In recent years, the problem of obesity is extremely acute. Many of the people are concerned about overweight. All kinds of diets, teas, pills - all this is used as a means to find former harmony. But there is another system that can lead to success. You don’t have to do anything special if you stick to it - we just consider calories and lose weight.
System features
How to count calories to lose weight has been known for a long time. This technique was invented at the beginning of the last century. Another thing is that before such an urgent need for it did not arise. Today, times have changed. Many of us still doubt the effectiveness of this method and ask a burning question, is it possible to lose weight by counting calories. Nutritionists around the world answer in the affirmative. Moreover, they are sure that this is the most effective way to help reduce the energy value of the daily diet. If you are in doubt about whether to count calories, consult your healthcare provider. Perhaps his words will convince you.
We count calories and lose weight: all the advantages of the method
The theory of calculating the energy value of products is a kind of diet (let's call it conditionally “Counting calories”), which must be observed not once, but throughout life. It has its advantages, which you can appreciate as soon as you adhere to its basic rules.
- You can notice the effectiveness of the way to become slim in a month.
- If you are attracted to the “Counting Calories” diet, the menu can be the most varied. All dishes are allowed here. Another thing is that they can be eaten in limited quantities.
- Weight is lost naturally. You will not refuse tasty and healthy products. You will not have any digestive problems.
- The result achieved using this method will last a very long time, if not, constantly. The thing is that over time you will understand how to count calories in foods. This will become a habit with you. You without compulsion will begin to eat only this way - counting calories. Therefore, the body will not suffer from overeating, and the weight will be normal.
The disadvantages of losing weight with this method
All the disadvantages of the diet “consider calories and lose weight” are purely subjective. You can be scared off by 2 factors:
- The complexity of counting.
- Irrepressible desire to exceed the daily allowance.
With the second, everything is clear. This happens from time to time to everyone who has ever been on a diet. Here psychological methods that can help you will work: for example, put on the fridge a photograph of a slender movie star that you would like to look like. Or your photo, where you are beautiful, slim, eye-catching look of all men. Don't you want to become like that again? Without labor, as you know, nothing will come of it. Therefore, it is worth collecting your willpower into a fist. Later, after a few months, such thoughtful nutrition will become a habit for you. And you will automatically cook, without thinking about how to count calories in order to lose weight.
Stylish clothes a couple of sizes smaller can be a good incentive. The desire to get into these wonderful little things as soon as possible at times works wonders, and we do not depart from the intended goal - we simply count calories and lose weight. And soon the dream comes true.
As for the difficulties with counting calories, they are noticeable only in the first weeks. Then you will already know by heart the energy value of a product.
A bit of arithmetic
So, we have decided that from today we count calories. A table of products indicating their energy value will help you with this. But before turning to it, you need to know the daily requirement of the human body for calories. See what nutritionists say about it.
Female
- For young persons (14-17 years), 2760 kcal per day is enough.
- Pregnant young women - 3200 kcal.
- Nursing a baby - 3500 kcal.
- Female students - 2800 kcal.
Mental workers and sedentary
- Women (18-40 years old) - from 2400 to 2600 kcal.
- Women (40-60 years old) - from 2200 to 2400 kcal.
Service workers (seller, postman, etc.)
- Women (18-40 years old) - from 2500 to 2750 kcal.
- Women (40-60 years old) - from 2350 to 2550 kcal.
Hard workers
- Women (18-40 years old) - from 2700 to 2900 kcal.
- Women (40-60 years old) - from 2500 to 2700 kcal.
People of retirement age
- Women (60-70 years old) - from 2100 to 2200 kcal.
- Women over 70 years old - 2000 kcal.
These data are scientifically called the optimal calorie corridor. You just need to look into them if you are attracted to the “Counting Calories” diet. The table will tell you the acceptable amount for you per day. If the energy value of all the dishes included in your daily menu is greater, then you overeat. In this case, do not be surprised where the excess fat appeared on the sides and why you can’t fit into last year’s pretty jeans.
How to find out your basic calorie level yourself?
Information of nutritionists provides, of course, invaluable help, but you should not discount the individual characteristics of each person. Fighting overweight depends on many factors. These are height and weight, metabolic features, lifestyle, sports. After all, all of these indicators are individual. There is a special formula that helps to determine exactly your need for the daily amount of products and their energy value.
She is simple:
- For women, it looks like this: 650 + 9.6 x (weight) + 1.8 x (height) - 4.7 x (age).
- For men, a little different: 60 + 13.7 x (weight) + 5 x (height) - 6.8 x (age).
The data obtained should be multiplied by another factor. It depends on some individual characteristics. Multiply by:
- 1.3, if you lead a sedentary lifestyle.
- 1.4 if you exercise 4 hours a week.
- 1.5, if you devote 6 hours a week to sports, while moving a lot.
- 1.7 if sport is your best friend for 12 hours a week.
The data obtained will be your base level. If you want to gain weight, increase the figure by 20%. You want, on the contrary, to lose weight, reduce the figure by 20%.
How to get used to counting calories
No one denies that at first such an approach to cooking breakfast, lunch and dinner will bore you. After all, this is quite unusual. But over time, you will get used to it.
Indeed, for the house we cook almost the same dishes, which alternate with a certain frequency. The exception is holidays. But there are many low-calorie recipes for special occasions. A small energy value does not mean that they are tasteless. What more delicious! And you will see for yourself.
So, from today we count calories. A table is a table, but you will have to do most of the work yourself.
Experts advise to keep a food diary for this purpose. There you will have to record everything that you ate during the day. Be sure to indicate the weight of the products in grams and the number of calories in them. So, for example, if a sliced loaf, so beloved by you, in 100 g of product contains 264 kcal, and you ate 200 g for breakfast, then you will have to write down - 528 kcal.- Changes to the diary should be done more than once a day, but after each meal. Even if you had a snack with an ordinary apple or banana, be sure to write down the calorie content and weight. This is necessary in order to adjust the dinner. If you consumed too high-calorie foods during the day, dinner should be made as easy as possible. Calculate how many calories you have left in reserve, and try to meet this figure.
If you are skeptical of this method and think that you are eating properly, nutritionists suggest a simple test. Write down everything you have eaten for today, and then calculate what is the energy value of the consumed products. Learn a lot of interesting things for yourself. In addition, you will see what foods can be excluded from the diet without damage.
Some useful rules
We made a decision - we count calories and lose weight. The table is our main assistant in this matter. But do not lose sight of the following points that help to understand how to count calories in order to lose weight.
- The calorie content of tea and water is considered zero. But this is if without any additions. So, only calories of sugar, milk, jam and all that you put in tea are considered.
- If you are preparing a complex dish, then its energy value consists of the energy value of all components. Therefore, each component will have to be calculated.
- When frying, take into account the caloric content of not only processed products, but also oil (approximately 20% is spent on frying).
Product Interchangeability
A calorie-based diet is good in that it does not force us to give up our favorite foods and established eating habits. If you want chocolate, why not try it? Only not the whole tile, but a small piece. Do not forget to calculate how many calories in it. This should be done only for the first time and record the result. In the future, you will already know the energy value of the square of chocolate.
But it’s best to use the principle of product interchangeability in cooking. For example:
- You are a sweet tooth. Without goodies, you feel irritable - and always in a bad mood. There is a way out. Replace sweets with marshmallows or marshmallows. They have no fat at all, but they are just as sweet and tasty.
- Instead of ice cream or cream, you can eat whipped cream or cottage cheese mousse.
- Do you like cutlets? There are no problems, steam them. Tasty, satisfying, and most importantly - useful.
- Be careful with coffee. Unlike tea, coffee is already food. Pretty high-calorie drink. In addition, it is absorbed by the body for a long time. If you want to lose weight, it is better to switch to chicory.
- Soda also contains many calories. Replace it with mineral water, and if you want sweet, give preference to natural juice.
- It is better to buy bread products with the addition of bran. Not only do they accelerate metabolic processes and cleanse the body, they are also considered the most low-calorie foods.
Dr. Bormental's diet: counting calories
One of the most popular diet programs to date. Its name is very arbitrary, since Dr. Bormental only existed in Bulgakov’s “Heart of a Dog”. In nature, there is no such doctor at all and never has been, and a technique has been developed by leading psychotherapists and nutritionists. It is based on calorie counting and the psychological aspects of our behavior.
It's no secret that many of us often eat food without even feeling hungry. Someone agrees to try a wonderful treat for a company with a girlfriend. Someone seizes stress and resentment with their favorite delicacies. Someone comes to the refrigerator out of boredom, opens the door and reaches out for something that you can easily do without at the moment. Someone swallows food out of habit. For example, when watching your favorite series (I eat, because I always did).
So, experts unanimously argue that first you need to establish the cause of overeating and then already deal with it. Simple recommendations from Bormental will help in this. And they are as follows:
- You will have to forget about products that do not give a feeling of fullness (sweet kefir, yogurt).
- It is better to take food hot.
- Limit the use of alcohol, spices and spicy, as this provokes appetite.
- Eat little, but often. The best option is 7-8 times a day.
- The intervals between meals should not exceed more than 5 hours.
- Dinner should be 4 hours before bedtime.
Voice of the people: reviews about the system of weight loss with calorie counting
Be that as it may, it’s useful to listen to those who have long been building their lives using this technique. How did they cope with the first difficulties? Did you quickly achieve the desired result? And anyway, is it possible to lose weight by counting calories. Reviews convince us of what is possible. Judge for yourself.
- Some manage to lose 11 kg in 100 days. It’s even faster than many online calculators promise. The first week is usually the most satisfying - up to 1700 kcal per day, the second - up to 1500 kcal, the third up to 1200 kcal. To achieve a more effective result, people still limit fats to 40 g per day.
- According to others, the main thing in such a diet is the calculation of carbohydrate-fat-protein ratios. And all kinds of vitamins, hepatoprotectors, minerals. Such people allow themselves 1600-1700 kcal per day. For a month they lose 7 kg - and the weight does not return.
- For many, a rollercoaster diet is preferred. Every day it is recommended to consume a different amount of calories - from 600 to 1300. Up to 9 kg will lose weight in 50 days. And while the weight goes away daily.
And in conclusion, a few more small tips that were listened to by those who successfully lost weight by following this technique.
- Calorie content of products can be found in the tables. There are a great many of them in literature today. But, according to people who want to lose weight by counting calories, these tables give averaged values. Therefore, it is sometimes worthwhile to study the packaging of the product. It also has data on its calorie content.
- To make your calculation easier, you can use the Exel table. It is convenient enough for these purposes. Errors, of course, do happen. But, basically, this happens when you calculate the calorie content of dishes that are difficult to prepare. If you prefer low-processed and simple food, then Exel gives the exact result. By the way, you can keep a food diary in the same table.
As you can see, the calorie counting system works in practice. So maybe it's time to study it and take care of your own health and care for the figure?