While it is easy to demonize calories and we often blame
them for making us enjoy good food, we must also realize
that calories nourish our body and keep us strong and
healthy. While we shouldn't think of calories as the enemy,
we must work to find a healthy balance of food that our
body needs to thrive, and calories that are contributing to
unwanted weight gain.
The number of calories in the food one consumes is a
measure of the number of energy units supplied which in
turn keeps the body mechanism healthy. Only 4 components in
food provide calories: alcohol protein, carbohydrates and
fat. Minerals, Phytochemicals, Vitamins, water and fiber do
not contribute calories.
Cutting calories one consumes on a daily basis is the
cornerstone of loosing excess weight. One pound of fat
equals about 3,500 calories. This roughly translates into
losing a pound a week or around 500 calories per day.
Common sense tells us that restricting your calories is one
of the best ways to lose weight.
In order to determine your personal calorie requirement and
how many calories you should cut, multiply your target
weight in pounds by 12 to 15 calories. This gives the range
that you can adjust for gender, age and activity levels.
Now that you have an idea of your daily caloric needs, you
can determine the amount and intensity of your workouts.
If a person exercises three to four times per week for an
hour, then the ideal weight needs to be multiplied by 15
calories. If the person is inactive and does not work out,
then the ideal weight is multiplied by 13. And if one
exercises for an hour every day, then it needs to be
multiplied by 20. This is the calorie intake one needs to
work for to maintain the ideal weight and cutting calories
scheme should be framed accordingly. Refer Ms. Corinne
Netzer: "The Complete Book on Food Counts". It is an
excellent resource for caloric intake information.
The amount of calories to be deducted for maintaining the
ideal weight also needs to be calculated. Based on the
first week's calorie consumption determined by the person's
exercise pattern, for the remaining three weeks, they only
need to cut the calorie intake by one third.
Example: If the goal weight is 135 pounds and if the person
has not been exercising lately, the average daily calorie
in the first week is 2655. This works out at 135 (goal
weight) x 13 (activity level) = 1755 (daily calorie intake
at goal weight). Where 2655 was the daily calorie intake of
the first week, so if 1755 is deducted from 2655 the
current daily calorie intake the figure is 900. Cut one
third of the daily calorie (for this example 300) each
week, starting in the second week, the person is bound to
get the ideal weight loss mode by the fourth week. This
works out to 2655 daily calories for the first week, 2355
daily for the second week, 2055 daily for week three and
1755 daily calories for week four and beyond.
Most of the initial weight loss is fluid, later fat and
muscle is proportioned accounting for more than 30% weight
loss. Extreme diet where the calorie intake is less than
1200 per day leads to health risks. It is believed that one
should not be on severe diet beyond 16 weeks or fast more
than 2 or 3 days. Sever dieting has unpleasant side effects
including fatigue, intolerance to cold, hair loss, gall
stone formation, even heart arrhythmia. Those whose diet
includes high intake of fluids and much reduced protein and
sodium are also prone to various ailments.
According to Foreyt the best road for success is a moderate
cutting calories scheme so as to stay healthy and still
have energy for an active life style.
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David Grisaffi is a Sports Conditining Coach and holds
multiple certifications including three from the
prestigious CHEK Institute: Level II Corrective Holistic
Exercise Kinesiologist, Golf Biomechanic, and Nutrition and
Lifestyle Coach. Plus he is also the author of the popular
selling e book, "Firm and Flatten Your Abs," which teaches
you how to develop a ripped abdominal region. Visit his
blog at http://www.flattenyourabs.net/blog
Last used: Abdominal Core Conditioning Program- Do's and
Don'ts, updated 11May2008
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David Grisaffi is a Sports Conditining Coach and holds
multiple certifications including three from the
prestigious CHEK Institute: Level II Corrective Holistic
Exercise Kinesiologist, Golf Biomechanic, and Nutrition and
Lifestyle Coach. Plus he is also the author of the popular
selling e book, "Firm and Flatten Your Abs," which teaches
you how to develop a ripped abdominal region. Free
newsletter by visiting: http://www.flattenyourabs.net
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