Counting calories is a pain in the you know what………..BUT is there a time it helps?

Those of you who work with me know I’m not a huge fan of counting calories. And I don’t enjoy it so I can’t expect you to either. I’m more into controlling and recognizing your portions and the correct portion size for you. I can’t emphasis enough how important Nutrition is when it comes to body transformation. Talking percentage, Nutrition accounts for about 80% of any good program. So at this point you’re probably sick of hearing me say –YOU CAN NEVER –OUT-TRAIN A CRAPPY DIET!

The Basics

You don’t want to take this to the extreme. Don’t make this too difficult, there’s no need to obsess over every single calorie and live on salad alone. I have clients who just want the basics and want variety and hate the word “diet”. If that’s the case I tell my clients to make sure they understand the basic guidelines of healthy eating needed to drop the extra fat pounds: Limit sugar, trans/saturated fats, eat a variety of whole foods versus processed foods, consume only as much as your body needs, and don’t go hungry. That’s basic and you can follow that with some success. It’s so simple, there’s no need for special diets, starving yourself, obsessing over what you’re eating/ate an hour ago/can’t eat because it’s off limits……So relax don’t eliminate anything but eat more of the healthy foods and less of the unhealthy foods, and work out consistently. In a nutshell, that’s basic info that can shed some pounds.

Okay –what’s next? I’ll do a little more work……..
Now you’re talking.
With that said it’s super important to understand portion sizes. At the beginning of a program, that’s the time to weigh your food and check calories. Once you understand how to eat correctly, it’s much easier to be able to just plan and prepare.

Does counting calories help? At the beginning of a program and maybe a reality check if you’re unsure. In reality, counting every calorie for a long time is not enjoyable—but it’s imperative you have at least an understanding of what you’re taking in. Now understanding portions is mandatory, there’s no way around that one. But not to worry, again if you follow the plan and stick to it, you’ll lose weight. I’m talking about those of us who are stuck and need to check the numbers. Yes I know it’s a pain. But when you hit that dreaded plateau it’s time to look at everything. Too many times folks come to me and think just a change of workouts will get them to where they want to go. Some want to do the same exact thing they’re doing on their own but come to me and think I can just wave a Magic Wand over them and they will lose weight –sorry that’s not going to happen.

Here’s the thing. If you’re in a rut and can’t seem to lose that last 5 or 10 pounds and you think you tried everything, think again. If you’re following the plan, you’ll lose. So what’s next?

First thing is a food journal. It’s a fact, people that lose the most weight and are the most consistent keep a food journal, they write down everything they eat. I always recommend that beginners keep a food journal –once you do this for a while, you’ll understand portion size and become familiar with the food you’re eating. In time you’ll know exactly the amount and you can eye-ball everything going forward. But, sometimes we start to lose focus and just a little extra at each meal adds weight or stops the process, it becomes mindless and that’s where trouble begins. So to get you to re-focus, it’s time to start journaling!

Are your portion sizes too big?

There are a few ways to accurately gauge the correct amount you should be eating. Get a food scale. This will help you in the beginning to recognize what 4 ounces of meat looks like, or 1 ounce of cheese. After a while you’ll be able to eyeball the correct amount. You can also use your hand to measure portions. Here are a few measuring tips:

• Protein: A serving of protein should look like a deck of cards in width or thickness, or should be the size of the palm of your hand. This comes out to about one chicken breast or 3-4 egg whites. If you use Liquid eggs (not egg-beaters) read the label and try to pour 2-4 eggs worth.

• Fat: Fats should be eaten sparingly. So a tablespoon of olive oil, a quarter of an avocado, or 10-15 Almonds should suffice. Peanut or Almond Butter (1 tbl) watch the serving and try to use unsalted. You MUST HAVE good fats in your diet –but be extra careful with the portions.

• Carbohydrates (starchy): Starchy carbs should be about the size of a closed fist. This comes out to about ½-¾ cup of rice, a half a whole wheat bagel, one apple, or a handful of grapes. Again, I try to have starches early in the day –don’t avoid them altogether, we need some for energy.

• Carbohydrates (Fibrous): Vegetables, when steamed or raw, can be consumed in nearly unlimited amounts. Think colors –there’s such a large variety of this great food group. So important, yet folks still have a hard time eating enough veggies –you will feel full!! A must for anyone looking to lose bodyfat!

Fiber – a must have –again too many benefits –please read my article on Fiber.
http://markoneworkout.blogspot.com/2010/06/fiber-and-weight-loss.html

Drink your water –that should be easy, right????? No sports drinks……….

If you follow the Food Plan with CORRECT Portion sizes—you won’t need STEP 2.

Step 2 is checking your calories
–become familiar with how much you’re taking in. A great place to start is FITDAY –here you can sign up for a FREE account.
http://www.fitday.com/

For women a general rule of thumb is never going below 1200 calories per day –
I’m not saying we should start counting calories forever, but maybe we take a reality check –and see what we truly take in and go from there.

I just did this with someone last week. She insisted she was at a certain number and could prove it –she was not losing any more weight and thought the program stopped working –after further review, her intake was 200-400 more calories than she thought – Too many “flavored yogurts”--sugar is high……. “I didn’t think we counted fruit, I had 3 bananas” “I thought my chicken was 4 ounces”, no it was 6…………you get the picture. You have to be aware of what you’re taking in! You don’t have to be obsessive –just don’t make it mindless –understand your portion sizes!! By just writing down EVERYTHING and keeping the correct portions –she would have been okay –didn’t have to count calories!

Are you eating enough?

Now on the other side of this, it’s not taking in enough calories. This can be just as bad and extremely unhealthy. I’m hoping women are not watching the show Survivor and think the girls now look great because they’re not eating. Ladies please, it doesn’t work that way. Your long-term health is in serious jeopardy if you think starving yourself is the way to go. Not eating enough slows down the fat-burning process and DOES NOT GET YOU RIPPED –after a while your body goes into Survival mode –meaning it’s going to hold on to as much FAT as possible –it’s going to attack your muscle. So what happens to your body that you’re working hard to build –it gives you an appearance of loose skin, no ABS and that dreaded “skinny fat” look. That’s what we don’t want. Looking like a Kenyan Marathon Runner is not what we’re after. How about a nice tight athletic body?

                                Not trying to be mean, but which look's better?

Because it’s impossible to maintain a very low-calorie diet, once you begin to eat more-and it’s going to happen because your body will make you-you’ll end up gaining weight immediately and uncontrollably. If you refuse to change your eating habits, you’ll become that yo-yo dieter we all hear about –that kind of dieting will drive you nuts!

And you know what’s even worse. You may think you look better, but eating less than what your body requires doesn’t make you more attractive. Just the opposite, you lose your glow, your hair gets dull, your eyes get puffy, your nails get brittle, and the worst part-you lose your beautiful curves (and by curves I don’t mean fat, I mean muscle tone). Sorry it’s not an attractive look. Think healthy vibrant and younger looking skin. That’s what healthy eating can do for you!

If you want to lose fat, you must eat. Crash diets and skipping meals will shed some pounds, but wreaks havoc with your metabolism. Not only that, but once your body does not have the ready energy, it might start burning the protein that helps to build muscles. So, yes, you may lose scale weight, but you’ll most-likely lose muscle tissue; and since muscle tissue is the “active” part of our metabolisms, losing muscle tissue will cause our bodies to burn less calories – increasing our risk of gaining fat once we stop dieting! Eating more frequent, smaller meals will speed up your metabolism and help you burn fat. The trick is to eat more frequently, but to eat just enough food energy to get you to your next meal. If we go too long without eating, the body does its survival thing and will hold onto fat reserves and store any surplus energy as fat. On the other hand, eating, smaller, more frequent meals will condition your body not to store fat and will actually rev up your metabolism. Combine that with a good exercise program and you’ll become a FAT-BURNING machine!

With that said  --make sure protein is part of every meal---here's why:

Make sure you get enough protein with those meals!

The Eating Clean plan means protein at every meal. If you’re just working out and not eating a sufficient amount of protein, you will build some muscle, get stronger and speed up your metabolism, and everything will get tighter but you will NOT drop a significant amount of weight. If you really want to see results and make serious changes, you absolutely must learn how to eat correctly! Forget fad diets and crazy supplements claiming to burn fat, you must make changes and EAT CLEAN. Our bodies are smart and tough. It wants to keep our fat. When we reduce our calories, the body doesn’t cooperate, it does the opposite of what we think it should do, it’s not going to just lose fat, it will hold onto fat as long as possible, and instead burn more proteins for energy. It’s a protective mechanism the body utilizes when it detects less food coming in. If we don’t eat enough protein, the body will burn away amino acids stored in our muscles and liver, which in turn will slow down the metabolism. We will end up losing muscle and not losing fat. And by slowing down the metabolism, we will end up burning even less calories over time, which means, it becomes easier to gain fat back! So, eat your protein!

Watch that Alcohol consumption

This is a tough one. We do have to enjoy life. We’re not saying you can never have that occasional Cosmo. But seriously, you have to make choices. If you’re having a couple glasses of wine every night, you may not reach your goal. Bottom line, its extra unwanted calories that again, slow down the fat burning process. Alcohol is more of a carb, treat it as such. Like carbs, it raises insulin and causes you to store fat. And remember alcohol contains 7 calories per gram so you can understand why too much may cause weight gain. One to two glasses per week is acceptable. Your system can handle that. It’s when you try re-living your College days and over-due it–what do you think the kids from Jersey Shore are going to look like in 5 years? If they eat and drink the way they’re portrayed on TV, its trouble ahead. “The Situation” your ABS are gone my friend! So you have to decide how bad do you want to lose weight? Again, limit your intake. Just remind yourself how hard you’ve been working to stay on track, and convince yourself that it’s not worth it.

In her program Red Carpet Ready, Valerie Waters gave us great advice on how not only Hollywood Stars, but people at home can get and stay in great shape. I love her program because she also believes in portion control and not calorie counting. Here’s some great advice taken from her book.

“Food is the fuel that our bodies run on. It only stands to reason that the better the fuel you put into your body, just like your car, the smoother, cleaner and better it will run. And, the longer it will last without breaking down! Eating for optimal health does not need to be more expensive and with planning it can also be more convenient - it’s a whole lot more rewarding to eat with the purpose of maintaining health – to feel better! Nutrition is empowering! Eating the right foods is a choice, so treat your body right.”

No one understands the program better than my wife LeeAnne.

She's living proof of how important food is and how you can make changes at any age. Check out her story. 
http://coachingforhealthandfitness.com/my-story/

So how bad do you want it??