The Truth About Counting Calories And Weight Loss

Do calories matter or do you simply need to eat certain foods and that will guarantee you'll lose weight? Should you count calories or can you just count "portions?" Is it necessary to keep a food diary? Is it unrealistic to count calories for the rest of your life or is that just part of the price you pay for a better body?

You're about to learn the answers to these questions and discover a simple solution for keeping track of your food intake without having to crunch numbers every day or become a fanatic about your food.

In many popular diet books, "Calories don't count" is a frequently repeated theme. Other popular programs, such as Bill Phillip's "Body For Life," allude to the importance of energy intake versus energy output, but recommend that you count "portions" rather than calories?

Phillips wrote,

"There aren't many people who can keep track of their calorie intake for an extended period of time. As an alternative, I recommend counting 'portions.' A portion of food is roughly equal to the size of your clenched fist or the palm of your hand. Each portion of protein or carbohydrate typically contains between 100 and 150 calories. For example, one chicken breast is approximately one portion of protein, and one medium-sized baked potato is approximately one portion of carbohydrate."

Phillips makes a good point that trying to count every single calorie - in the literal sense - can drive you crazy and is probably not realistic as a lifestyle for the long term. It's one thing to count portions instead of calories ? that is at least acknowledging the importance of portion control. However, it's another altogether to deny that calories matter.

Yes, calories do count! Any diet program that tells you, "calories don't count" or you can "eat all you want and still lose weight" is a diet you should avoid. The truth is, that line is a bunch of baloney designed to make a diet sound easier to follow. Anything that sounds like work ? such as counting calories, eating less or exercising, tends to scare away potential customers! But the law of calorie balance is an unbreakable law of physics: Energy in versus energy out dictates whether you will gain, lose or maintain your weight. Period.

I believe that it's very important to develop an understanding of and a respect for portion control and the law of calorie balance I also believe it's an important part of nutrition education to learn how many calories are in the foods you eat on a regular basis ? including (and perhaps, especially) how many calories are in the foods you eat when you dine at restaurants.

The law of calorie balance says:

To maintain your weight, you must consume the same number of calories you burn. To gain weight, you must consume more calories than you burn. To lose weight, you must consume fewer calories than you burn.

If you only count portions or if you haven't the slightest clue how many calories you're eating, it's a lot more likely that you'll eat more than you realize. (Or you might take in fewer calories than you should, which triggers your body's "starvation mode" and causes your metabolism to shut down).

So how do you balance practicality and realistic expectations with a nutrition program that gets results? Here's a solution that's a happy medium between strict calorie counting and just guessing:

Create a menu using an EXCEL spreadsheet or your favorite nutrition software. Crunch all the numbers including calories, protein, carbs and fats. Once you have your daily menu, print it, stick it on your refrigerator (and/or in your daily planner) and you now have an eating "goal" for the day, including a caloric target.

That is my definition of "counting calories" -- creating a menu plan you can use as a daily guide, not necessarily writing down every morsel of food you eat for the rest of your life. If you're really ambitious, keeping a nutrition journal for at least 4-12 weeks is a great idea and an incredible learning experience, but all you really need to get started on the road to a better body is one good menu on paper. If you get bored eating the same thing every day, you can create multiple menus, or just exchange foods using your one menu as a template.

Using this method, you really only need to count calories once when you create your menus. After you've got a knack for calories from this initial discipline of menu planning, then you can estimate portions in the future and get a pretty good (and more educated) ballpark figure.

So what's the bottom line? Is it really necessary to count every calorie to lose weight? No. But it IS necessary to eat fewer calories then you burn. Whether you count calories and eat less than you burn, or you don't count calories and eat less than you burn, the end result is the same ? you lose weight. Which would you rather do: Take a wild guess, or increase your chance for success with some simple menu planning? I think the right choice is obvious.

Copyright 2005 Tom Venuto

Tom Venuto is a certified personal trainer, natural bodybuilder and author of the #1 best selling diet e-book, "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle. You can get info on Tom's e-book at: http://www.burnthefat.com. To get Tom's free monthly e-zine, visit http://www.fitren.com

---

Shape Up! 4-Alternative Weight Loss Solutions

I am embarrassed to admit how many different commercial weight... Read More

Volumetrics Adverse Events - Two Potential Outcomes

Adverse Events with Volumetrics Dr. Barbara Rolls is a well... Read More

The Hated Cellulite Cure That Works

Cellulite is not a medical condition or an aesthetic mutiny... Read More

Why Are There Different Diet Types?

Diet is a dreadful word for most of us because... Read More

Natural Weight Losss: The Minor Changes That Can Have Huge Affects On Your Future Health

People always ask me " how it is that your... Read More

The Top Ten Things You Dont Want to Hear About Losing Weight

(But What You Need to Know if You Want to... Read More

Have You Given Up on Weight Loss?

Have You Given Up on Weight Loss? by Greg Landry,... Read More

Stop Putting Life Off Until You Lose Some Weight

No One I Know Looks Like a Bathing Beauty, so... Read More

What is Back to Normal After Gastric Bypass Surgery?

It is common for new WLS patients to ask, "How... Read More

Weight Loss/Control Glossary of Terms

A Little Help With Some Difficult terms Aerobic Exercise.... Read More

5 Ways To Make Protein Benefit You

Imagine this ... What if you could ?Increase the rate... Read More

Developing Mental Toughness For Permanent Weight Loss

Losing weight and keeping it off is much more than... Read More

4 Tips for Fast Fat Loss Part II

Fat Loss Tip #2) Drink More WaterI know, I know,... Read More

Dieting: A Few Smart Dieting Secrets To Rejuvenate You

In our society of fast food and long hours spent... Read More

Low Carb Diet - The Way To Weight Loss?

Everybody you know is on the latest weight loss bandwagon:... Read More

Fast Weight Loss - 7 Day Diet Program for Quick Weight Loss

Do you have a big event coming up? Perhaps you... Read More

What the Diet Industry Wont Tell You--6 Secrets Revealed

I am not a diet and fitness guru or an... Read More

Obesity Prevention Must Begin at Home

Not losing weight but gaining it is why we are... Read More

Best Diet Type -- Losing Weight for Your Wedding

Choosing the right diet type is the most important decision... Read More

Secrets of Gastric Bypass Surgery: Lose Weight Without Surgery

There's more to gastric bypass than surgery and rapid massive... Read More

Can You Attain Weight Loss While Fasting?

Fasting, when done properly, can be a basic part of... Read More

Weight Loss Success with the South Beach Diet

The South Beach Diet was not created by your typical... Read More

You Can Lose Weight on a High Carbohydrate Diet

A startling fact is that carbohydrates are not responsible for... Read More

Rejuvenation and the Protein Revolution

Rejuvenation and the Protein Revolution in Your Kitchen©2003 Marilyn DiamondIf... Read More

Savoring Moments Through Mindful Eating

We all eat. But how mindful are we of every... Read More

Belly Fat: Enough of That! One Probable Cause of Excess Abdominal Fat

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor; nor do I play... Read More

Avoid Weight Gain After WLS: Learn the Difference Between Snacking and Grazing

Gastric bypass patients often find themselves regaining weight soon after... Read More

Diets, Diets, Diets?Do They Work?

Almost everyone has attempted to follow diets and weight loss... Read More

An Introduction to Tummy Tucks

Abdominoplasty, or "tummy tuck" is a major surgical procedure that... Read More

Close Kept Secrets to Weight Loss Lesson #3

Whew! So how did you do on that last lesson?... Read More

How to Shed Pounds Fast!

Very few Americans are satisfied with their current weights. There... Read More

Winter Weight Loss

As our bodies move from Winter into Spring we can... Read More

Weight Loss vs. Fat Loss

In order to lose weight, your body must burn more... Read More