Ready......Set..... What? No Go? Go is the part that gets results, right??!! Sometimes when we make the decision to lose weight or get healthier we jump straight to the Go when the Ready, Set part is crucial to our success! If you are like I was when I started changing my life my eating habits were atrocious and my activity level was non-existent...and had been for a LONG time. Those habits are hard to break for anyone. Changing habits takes time, repetitive behavior, will power.....and yes, work. Boo!!! We want it to be simple, right? Well there are lots of things you can do to not only set yourself up to succeed but to make things easier on yourself. So, lets get started! READY: There are lots of ways to lose weight. Most of them work at least for a short time. There are merits to most weight loss plans and I in no way think the calorie/fat gram counting is the only way, or even the best way for everyone. Its the way that worked for me. The truth of the matter is to lose weight you must eat fewer calories than you expend....period. I chose to count calories and fat grams for several reasons. One, I understood that idea and how it worked. Its simple and straight forward. There is a finite end to eating for the day....when the calories run out. If you go over there is a tangible number of what you have done and you can use that to see how it affects your weight lose. Two, it allowed me to eat anything and everything...as long as I counted the calories and fat. I am not big on restriction and I am addicted to carbs so it worked for me! So now you know why, time to look at how. The very first thing you need to do is to figure out how many calories you need to consume to lose weight. Obviously, someone who weighs more needs more calories just to exist. As you lose weight your calorie needs will drop, so you need to reevaluate and drop your intake as you go. As any person talking about weight loss, I recommend you talk to your doctor. Tell him/her your goal weight and ask for his recommendation for your calorie intake. I am not a medical person, dietitian or nutritionist so the information I am sharing is all self taught or research I have done. There are several websites that have calculators to figure out how many calories you should be eating to lose weight as well. You enter your information and it pops you out a number that will help you lose 1.5-2 lbs a week which is a healthy rate of weight loss. (Most people will lose more at first as they make changes to their diet and exercise) Here a couple I found or you can search the internet for your own. Calculate your calorie needs and write it down. calorieking caloriecount What about the fat grams you ask? Whatever your calorie number is anywhere from 25-35% of those should be from fat. Women should lean to the higher end of that scale. Our bodies need more fat to function. There are nine calories per gram of fat. At 1200 calories a day a woman should be closer to 45-50 grams of fat per day. SET: Now you have your number. There it is staring at you. How do you translate that to successful weight loss? You write down that number, write down everything you eat and count up all the calories you eat, everyday. I know, I know....sounds like a lot of work. BUT, it is crucial to know what you are putting in your body. Just to let you know how important it is, take a recent day and write down everything you ate that day. Every bite. Look up and calculate the calories and fat you had. You will probably be shocked, especially if you have your number of what you should be eating every day. If you have a smart phone the easiest way to track your diet is through an app. You just load in your food and it calculates everything for you. There are tons of them out there. I searched for the best ones and here was a top 5 list from lifehackers. lifehacker/five-best-food-and-nutrition-tracking-tools-1084103754 If you have one you have that you really like please share it on this post. I would love to see the ones you use. If you dont have a smart phone....your computer is your friend. There are all kinds of sites that have calorie counts and calculators. Write down what you eat, look up the numbers and calculate your daily intake. I know this sounds like a lot of work, but it is very important and worth the time. Once you get going, you will remember things, can repeat menus and food....it becomes second nature. So, this is where you start. Calculate your calorie needs. Download a fitness/diet tracking app or search the internet for calorie counting sites and bookmark them. Now the first part of Ready, Set is done. I know this was long....but it is necessary. I will post more Ready, Set information later today and you will be all set to go!!
Posted on: Thu, 01 Jan 2015 14:53:01 +0000
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