Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Its simple, really...

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about my weight loss and fitness journey.  I’ve been
reading many different blogs and articles on such topics as Metabolic Efficiency, vegan lifestyle, and countless miracle diets and exercise plans.  I was trying to wrap my head around all of this very diverse information and figure out which of these was “the” plan for me.  I then happened on a blog written by Shawn Tyler Weeks titled 344 pounds. 

It was like a light bulb went off.  There are no miracle diets, no special foods nor specific exercise routines to lose the weight.  It’s a simple formula really – consume less calories than you burn and lose weight. It really is that simple.  Shawn has lost over 130 pounds doing just that.

One of the hardest things to do is to identify exactly how many calories you are consuming.  This is
where an awesome, free site can help.  Its called My Fitness Pal. It’s a free site that allows you to enter the foods you eat and track calories and fat and carbs.  It also allows you to track the calories you burn through exercise.

That’s the second part of the simple equation – if you want to lose more weight then you have to get off your ass and move – be active.  It really doesn’t matter what the activity is, as long as you are up and moving you are burning calories.

I’ve started tracking my calories, both consumed and burned, and have come to a conclusion that really isn’t much of a revelation if you know me – I have a problem with portion sizes. 

I have always been a big eater and have conditioned myself over decades to grab massive portions of food when I eat.  I have been complimented in the past on how much I could consume.  Obviously if I’m consuming that much then the equation is out of balance and the surplus calories are adding weight on. So, one of my biggest areas of work is to make sure that I watch my portion sizes and keep them reasonable.

 Here's to a new simple lifestyle change - watch the calories and get moving.  Let's see what a powerful combination these 2 things can be.

1 comment:

  1. Five years ago I could easily burn 2,000 calories a day by running. I didn't need to watch my caloric intake. Then I started jarring loose kidney stones which, in turn, made me change my exercise routines. Now I can no longer burn as many calories during exercise routines; now I have to factor in caloric intake. I've never been a fan of counting calories, but if that's my next option, so be it. I'll check out that counter.

    ReplyDelete