Weight Loss: Counting Calories

Counting calories is one of the most popular diets out in the World of Weight Loss. The idea is simple. You just count the number of calories you ingest and restrict them by your own wishes.

It's really not that difficult. The only "pain in the butt" comes when you have to count all your daily calories and tallying them up weekly...

A simple solution to shred a few pounds. It works! 

Here's an example: 

Say you are averaging 2100 calories a day and your goal is to lose weight. If you cut your "caloric intake" to let's say 1500 calories, you will surely shave a few pounds and notice the difference... It's not rocket science to figure out that a little brainstorming and simple subtraction can give you a little less weight under your belt. 

I know, I know...It's too good to be true AND your right!!!

Let's figure out why???

Counting calories has the right idea but has the WRONG message. Lets take a look at the overall concept of the diet. In order to lose weight you need to limit your caloric intake. So lets go back to my previous example above. If you are restricting your caloric intake to get to an ideal weight, what happens if you limit yourself to 1400 calories and you still don't reach your weight? Do you continue cutting until you are left with eating "paper and lettuce?" OF COURSE NOT! This is problem number one when you follow a counting calorie diet. 

Here's another crucial pointer. Assuming that counting calories is an excellent choice for losing weight, how do you go about selecting foods?

Is a calorie just a calorie? NOPE! You cannot compare a 170 calorie Butter Finger bar to a cup of yogurt. The quality and content of the two are extremely different. Hence when you follow the C.C diet, quality of calories are not of a concern. Why??? And here's the part where I might lose some of you---because in theory all that matters is the total number of calories entering your body. Not the quality of your diet but more so the calories in food that you eat will determine how much weight you will lose. And here comes problem number two, following the C.C diet will only give a temporary satisfaction. Remember what I mentioned earlier, what if you still haven't reach your ideal weight? What do you do then, cut more calories? ABSOLUTELY NOT. You can only cut for so long until it starts to backfire against you. 

*** Any drastic change in your diet could cause severe consequences. For example, if you are fairly overweight and want to drop pounds fast the obvious will be to starve, drink water, and chew on celery sticks. Basically anything super low in calories. But your body isn't that dumb and so easy to trick. It won't allow you to get away with hurting IT for long. So under similar circumstances "cutting" too many calories has a price. First, if your intake is low your body will naturally pull energy (calories) from an emergency stored compartment in the body. This is your body's own temporary protective mechanism so that you don't crash and burn. But if you were to so happen to literally starve yourself, then in this extreme case your body will start eating away on its own muscle. And believe me this isn't a fun experience. You will suffer from nausea, extreme appetite, experience a severe drop in energy, strength, and concentration---I guarantee you will be back where you first started... EATING. 

I'm personally not a big fan of counting calories but wont deny that it doesn't work TEMPORARILY. Just know that in order to use this diet you must first get an average of your daily caloric intake. That way you can moderately cut a few calories safely. Do not just "jump the gun" and cut your calories in half.