Everything You Need To Know About Calories
If you’re interested in mastering your body weight in the months ahead, one thing that you’ll want to be sure you fully understand is that of calories. What is a calorie? And, more importantly, what does it mean for you?
Let’s go over some of the key things that you must know when it comes to calorie intake.
What Is A Calorie?
A calorie may bring up many thoughts when you hear that word. This could be fear of weight gain, thoughts of a food that isn’t so healthy, or it could just a feeling of being confused.
All in all, a calorie is really quite simple. A calorie is a unit of energy that your body utilizes on an everyday basis. Without calories, you’d cease to exist. A calorie is what helps your body carry out all the reactions that take place within the body on a regular basis as well as provides the fuel you need to move your muscles.
So how does all this influence weight loss or weight gain as the case may be? Since a calorie is a unit of energy, this basically means that it has to be used as a fuel source or it has to be stored.
When you take in calories from food, if you don’t need to use them for energy purposes, the body will convert them into body fat. This is essentially saved energy for a later date.
Likewise, if you don’t take in enough energy (calories) over the course of the day, the body will tap into its stored body fat for energy purposes. This is how the weight loss process takes place.
A caveat to the last point is that going to extended periods without food (starvation) might work in reverse. When the body is deprived, utilizes energy sparingly, hoards any food (calories) consumed and store it into fat which will inhibit weight loss.
The goal is not to overeat or under eat which can be achieved by eating small portioned meals throughout the day.
Must You Count Calories?
Basically, if you want to guarantee that you see weight loss results, the answer is yes. Those who fail to count calories don’t get the precision that those who do achieve.
When you count calories, you’ll know for certain how much energy you’re taking in, so if you don’t lose weight, you know you’re simply taking in too much. As such, you can then reduce your intake and weight loss should move along.
If you aren’t counting your calories however, you’ll never know how far to reduce it, thus you won’t be able to get the accurate fat loss you’re after.
At the end of the day, counting calories is the best way to achieve lasting weight loss success. After a few weeks of counting calories, most people will be able to ‘eyeball’ their food, taking in about how much is needed to maintain their desired level of weight loss. Until that point however, make the extra effort because counting calories will be worth it.
If counting calories is a challenge, seek help from an expert who can create your eating plan based on your activity level and lifestyle, monitor caloric intake and make adjustments as required.
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