First of all, I will address calories. Calories are basically a unit of energy. Certain foods contain more calories than others. EVERYTHING you eat has calories. Of course, your higher in sugar and higher in fat foods have more calories than your fruits and vegetables. The key is to get calories from foods that are good for you while not feeling deprived or hungry.
Most foods are made up of calories from three sources, protein, carbohydrates, and fat. It is always better to get your calories from protein and carbs than from fat. However, you do need a certain amount if fat for your body. There are some vitamins that are only fat-soluble and your body can only absorb them in the presence of fat. One still needs to be careful with fat. Gram for gram, fat packs more than twice the calories of protein and carbs. I try to avoid foods that get more than half of their calories from fat. Basically, how I figure that is if a serving is 1 cup, the calories is 100, and the fat grams is 5.5, I multiply the grams of fat by 10, which gives me 55. If that number is more than half of the calories, I avoid it, unless I am just CRAVING it :) You should always listen to your body. Sometimes a craving is something you actually need.
Protein is found in all of your meats. However, there are other sources of protein that many don't realize are there. Diary products contain protein. Cheese, milk, ice cream, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc all have protein. Eggs are a good source of protein. Eggs are controversial to many people because of the cholesterol. However, the body also needs some cholesterol to function. Other sources of protein include beans, nuts, and legumes. Protein is very important when exercising because it helps your body build muscle. My protein intake is pretty high right now and I am building muscle. I can see it and feel it. I have to remind myself not to get frustrated when that number on the scale doesn't go down because muscle does weigh more than fat.
Carbohydrates are probably the most difficult thing to cut back on because they are found in practically EVERYTHING you eat except some of your meats. Carbohydrates are essentially sugars in various forms. Anything you eat that has sugar has carbohydrates. By sugar, I don't mean just sucrose (table sugar). I also mean fructose (fruit sugar), lactose (milk sugar), maltose (grain sugar), and various other sources. Basically, if it ends in "-ose", it is a type of sugar. These sugars come mainly from plant products. Once again, you MUST have some of these sugars daily in order for your body to function. I am currently trying to get less than half of my energy from carbs because of how easily they can turn into fat.
Taking in too many carbohydrates can cause weight gain. When carbohydrates are not burned, they turn into sugars and get stored in the body as fat. An excess of 3,500 calories can turn into 1 lb. of fat. Conversely, burning an extra 3,500 calories will reduce your fat or weight by 1 lb. The difficulty here is figuring out if you are actually burning extra calories. Most people don't realize that your body needs a certain amount of calories just to function normally in an average day. It takes calories to breathe, have your heart beat, your kidneys function, and digest food. So, anything you burn over that amount can burn off fat and lead to weight loss. That amount is called your BMR or Basal Metabolic Rate. It is the bottom line number of calories your body needs in order to function. There is a formula used for calculating this number.
- Adult male: 66 + (6.3 x body weight in lbs.) + (12.9 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)
- Adult female: 655 + (4.3 x weight in lbs.) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)
However, if you take in fewer than that amount of calories, your body will burn stored fat to continue functioning. While it is possible to lose weight by taking in less than your BMR recommends, it is a slower process than it would be if you were to add exercise. My BMR is a little over 1,500. I am averaging around 1,200 calories per day consumed. Keeping in mind the 3,500 rule, it would take nearly two weeks to lose one pound. As it is, I am averaging burning around 1,000 calories a day more than I take in. This is the reason why I have been averaging around a 2 lb. per week weight loss.
I really recommend a person add a good multi-vitamin when embarking on a weight loss routine. It is important to ensure your body is still getting the nutrition you need. If you start without one and add it later, you will notice a difference in how you feel. Cutting down on food also cuts down on some essential nutrients, so, a vitamin is very important. Be sure to listen to your body. If it says "enough" let that be enough. I have made it as much as five miles running, and then had to cut down to three the next day. It really makes a difference when you let your body tell you what it needs.
I hope this helps. I will be happy to answer any more questions anyone has. However, my experience and advice are not to be taken in the place of a licensed nutritionist or physician. These are just the things that I have learned personally. :D Happy weight loss!
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