A recent poll showed that about two-thirds of people can’t accurately estimate how many calories they need. It’s important to have a grasp of how much you should be eating, whether you want to lose weight or maintain a consistent healthy weight. There are approximately 3500 calories in a pound of stored body fat. So, if you create a 3500-calorie deficit through a combination of diet and exercise, you will lose one pound of body weight. To lose 1 pound a week, you need a deficit of 500 calories a day, which you can get by eating less or exercising more. To lose 2 pounds a week, you need a deficit of 1,000 calories a day.
So the first thing to do – is determine how many calories you need daily depending on whether your goal is to lose or maintain. Your specific caloric needs are determined by several factors, including your current weight, height, age and activity level. If you are a club member with Beachbody, you have access to the customized Meal Planner to determine your target calories and layout a weekly menu. But there are other free calorie calculators out there:
http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm
http://calorieneedscalculator.com/
Ok, so you’ve figured out how many calories you need for your goal – now what?
- Eat every 3 hours to keep fuel on your metabolism fire.
- Plan your meals and snacks in advance, dividing your calories up throughout the day so you’re never stuck without something healthy to eat.
- Become a label reader. Pretty soon you’ll know a lot of the calorie contents by heart.
- Revamping your favorite recipes with lighter ingredients makes little impact in taste but a lot of impact in calories, fat and grams of sugar.
- Eat your fruit and vegetables, they’re easy to grab and go.
- Watch your portion size; portion out snacks and even meals ahead of time so that you know exactly how many calories you’re eating in that portion.
- Keep water with you at all times, drink ½ your weight in ounces of water each day.
- Do not skip a meal; that is a sure way to let the metabolism fire to go out, you need to keep it stoked and fueled all day.
And many people have asked, so I will share a sample of one of my daily menus. This is what works for me, based on my caloric needs.
Wake Up Green Tea
8:00 am 1 serving steel oats & 3 egg whites
10:30 am Shakeology
1:00 pm Whole grain pita with PB
2:30 pm Coffee
3:30 pm Shakeology or Luna Bar
7:00 pm 4 oz. Chicken breast & broccoli
10:00 pm Green Tea or Coffee
Total Calories = 1400 – 1500
So there ya have it. It doesn’t have to be difficult to eat healthy and achieve your goals. Once you get going, and repeat it over and over, it will become habit and second nature. You can do it!
Nutrition + Exercise + Accountability = Success!