at least take very much longer to attain the target weight. Around half of people give up on their diet in less than 12 months.

"You can initially lose 5 to 10% of your weight on any number of diets, but then the weight comes back."

Traci Mann, Psychologist, University of California, Los Angeles

Cutting down on calories is very different. You get to enjoy whatever you fancy, but that's not a recipe for crazy eating, nor a suggestion that you can binge constantly and lose weight. It's a suggestion that shifts the focus away from food so the obsessive thoughts and cravings have no reason to be there.

It's a way to lose weight and enjoy life at the same time. I mean, if you can have what you want how can you crave it? Knowing you can have it actually reduces the desire for it, so although you still have it, you eat less of it.

Michael Hadfield, author of 'How to Lose Weight Easily', has been helping people to lose weight for around 14 years. If you'd like a free food diary template then visit http://www.HypnosisIsEasy.com/weight-loss-food-diary.htm

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Weight Loss Secrets: Counting Calories

ByKent Livingstone

The calorie originated in the 19th century as a measurement of heat, and today is mostly used to track the energy potential of the foods we eat.

The best thing about calories is that they seem to be everywhere. They are measurable, quantifiable, and the data on them is readily available. Almost every food product sold in the supermarket contains nutritional information, which specifies the number of calories per serving of that particular food (some foods don't, of course, and the issue of stealth calories will be dealt with in a later article). Thus, they're a perfect vehicle for monitoring whether or not we're eating too much. Some experts criticize the exaggerated focus on calorie counting in many diets, but at the end of the day they make it easy to figure out whether we're on the correct path to weight loss.

If you surf the web and fill out different calorie counters, you'll get a range of estimates on what your daily intake should be. The variance is usually around 10%. To simplify our discussion, we're going to assume that the daily calorie consumption for men should be in the range of roughly 2500, and about 2000 for women. This assumes an age of around 40, average build, and moderate level of exercise. Depending on the variables, your recommended daily intake could be as low as 2100 (men) and 1600 (women).

DOING THE CALORIE MATH

Let's assume you should be consuming 2500 calories per day to maintain your current weight. What to you need to do to start trimming down? Most experts will tell you that if you eliminate 500 calories per day from your diet, you'll lose one pound each week; it's as simple as that. Thus, it becomes easy to keep tabs on those 500 calories if you're taking note of exactly what you're consuming (more on this in the next post, Keeping A Journal).

Of course, if your recommended level is 2500 calories per day, 500 represents 20% of your total intake, which is no small sacrifice. If your ideal level is 2100, the percentage jumps to nearly 24%. This seems like tough sledding, until you recognize your hidden factor for success:

EXERCISE!

Let's assume you get in the habit of going out for a walk every evening, or whenever it's convenient. If you walk for 30 minutes at a reasonably brisk pace (a 15 or 16-minute mile), you'll burn at least 200 calories. If you want to be more precise, get on a state-of-the-art treadmill and measure how many calories you burn at different speeds and levels of incline. It doesn't matter when you walk, but it's best to schedule it at the same time each day. Personally, I like to walk in the morning. If I burn 200 calories at the start of the day and have my normal breakfast of a protein bar, I'm basically even. I won't have to start counting calories until lunchtime.

If you burn 200 calories exercising each day, the goal of 500 seems much closer, and your level of sacrifice is obviously lower. On top of that, consider all the other benefits of exercise: you'll feel better, you'll be healthier, you'll live longer, and you'll have less desire to consume food. This last point is crucial. The dynamics of weight loss can be compared to a progressive jackpot as a casino. If you play only one machine, your potential payout is limited. Switch to a bank of machines, and the size of your possible jackpot grows exponentially. Exercise will not only facilitate weight loss, but also stimulate your desire to do more and go further.

A WORD OF CAUTION

Before we leave the subject of calorie counting, you need to be aware of The Portion Trap.

While most foods sold in the supermarket are labeled with nutritional information, many have that information broken down by portion. It's crucial that you look at the number of portions contained in each package, since it's usually more than one. That package of frozen macaroni and cheese may look awfully tempting, and if you take a quick glance at the numbers, it might appear to have only 250 calories. Not bad, you think, and perfectly acceptable as an indulgence that fits into your diet regimen. If you look closely at the package, however, you'll probably see that it contains 3.5 portions, or nearly 900 calories, roughly 36% of your recommended daily intake.

Take the time to read the information on each item you buy. It may seem time-consuming, but it's part of the process of being more careful about what you put into your body.

SOME SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS
If you feel that you have the will power, I do recommend some programs on my website ( http://www.kentlivingstoneweightloss.com ) that I believe are effective. These include the Fat Burning Furnace, Fat Loss 4 Idiots, and Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle. All three cost money, though, and they are no more potentially effective than the knowledge you'll gain by reading my articles for free.

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All Calories Are Not Equal

ByLinda Tremer

The National Institute of Health has just published the results of a study of various diets. The results are surprising in that the conclusion is that . In fact some foods will burn calories instead of adding them to your waistline.

Researchers studied three diets, low-fat, very low carbohydrate and low-glycemic index. The very low carb diet burned the most calories of the three. A study researcher Dr. David Ludwig stated, "From a metabolic perspective, all calories are not alike. The research subjects burned 350 more calories on the low-carb diet than on the low-fat one. That's roughly equivalent to an hour of moderate physical exercise."

The low carbohydrate diet consisted of 60 percent fat, 30 percent protein, and 10 percent carbohydrate. This is similar to the Atkins diet. One drawback of this type of diet is that it is very hard to stay on it for any length of time

Participants burned about 150 more calories on the low-glycemic diet than the low-fat diet. This diet might be a little bit easier to stay on. It consists of 40 percent carbohydrate, 40 percent fat and 20 percent protein. The low-glycemic diet is similar to the Mediterranean diet.

If you want to lose weight and can't keep to a strict diet make minor adjustments to your food intake. Replace white bread, white flour, white sugar and other white carbohydrates with whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Eliminate simple carbohydrates. These are the sugars, candy bars, cookies, pastries etc. Eat unrefined whole foods and raw foods. Replace simple sugars with complex carbohydrates such as beans, lentils, and brown rice.

There are actually some foods that burn more calories than they contain. Celery, apples, oranges, tomatoes, watermelon, lettuce, and carrots are a few. Replace carbohydrates with these foods. These are foods that you can eat a lot of and will fill you up fast. These and other foods like them take more energy to digest than the calories in them.

Start slowly and learn about nutrition. Study nutrition and healthy living so that you can convince yourself that a low carbohydrate diet is the best diet for a healthy life. Once you are convinced of this it will be easier to stay on the diet.

Start with a low carbohydrate diet and add foods that burn more calories than they contain and you will be well on your way to losing more weight than you ever thought possible. Convince yourself of the health benefits of this type of diet and it will become a way of life.

Linda Tremer is the author of Food to Die For a mystery novel about genetically modified foods. She has also written The Persistent Ghost, and 57 Tips on Where To Meet The Opposite Sex. She has written many healthy living and weight loss articles for the website The Center For Weight Loss. Visit her web site LindaTremer.com

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The Perfect Daily Meal Plan For Weight Loss - Not How Many Calories But What Calories

new weight loss tipsYour number one focus for the perfect daily meal plan for weight loss should focus on the kinds of calories you're consuming and not entirely on how many calories. The truth is everyone who is dedicated to losing fat must understand that nutrition is just as important and perhaps even more important than their training routines. Most people with weight loss goals put their meal plan second to their fitness program when they develop a plan for weight loss success. You need to understand nutrition, what you put in your body, is extremely important.
There are so many extreme and crazy diets out there these days that it's really difficult to find something that will help achieve your goals. Keep in mind, if you lower your calorie consumption and eliminate the bad calories (unhealthy foods and sugary drinks) you can lose fat quick. Many of the marketed diets out there are just playing to the individuals emotions to buy here and now. In reality, the most important things about dieting you already know. You know soda isn't good for you. So it should obviously be limited if not eliminated.
One of the biggest issues people encounter with meal plans for weight loss are they severely restrict their calories to the point where it's just not possible to withstand long term. So they end up right back where they were with bad habits. The secret is to moderate calories so you're not "killing" yourself trying to be perfect. Just make sure your calories are coming from healthy type foods.
One key thing to keep in mind for your meal plan is to try to make your diet up mostly of whole foods that haven't been processed and preferably organic foods. This translates to you needing to eliminate many of the bad carbs like pastas, white rice, breads, pizzas, etc. Focus on the lean meats, fish, veggies, fruits and nuts. It's also a great idea to plan out meals every 3 to 4 hours. This helps your body keep the energies levels up for maximum weight loss.
These are some great and effective tips you can incorporate immediately in your diet. The main objective is to find a meal plan that can be followed long term and won't quit in a week or two. Get creative with the foods and don't bore yourself with the same exact foods day after day. Remember it's about the type of calories just as much as how many calories in your daily mean plan for weight loss.

If you haven't picked up a be guided by of my Truth about Six Pack Abs

book yet, do yourself a favor, and use the money you would have wasted on your next bottle of accessory pills or powder, and discover the program that will adjust you lean, healthy, and ripped for the rest of your life, not just the next 2 weeks!

I'll be back in touch soon with additional Lean-Body Secrets. I also have a couple fabulous lean-body recipes coming up over the next few weeks that I think you'll enjoy, so hang on

How to Burn More Calories to Lose Weight

You will never be able to lose weight if you always consume more calories than you burn. Diets make sure that you burn more calories than you consume by limiting your calorie intake each day. However, these diets can leave you feeling empty at the end of the day, and it's likely that you'll want to cheat on your diet and eat something that you're not supposed to. Crash diets can also severely harm your body by not providing enough of the vital nutrients that you need to survive. Perhaps a better way of losing weight is to eat a healthy diet but focus more on burning calories than restricting what you eat during the day. Weight loss should be an exciting time in your life, and you should be able to feel encouraged about how your body is starting to look. Exercise can get you out of a rut and can actually help you to feel less depressed. By focusing on burning calories instead of limiting your diet, you can make weight loss seem more like a fun game than a chore.
You can start to burn more calories by adding more activities into your daily routines. You should already be getting at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week or 75 minutes of vigorous, prolonged activity per week. In order to start your weight loss, however, you will probably need at least a little more exercise than this.
Let's talk about some of the activities that you can do in order to encourage weight loss.
First, remember that you need to work out a variety of muscles. This will keep your entire body in shape, but it will also help to keep you from getting bored with your workouts. Although you should do prolonged activities during the week, we all know that sometimes it is difficult to find the time to fit in a real workout. Instead, you can opt to do a few small workouts several times a day. Use downtimes in order to fit a short amount of exercise into your schedule. As you brush your teeth, raise up and down on your toes. While watching the news or a favorite TV show, don't sit down; instead, do an activity like running in place so that you can still distract yourself by watching something. If you are boiling water for a meal, use this time to fit in a few jumping jacks or another activity. It really is easy to fit in small amounts of exercise during the day, and these short workouts can make the difference between losing weight and gaining it. Happy exercising, and good luck with your weight loss.

If you haven't picked up a be guided by of my Truth about Six Pack Abs

book yet, do yourself a favor, and use the money you would have wasted on your next bottle of accessory pills or powder, and discover the program that will adjust you lean, healthy, and ripped for the rest of your life, not just the next 2 weeks!

I'll be back in touch soon with additional Lean-Body Secrets. I also have a couple fabulous lean-body recipes coming up over the next few weeks that I think you'll enjoy, so hang on