Weight Management and Calorie Counting

Weight Management and Calorie Counting

Tracking your weight management via calorie counting seems pretty easy. After all, if you burn more than you eat, you lose weight, right? If you’re not losing weight, then you’re eating and burning at the same rate. And if you’re gaining weight, then you’re eating more than you burn. Straightforward stuff, but keeping track can be difficult. Even if you keep a food diary, and you’re very honest about it, you can still get tripped up. Here’s why.

Tracking your intake

It’s great to keep a food diary during your weight management journey. It helps you become aware of what and how much you eat. Some people just don’t realize their eating habits until they pay attention enough to record them, whether they’re eating too much or too little. If you find that you aren’t reaching your goal, and you are recording everything, including condiments, sauces, gravy, and beverages, then compare the nutrition data on the food you eat with another sources, or sources, to see if it’s accurate. It might not be.

Tracking your activity

Going to the gym is great. If you do cardio on a machine, then you have your calorie output right there, right? Yes, and no. The algorithms used to calculate calories burned vary from one company to the other. The machine also doesn’t take into account your height or build. Because of this, the reading can be over- or underestimated. Also, unless you are using an activity tracking website or a personal device like a fitbit, then you might be overestimating calories burned during other activity, such as aerobics or weight lifting. By the way, comparing your calorie burn output on a machine to the calories burn output on your fitbit can help you get a more accurate reading there, too.

Tracking your rewards

Sometimes we convince ourselves to exercise by promising ourselves a reward. Two rewards can be quite compromising in your weight management efforts. The first is rewarding yourself by taking it easy the rest of the day. The second is rewarding yourself with food or drink.

If you reward yourself by taking it easy the rest of the day, then you deprive yourself of your normal activities, which burn calories. If you are typically active, and by that I mean running errands, attending events, being busy, then you are burning more calories than you would sitting still. If you burn fewer calories the rest of the day than you would normally, then you may as well have not worked out because you’ll end up burning the same amount of calories as you would have in your normal day anyway.

Now, if you reward yourself with food or drink, then you are on a slippery slope. Remember when I said that most people don’t correctly estimate the number of calories that they burn? Thinking that they’ve burned a large number of calories, they might treat themselves, and add more calories than they burned in the first place. Nice treat, but nothing to show for it in the end except for extra calories. If you want to treat yourself after a workout, or after a series of workouts, do it with a non-food item. You could get yourself a new music album or CD, or if you’ve really reached a milestone, a new garment for your wardrobe. Make it something that you’ll treasure and that will be a real reward.

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In the end, remember to use additional resources to track your calorie input and output, and reward yourself with non-food items. Tracking your weight management progress via counting calories might seem pretty easy, but remember that there are pitfalls, and things are not as cut and dried as they might seem; but also remember that tracking something is better than tracking nothing, just be sure that you are tracking the correct numbers, and good luck!

Sources:
Bowerman, Susan, MS, RD, CSSD, FAND. Calories In and Calories Out: Finding the Right Balance

Weight Loss and Shopping

Weight Loss and the Shopping

Sticking to your weight loss plan while getting your shopping done can be done, and can even be enjoyed, if you follow a couple of simple strategies.

If you are currently on a weight loss program, you know that temptation is a daily battle. Advertising is everywhere, and it doesn’t matter what kind of eating plan you are following, there is bound to be an ad tempting you to eat something you either aren’t eating anymore, or are saving for that cheat day. But the ads are so tempting! They want to make you believe that you want it now. And what's even more tempting are the products themselves. Don't worry. Here are some easy ways to stick to your plan and lose weight without losing your mind.

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The grocery store is a battlefield in the war on weight. And casualties are everywhere. How do you shop while avoiding the foods that aren’t on your plan? Regardless of your weight loss plan, whole foods are probably high priority on your shopping list, and that usually includes produce, meat, and dairy. If you look at the layout of most grocery stores, the produce, meat, and dairy sections lay along the perimeter of the store. The aisles contain the processed foods. So, if you’re avoiding processed foods, just stick to the perimeter, where the whole food can be found, and only go down the aisles that have the specific items you need, such as baby items and toiletries. If you shop smart at the grocery store, you can stick to your plan and continue to lose weight.

The department store is another place where the fight to get you to eat foods not on your weight management plan is being waged. Regardless which store you frequent, all of them have some kind of grocery section, even if it’s just processed packaged food and juice. If processed foods aren’t on your eating plan, then you want to avoid that section of the store. If that’s not possible, then you need a strategy to help you cope with temptation until you become so married to your eating plan that you aren’t tempted any longer.

The best strategy to avoiding processed foods at a department store is to eat and be well hydrated before you go. You already know that you shouldn’t shop when hungry, because you’ll buy things that you want to eat now, even if you don’t look at them until you get home. What should you eat before you go to the store? A good blend of protein and carbs, so you’ll be satisfied for a long time, and you won’t have a sugar crash while you’re shopping. Avoid drinking anything sweet, even if it just tastes sweet (diet soda), before going to the store. Weight loss, if that’s your goal, can be done while still getting your department store shopping done.

The big box store is so common place these days. These stores usually require a membership to shop, and they’re so convenient. You can buy tires and poultry in one stop! And everything looks great, so what do you do? Once again, the best strategy is to eat and be well hydrated before you go out. Because they layout of these stores isn’t as clear cut as a grocery store, you’ll have to be creative as you go down the aisles. If you have to get olive oil, but that’s in the same aisle as the mac ‘n cheese, then don’t feel forced to go all the way down the aisle. Just go as far as the olive oil, and then turn around and go back. If there are several people in the aisle, just be polite and say “excuse me” and turn around. As long as you’re polite, no one will mind. What if they do mind? You can’t help what’s going on in someone else’s day. Just be polite and understanding, and proceed through your day.

Finally, after you check out at most big box stores, there is almost always a deli with pizza, sandwiches, and drinks, all processed and all full of calories. If you have eaten and you are well-hydrated, you should have no trouble walking past these areas as you leave. If you want to, plan to have a healthy snack at home, one that fits in with your weight management plan, of course. Sticking to your weight management plan while at the big box store is possible.

Did I say “finally?” I left shopping malls for last. Shopping malls come in all shapes and sizes. In this case, I’m counting town centers and discount shopping centers, too. These are great, because you can have a day-long excursion, all in one area. But what do you do if you’re on a weight loss program, how do you cope? I think one of the best things to do is the plan your trip to a shopping mall on your cheat day. If you have a shopping mall that has a restaurant that you just adore, then go on your cheat day and enjoy yourself. Don’t just have a meal, have an experience. And feel good about it. You’ve been sticking to your plan, and you are fitting this into your schedule, not yielding to temptation. I think any weight management plan should be 80% nutrition and 20% pleasure. Some people are more restrictive than this, and that’s fine. I favor the good ol’ 80/20.

Shopping while losing weight doesn’t need to be an exercise in stress. Sticking to your weight loss plan while getting your shopping done can be done, and can even be enjoyed.