Watch What You Eat

Weight Loss: Day 2 

One way to lose weight is to watch what you eat. No, I don’t mean you need to go on some crazy diet that only allows you to eat gluten-free, sugar-free, no carbs, etc. When I say watch what you eat, I mostly mean you need to make sure you are not over-eating. This was the biggest challenge for me. Even as a child I remember my parents telling me to make sure I wasn’t over-eating. I’m pretty sure that was their “subtle” way of telling me that I was gaining weight. You see, the human body burns a certain number of calories on a daily basis. Most range between 1500 and 2500 calories per day. If you consume more calories than you burn, your body stores the extra calories in fat. This means that you will gain weight. On the other hand, if you consume less than you burn, your body will use those stored calories and will result in you losing weight. Therefore, when losing weight, you should make sure that your caloric intake is less than your caloric output.

As I previously stated, taking in less calories than you put out can help you lose weight. However, there is such a thing as not getting enough calories. If you limit your calorie intake too greatly, it can have some unhealthy and harmful effects. When you restrict your calories beyond a certain point, it sends your body into a sort of freak-out mode. Your body will think that it is stressed which will cause it to slow down your metabolism, making it harder for your body to actually lose weight. At one point, I tried eating less food throughout the day (snack wise), and there were times when I would have up to 10 hours between meals. I just assumed my body would start burning through my fat reserves while there was no food in my stomach. That was when my sister told me that what I was doing was unhealthy. She claimed that, by not eating for long periods of time, my body would go into starvation mode. She told me that by going into starvation mode my body would cling to any and all calories I had, as well as store more of my calories from my next meal just in case it were to go into starvation mode again. I doubted every word she said until I came across an article online. In this article from Runner’s World, scientist agreed with everything my sister had told me. They said that it was more common in women (go figure!) due to hormones found in our bodies related to reproduction. This article claimed that the female body takes the lack of food as a threat to its health, so it will train itself to hang on to as many calories and fats as it possibly can, which leads to more weight gain.

There are a few ways to track your calories throughout the day. One way is to keep count in your head. While this may seem simple, it can lead to miscalculations, under-calculations, and sooner or later, you may forget to check the calorie count on foods. Another way, which is less common, is to keep a written food log in a notebook. This would allow you to write down everything you have been eating and allow you to look up the caloric values later. Another method is calorie tracking via the internet or smartphone app. I personally use a smartphone app because it is quick, convenient, and I always have my phone with me. It also takes a lot of the guess work out of tracking your calories. Most of these apps have large data bases that already have the caloric values of common foods. All you have to do is tell it what you ate, and it will keep track of how many calories you have eaten, how many you have left in the day, as well as other basic nutritional information.

Lastly, I’d like to make sure you are all aware that working out does not mean you can eat whatever you want! I have also made this mistake! When you work out, your body only burns a certain number of calories. Yes, you can add those calories to your daily allowance, but that would mean your workout would not help you lose weight. It is best to make sure you still have a small deficit of calories every day, no matter how much you work out. It is also important that when you consume more calories, you do not justify eating sugary, unhealthy foods. Yes, they are okay every once in a while, but working out does NOT mean you can eat junk food whenever you want to. Just keep that in mind next time you open your food pantry ;)

I wish you all the best of luck with this! It may seem difficult at first, but I know you can do it!

Best Wishes,

Danielle ♥

P.S. If you have any questions at all about what I have said, please feel free to leave a comment below, or send me a direct message from the box at the bottom of the webpage. Thanks!

All of the above information can be found in Runner's World Magazine.