One of the most effective methods of weight loss is counting one’s calories. Counting calories helps create a clear picture of the kinds of foods one is consuming and their general caloric intake. The reason why any of this is important is that many want to lose weight but are going about it the wrong way. Some people just go to the farthest ends of the dieting pool and restrict food intake to the lowest amount possible.
One can see this with the 1200-calorie diet fad. Beyond this, one should find out a few things if one is going to begin calorie counting. One should find their total daily energy expenditure and determine their general activity level.
From this one begins doing what’s known as calorie math to figure out what their caloric deficit should be. However, when engaging in any form of diet, whether bulking, cutting or simply trying a new diet, one should be very careful. Dieting can be a helpful way of taking charge of one’s health, which can be quite liberating.
Yet, at the same time, one could even develop something serious like an eating disorder or body dysmorphia from dieting. The point of losing weight should be to make sure one is in healthy ranges of body fat and general health, not to become America’s next top model.
Calorie Math
Every human being requires a certain amount of calories to maintain their physique. Furthermore, the more muscle one has, the higher that caloric maintenance becomes. This is why bodybuilders eat upwards of 5000 to 8000 calories. The average person has very little muscle mass, meaning that their body requires fewer calories to sustain their physique.
Along with this, most people don’t work out, which further lowers the amount of calories they need to sustain their physique. The moment that they begin becoming physically active, their body needs more calories for maintenance.
The reason this all matters is that weight loss and weight gain are entirely dependent on one’s relation to their caloric maintenance. If one’s caloric intake is above their caloric maintenance, then they will gain weight. If it is below, then they will lose weight.
Every food has a certain amount of calories, and one can track these calories to further maintain their caloric deficit. What this means is that weight loss isn’t made through magic or anything like that. This means that the first step in this process is to figure out one’s basic information.
There are all kinds of caloric maintenance calculators on the internet that simply plug in the numbers and consistently consume less than that number every day. However, one should be careful not to restrict calories too low for the sake of one’s physical and mental health.
The Mental Cost
Cutting down and losing weight can be a process that crushes people under the weight of constant effort. No person, whether they are four-time Mr. Olympia Chris Bumstead or a stressed-out mom of three, should be consuming 1200 calories.
This level of caloric restriction is dangerous and counterproductive. Eating dangerously low amounts of food starves the body, causes permanent physical and psychological wounds.
The feeling of being “shredded” or “toned” can never make up for the heavy physical toll that being at low body fat percentages take. No one should look like they are ready to get on stage for a bodybuilding show all year round because it isn’t healthy.
The world shows people’s images of “perfect” bodies, but what most people don’t know is that many of these pictures and videos are edited and enhanced. What this means is that one should focus on their own progress, because progress is progress, no matter how small.
Written by Kenneth Mazerat
Sources
Health Harvard EDU: Calorie counting made easy
Break Binge Eating: Calorie Counting and Eating Disorders: What’s the Harm? by
The International OCD Foundation: Muscle dysmorphia by Roberto Olivardia, PhD; Aaron Blashill, PhD; & Jonathan Hoffman, PhD
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of COD Newsroom’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
First Inset Image Courtesy of areta ekarafi’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
