How to Lose Weight

You need to create a calorie deficit. There are two ways. You can increase the number of calories your body uses by exercising. You can decrease the number of calories you take in by dieting. Ideally, you want to do a mixture of both. Let's be realistic. If you have been putting on weight, it is because you had a calorie surplus. You need to cancel out the surplus before you even start creating a deficit.

You have to face it, you need to reduce your calorie intake.

Calorie Counting

Many diet routines recommend you count your calories very carefully. Personally, I am not a great believer in calorie counting. It is a lot of effort and very easy to miscalculate. It is good to have a rough idea how many calories you are eating but the easiest way is to monitor your weight.

We have already seen that you can make a rough calculation of your metabolic rate and the total number of calories your body uses in a day. However, it is only a rough calculation so what is the point in counting exactly how many calories you eat in a day. Rough calculations are what we are working with so monitoring your weight is a better way of knowing if you are getting it right.

If you are not losing any weight then you are eating too much. If you are losing more than two pounds a week then you are not eating enough. It does not matter if your calorie intake is off target over a day or two. What matters is creating a calorie deficit that averages between 500-1000 calories a day over a period of time. Monitor your weight and you will know if you are getting it right.

How Do You Reduce Your Calorie Intake?

Well eat less is the obvious answer. However, beyond that it is what you eat that really matters.

Reduce Fat: We have already seen that fat contains 9 calories per gram compared to only 4 calories per gram in carbohydrates and protein. You need to reduce the amount of fat in your diet:

• Eat Lean meats such as chicken and fish
• Trim all visible fat from meat
• Do not eat the skin
• Grill food rather than frying
• Switch to skimmed or semi-skimmed milk rather than whole milk
• Switch to skimmed milk with your coffee/hot drinks
• Switch to low fat yoghurt and cheese
• Do not eat ice cream
• Use vegetable oil (unsaturated) rather than lard (saturated)
• Use margarine (unsaturated) rather than butter (saturated)

Reduce Sugar: You need to reduce the amount of sugar in your diet, especially processed sugar. We have already discussed good carbs and bad carbs. The problem with processed sugar is not just the number of calories it contains. The problem is your body converts it to glucose very quickly causing a rapid spike in your blood sugar levels. Your body compensates for this spike in blood sugar by telling its cells to start soaking up all that energy. This means that two or three hours later your blood sugar level crashes back down and you feel tired, irritable and hungry:

• Do not drink fizzy drinks - they give you nothing good
• Stop taking sugar with your coffee/hot drinks
• Replace sweet snacks with fruit
• Do not eat cakes, biscuits, chocolates, sweets, etc
• Do not eat ice cream

Reduce Other Bad Carbs: Processed sugar is the worst of the 'bad carbs'. The other sources of bad carbs are not the worst of sins but you will help yourself if you can cut down on them a little:

• Replace white bread with brown/wholegrain bread
• Replace white rice with brown rice
• Reduce potato intake
• Eat more beans, cereals, vegetables and fruit

Eat Lots of Fruit and Vegetables: Fruit and especially vegetables are great for diets. They are low in calories and high in vitamins and minerals. They also contain lots of fibre that helps sate your appetite whilst adding nothing to your calorie intake. There are a few exceptions; potatoes for instance are relatively high in calories but still reasonably healthy. Generally, vegetables are great for dieting. You should always try to eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day -- it really is good for you and it is not difficult.

By making these simple changes to your diet you will reduce your calorie intake and feel fitter and healthier.

Next: Calories in Food