I like to count and right now, I count to 1200 or 1300 a day. By the way, I’m counting calories. Why? Because it just works for me in order to maintain my weight. Calorie counting is the way I keep myself accountable. If I’m not counting, I’m almost always eating too much.
Just like countless other people, I’ve struggled with weight loss and sometimes weight maintenance. But now that I’ve gotten to know my body over the years and what it wants and doesn’t want, I have an easier time staying at my ideal weight. My body has certainly taught me that it doesn’t need thousands of calories to stay fueled. So, I’ve needed to make sure that I am not consuming more calories than I burn.
I am very active fitness-wise, so I do need to find that perfect balance of calories. If I am consuming too few calories, my body definitely communicates that to me by giving me various symptoms such as headaches, grogginess, or irritability. But, I’m usually very careful to make sure I’m getting enough calories and you should be too!
An article on the Mayo Clinic Website explains the basic of calories and weight loss.
“Regardless of where they come from, the calories you eat are either converted to physical energy or stored within your body as fat.
These stored calories will remain in your body as fat unless you use them up, either by reducing calorie intake so that your body must draw on reserves for energy, or by increasing physical activity so that you burn more calories.”
To read the entire article about counting calories by the Mayo Clinic, click here:
A lot of my low calorie dishes on this blog feature lean proteins, veggies, and lighter, lower calorie carb choices. I hope you find many recipes your family will enjoy. I’ve counted my way to success and I know you can too!
To find out how many calories you need to lose weight, I recommend this simple calorie calculator:
http://www.caloriecount.com/tools/calories-goal
In order to keep track of my daily calories, as well as how many calories I am burning with my fitness routines, I use the Myfitnesspal app on my iPAD. This app is amazing and so easy to use! I have reached many milestones using this app. To learn more, go here:
If you chose to utilize myfitnesspal, feel free to friend me on there!
*I do understand that not everyone does or wants to count calories to lose weight or maintain their figure. I am simply sharing what has always worked for me. If you have any questions about low calorie living or how to get started, please contact me via my contact page.*
References
Mayo Clinic Staff. (2015, April). Counting calories: Get back to weight-loss basics. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/calories/art-20048065
Myfitnesspal. (2015, April). Retrieved from http://www.myfitnesspal.com
Calorie Count (2015, April). Retrieved from http://www.caloriecount.com/tools/calories-goal