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You are not just what you eat, but what you absorb and eliminate. The purpose of weight reduction diets is to restrict the intake of calories derived from the three main constituents of food; carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Each person requires a certain amount of calories to provide the necessary energy each day, which also depends on the person’s daily activities. The amount of calories required varies according to age, weight, gender, and lifestyle.
If you are trying to lose weight and you are not an active woman (your job requires sitting most of the time or just a little movement in your office or at home, you are surrounded by maids) and the only exercise you do is lift remote control or working on the computer, you need an average of 1,800 calories a day from healthy foods.
If you are an active woman with frequent exercise, let’s say you burn 500 to 1,000 calories every day, then you need 2,200 calories a day from healthy foods.
If you are already overweight and need to shed excess fat, you need a calorie intake of 1200 to 1500. This depends on how much you exercise and how much weight you want to lose. Your calorie intake should come from healthy foods like; fruits, vegetables, unrefined complex carbohydrates, and lots of water. Stay away from diet drinks.
Men require an average of 2,800 to 3,000 calories. A woman who decides to eat like a man does, in no time will look older and fatter. Men have a higher metabolism rate than women. Men who do not physically participate in strenuous activities such as; drillers, mechanics, bricklayers, builders, truck pushers, gardeners, etc. But consuming high-energy foods will likely develop a belly, body aches, and fat-related illnesses.
If your calorie intake equals your energy output, you will surely keep your weight constant. Your weight increases when your calorie intake is greater than your energy output. Remember, you are what you eat.
However, not all people who eat and drink more than they need get fat. Therefore, it appears that some people have a fundamental physiological mechanism that allows their body to dissipate excess calories instead of turning them into fat. However, in the case of overweight people, it is necessary to reduce calorie intake below energy production to eliminate the excess, forcing the body to use its own stores of stored fat.
When you’re on a weight loss diet, you’re actually consuming fewer calories or grams of carbohydrates than you need each day. This may not be easy to follow; overweight people often have a habit of eating more food than they need (particularly high-calorie foods that contain starch and sugar) in addition to a sedentary habit that is difficult for them to break.
When reducing the diet, it is the foods that are higher in refined carbohydrates that must be cut; remember that any excess is stored as fat, whether it be carbohydrates, protein or fat. So if you don’t need or use it, it is stored as fat.
If you plan to go on a weight loss diet, you certainly have several questions on your mind. Questions like: should you try a crash diet? When should I weigh myself? Can exercise or cutting down on soda help me? Will I be able to continue with my diet without much “cheating”?
To answer these questions, you need to learn more about calorie and nutritional values; what food provides the necessary vitamins and minerals. Find out what your body’s particular requirements are. With this information, you can determine your eating habit accordingly. To make new eating patterns a good habit, don’t try to change them too suddenly. Critically consider the change you need to make first and the change will come more easily.
You can do this by decreasing the size of all your servings, leaving a little of everything on your plate, and eliminating some foods from your diet. As the pounds drop, it becomes easier for you to stick to your new diet pattern.