What is the real secret to losing or gaining weight? People restrict themselves to certain cuisines, particular food groups, ban high fat, high carb, and specific foods. Despite the countless number of diets people attempt, the answer is really not so complicated. Barring certain medical conditions, you simply have to burn more calories than you consume to lose, and consume more than you burn to gain.
How Much Should You Eat?
You first have to determine your daily calorie needs. This is the amount of calories you need to eat to maintain a particular weight. First determine your target weight; the ideal weight you are trying to reach.
Your target weight times 10 = Base Calories
Ex. Target Weight 170 lbs times 10 = 1700 calories
Your Base Calories are the calories your body needs for daily functioning. Next adjust this by your activity level.
Activity Level:
Sedentary: Base Calories times .20
Moderately Active: Base Calories times .40
Active: Base Calories times .50
Add your Base Calories and Activity Level
Ex. Base Calories 1700 times .40 (moderate) = 680 calories
1700 + 680 = 2380 Target Calories
Digestion: Surprisingly, your body uses some energy just digesting your food, so finally, add another 10% for digestion and absorbing nutrients.
Ex. Target Calories 2380 times .10 = 238
2380 + 238 = 2618 Total Daily Calories
So to shoot for a weight of 170 lbs. you should be eating about 2618 calories a day.
Track Your Daily Food
Write down everything you eat over several days in a notebook or food journal. That means everything, including drinks and snacks. Keep track of the number of calories from reading the package labels or use a nutrition chart. Compare this to your total calorie goal to get an ideal of where to make adjustments. You can often exchange higher calorie foods for fruits and vegetables to cut calories while increasing nutrition.
Limit Your Portions
How many servings in a package can be a stumbling point for many people. Most calories listed on the package are for one serving, while the package often contains two or more servings.
Gain or Lose Weight
One pound equals about 3500 calories. So by cutting 500 food calories a day or burning an extra 500 calories a day with exercise you can lose a safe pound a week. Of course, by adding an extra 500 calories a day you can also gain about a pound a week.
So remember, with all the diets out there, it's more about how much you eat then the kinds of food you eat. Be sure to make healthy choices for what you do eat, at the very least the USDA daily food plan. Knowing how many calories your body needs, how many calories the food you eat contains, and making healthy choices are the key to finding the balance for controlling your weight.