Forget those diet fads. When you want to lose weight, the best way to find success is to keep track of your calorie intake, in addition to your exercise. It seems so simple, and yet it’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever tried to do, because it’s so hard to say no to yourself when you want to snack and splurge. I got into counting calories over the summer because my parents have been doing it since the spring, and my dad has already lost 50 pounds! Counting calories also makes you consider everything else on the nutrition labels of the foods that you’re eating, from fats to carbs and sugars to sodium, and you begin to learn all about portion control by paying attention to serving sizes.
Over the summer, a free calorie counter was my best friend when it came to learning how to eat healthier. I used the website myfitnesspal.com (that also has an app for your technological paraphernalia), which helps you develop a caloric-based weight loss plan. I would track every food I consumed and approximate the time and level of my physical activity to the best of my ability. It’s unbelievable how quickly those calories can add up, especially when you’re left still feeling a little hungry at the end of the day. From this I’ve learned the truth behind the mantra that you should eat several small meals throughout the day, rather than three big ones, but you have to make sure that any snacking doesn’t get out of hand (this is my problem area…).
Now that I’m back at school, My Fitness Pal account has not seen much activity, and while I can attribute this to being so insanely busy with schoolwork, I also think it’s due to the fact that I can’t always know how many calories I’m consuming in the Caf or exactly what is in their delicious dishes. My strategy to combat this issue has been to eat a lot more salads and a lot more fruits, and to ask for smaller scoops of whatever yummy meal I happen upon in Grains or Pasta or wherever.
You can also find help in cutting calories by doing a little reading. Magazines like Self or Shape always have healthy recipes or food suggestions that you can use as alternatives to less healthy meals and snack, and my family particularly enjoys recipes from Eat This, Not That by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding (check them out here for lots of useful eating tips!). When you go out to eat, search through the menu for foods with healthier ingredients. Applebee’s even has Weight Watchers entrées that really are pretty healthy. In fact, I enjoyed one of the most delicious salads I’ve ever had at a restaurant at Applebee’s (the Paradise Chicken Salad), and it was only about 350 calories (My Fitness Pal has a huge food database…it’s awesome!). I think I would be making an accurate guess in assuming this is one of the healthiest meals on their menu.
At its most fundamental, fitness and weight loss are really all about balancing your calorie intake with the amount of calories you burn. Not as easy as it sounds, but I’m telling you based on personal experience that it works wonders. For your enjoyment, here are some calorie fun facts:
- On average, Michael Phelps consumes 12,000 calories per day. Sumo wrestlers consume 20,000.
- The recommended calorie intake for the average adult woman to maintain her weight is about 2,000 per day.
- Mowing the lawn can burn up to 600 calories; housecleaning, 300.
- At a fast food restaurant, ordering and eating a large portion of French fries can give you 500 calories.
- Bran muffins have more calories than a glazed doughnut (thanks, roommate!).
- Serving sizes at national restaurant chains have increased 2-5 times greater in the past 40 years.
- Reducing caloric intake by 100 calories per day can decrease your risk of cardiovascular disease, minimize your chances of having type-2 diabetes by half, and ease the strain on your joints (one pound lost feels like 4 fewer pounds of stress on your knees).