The Calorie Counting Diet – Guide to Counting Calories for Weight Loss

With all the diet plans available these days, with different theories, food combinations and rules it can all get quite confusing. Choosing a diet can be just as important toward success as anything else, since sticking with a diet is key to long term weight loss. If you are forced to maintain a diet that is not pleasing to you, or that depends on foods you hate then the probability of success becomes very low.

Calorie counting diets come down to one question, can you be disciplined enough to eat less? Or do you prefer to be able to eat as much as you want but with limits on the types of food you can eat, such as the case with the Atkins Diet.

In reality, there is still nothing more effective for weight loss than cutting calories. It is the quickest, most effective and long term solution to permanent weight loss. Another perk of a calorie cutting diet is that you can still eat whatever you want, you just have to eat a lot less of it and there are lots of low calorie foods that will satisfy and help you succeed. This is an attractive proposition for many, as is illustrated by the popularity of Weight Watchers. Other prefer more drastic rapid weight loss methods, such as the 7 day diet, but keep in mind that quick fixes often don’t last.

How To Determine Calorie Intake for Weight Loss

The amount of calories you need to eat to lose weight is generally determined by your personal stats, like weight and height. Some people have had success using a 1000 Calorie Diet, but overall the amount of calories you need to lose weight is determined by your activity level. Use this calorie counter to determine what your personal calorie intake should be and to keep track of daily calorie intake.

Also, here is a Calorie Intake Chart from the American Heart Association based on age and activity that gives some good guidelines for weight maintenance.

Basically, to lose weight you need to burn more than you take in. If you are very active then you will get to eat more, if you are very sedentary, then you need a lot less calories to lose weight. This is where exercise can help because you can eat more.

Some people take the calorie thing to far. They eat under 1000 a day and often times this can backfire because it can put the body in starvation mode, where the body will go into a fight or flight response and start to horde all those calories resulting in stalled weight loss.

According to WebMD…

“Very low-calorie diets are generally safe when used under proper medical supervision in people with a body mass index greater than 30. Use of VLCDs in people with a BMI of 27 to 30 should be reserved for those who have medical complications resulting from their obesity. VLCDs are not suitable for everyone. Doctors generally recommend them on a case-by-case basis and your doctor will decide whether or not such a diet is appropriate for you. VLCDs are not recommended for pregnant or breastfeeding women, and are not appropriate for children or adolescents except in specialized treatment programs. Due to the potential need for other medications for preexisting conditions, as well as the possibility of side effects, these types of diets may not be suitable for people over 50, either.”

The Basic Calorie Deficit for Weight Loss Equation

There are about 3500 calories in a pound of stored body fat. So if you eat 3500 calories less per week, you will lose one pound, double that you will lose 2 pounds. You can either eat less, or workout more to burn the calories.

Simple Path to Low Calorie Weight Loss

If you are nauseated by all the counters and counting calories on a daily basis there is a simple solution. Cut everything you eat by half for one month and you will lose weight, it’s really that simple!