The Truth About Calories And Weight Loss

The media and today’s popular fad diets talk a lot about counting calories. So much so that many people are confused about the truth. Calories are simply a tool to measure how much energy is contained in a given food. The more calories a food contains, the more energy it provides your body.

While calories do provide you with the energy required to perform your daily activities, they are in fact the key to losing weight and accomplishing many fitness related goals.

If you consume more calories than you burn, you will gain weight. Consume fewer calories than you burn and you’ll lose weight. It’s just that simple.

Many marketers of diet programs will try to convince you that you must consume specific ratios of calories from protein, carbohydrates and fat in order to lose weight effectively. The simple truth of the matter is the number of calories you consume determines how much you weigh. The kinds of calories you consume determines how you’ll feel.

Sure, you can lose weight following a low carb diet. But you’ll start to feel tired, irritable, and lethargic. Instead of putting so much focus on the kinds of calories to avoid, instead focus on how many calories you need, and how many total calories you actually consume.

A pound of body fat contains about 3500 calories. If your goal is to lose some excess body fat, start by lowering the amount of calories you eat by 500 per day. Over the course of a week, you’ll have consumed 3500 calories less than you need, resulting in the loss of one pound of stubborn body fat.

Losing fat really is that simple. Burn more calories than you take in and weight loss is inevitable.