Counting Calories for Weight Loss

The effectiveness and success of any weight loss program is directly related to reduction in calories.

Any diet plan is based on putting the right kind of restriction on your diet, what you can and cannot eat.

This helps by limiting number of calories you can take in a day. So, by following diet plan, you actually restrict your calories intake, eat healthy and fresh foods thus lose weight.

However, there are other kinds of nutrient such as fat that you must keep a close watch when you eat. For the time being let’s discuss about calories. You should be aware that what are you eating, how much calories should you take. Knowing your correct calorie intake, will help you to judge that you are overeating or not.

There is no guideline about the calorie one should consume to be healthy and fit. Calorie intake also depends upon the gender, age and physical condition. According to many studies and research an ideal calorie for men should be approximately 1,700 cal and for women it should be 1,300 calories.

Calorie counting seems to be unnatural and tedious nevertheless it helps you be aware about the calorie you have consumed or how much more you can have, so that you can plan your daily diet accordingly. Even if you do not count the calorie intake, just knowing the approximate calories of common foods will lead you to make better and informed decision for your diet.

Here is an example of healthy diet (for women) with a the calorie count

Breakfast: Mid-sized croissant bread and zero fat milk – approximately 330 kcal

Morning snack: Half cup regular ice-cream – approximately 145 kcal

Lunch: 3 oz fried fish and 1 oz cheddar cheese – approximately 309 kcal

Snacks: Low-fat frozen yogurt (1/2 cup) – approximately 110 kcal

Dinner: Regular Ground Beef (25% fat) – approximately 235 kcal

This works out to a total of 1129 cal. With a fruit helping, a cup of coffee, calorie intake will be around 1,250 to 1,300 which is pretty good.

You can also search for the common food that you have incorporated in your diet and make a note for it. It will make you more conscious of your calorie intake and will help you to stay fit, healthy and will help you to lose weight.

Instead of having three big meals have 5-6 smaller meals, with fewer calories. This will increase your metabolic rate and will also help in cutting fat quicker.

Also, try to avoid fast food or packaged food, as these foods are rich in calories and less in nutritional value. Normal fries contain almost 600 kcal, almost half of your daily quota. Avoiding such rich calories food will help you to lose weight.