Connect & Grow Magazine: Issue 16: December 2024 - January 2025
Understanding the secrets of calories, nutrition, and portion sizes can be your game-changer in the journey toward weight release. This knowledge empowers you to make choices that support your goals and instils a profound sense of control and confidence. It puts you in the driver's seat of your weight loss journey, making it about more than just numbers—fueling your body with nourishing foods and finding the right balance.
Let's explore how to enjoy satisfying meals while keeping portion sizes in check and paving the way to a healthier, lighter you. It's not about deprivation but about making smart choices and finding the right balance. This approach can bring a sense of positivity and motivation to your weight loss journey, encouraging you to keep going.
It is essential to always seek the correct information from a qualified health professional or dietician regarding weight release for your specific situation. This ensures that you make informed decisions and follow a plan tailored to your needs, providing a strong sense of security and guidance in your weight loss journey. Remember, you're not alone in this; experts are ready to support you.
Determining how many calories you need for weight loss depends on various factors, including your age, gender, weight, height, and activity level.
As a general guideline, a common approach is to create a calorie deficit of about 500 to 1,000 calories per day, which can help you lose approximately 1 to 2 kilograms per week.
Calorie Counting
To find your specific calorie needs, you can use the following steps:
1. Calculate Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR): The number of calories your body needs at rest to maintain essential functions. Using formulas like the Harris-Benedict equation to estimate this based on your statistics.
2. Factor in Activity Level: Multiply your BMR by an activity factor (sedentary, lightly active, moderately active, very active) to get your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE).
3. Create a Deficit: Subtract 500 to 1,000 calories from your TDEE to determine your target calorie intake for weight loss.
Remember, focusing on nutrient-dense foods and not just the calorie count is essential.
Portion Sizes.
As you learn what calories are in what foods, it is essential to look at the portion size. This can be a helpful skill, especially when eating out.
Often, working out the calories will be done for a set number of grams of food; for example, 20 grams of almonds is 115 calories. You can then work out what that looks like once you measure 20 grams of almonds. As with counting calories, it's essential to stop and think about fat, salt/sodium, and sugar, which come in different forms. So you could choose food with fewer calories but high in fat or sugar.
Nutrition.
Choosing nutritional foods is extremely important; however, one mistake people make is choosing them and eating a large portion of each meal, as many have high-calorie content.
Wow, all of this can be so overwhelming. So, how do you know what is best to release excess weight from a food perspective?
What do you do, and how will you stick with it long-term?
As someone who has been through this, I have learnt to implement the following, which has worked for over 8 years now...
· Start by keeping a food diary to record what you eat, when, and how much. Remember to be judgment-free and treat it as an exercise that empowers you and helps you make informed decisions. I encourage you to notice how you feel when eating different foods. Which foods give you energy and make you feel exhausted like you need a nap after eating?
· Do you stop eating when you feel slightly full or keep going? Often, we notice we are complete; however, because of the taste and smell of the food, we keep going. Did you know that sometimes dehydration, or thirst, is mistaken for hunger? This is why sometimes eating does not help us feel any better; it is water that our body craves. It can take time to recognise this; however, you feel much better once you do!
· Keep track of how much you move during the day; for example, how much time you spend sitting down compared to how much you are active standing up. For this exercise, include as much as you can, and do this over a week or two to work out the average of what you do.
· Notice how you feel when you wake up in the morning. Do you wake up before your alarm or hit the snooze button a few times? Do you feel ready for the day or struggle to get started?
· Take the time to write out how much energy you have during the day. When is your energy high, and when is it lowest? Both of these are important as they help with planning your exercise program.
These five things can give you incredible insights into your current habits, and from there, you can start to make positive changes.
Written by Jacqui Grant
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Disclaimer: All information is accurate at the time of publication and subject to change. It is important to always seek professional advice and input.