Calorie Counting Myths

Calorie counting is all about knowing how to find them, how to count them and how to cut them. Calorie counting is easy and to some extent effective as well.

Everything you eat and drink contains calories (except water) and everything you do burns calories. So the ideal equation is to cut down the intake and increase the output. But without knowing your calorie intake and output, you can't know if your output is exceeding your intake, which is necessary for weight loss to occur. This is where calorie counting steps in.

Counting "calories in" is much easier and less time consuming than you may think. But there are a lot of myths about calorie counting. Let's debunk them:

1. Negative calorie: No food is actually "negative calorie" food. Everything that you eat contains calories. However there are some foods whose calories are much harder for the body to use. In other words, the body burns more calories processing these foods than the foods actually contains. Having said that, you need to consume tones of this food to have any significant effect.

2. All calories are equal: This is simply not true when it comes to losing weight. The rate of oxidation, or the burning of the calories, is different for fats, carbohydrates and protein. What you need to look at along with your caloric intake is the glycemic index (GI) of the food you're eating. So when planning your nutritional plan, remember that all calories are not created equal.

3. Fewer calories the better: Few calories will really slow down your metabolic rate which can cause a very high amount of problems down the road. Losing weight gradually is better for your health than fast weight loss. You may lose muscle as well.

4. Eating at night causes weight gain: It doesn't matter what time of day you eat. No matter when you eat, your body will store extra calories as fat. Having said that, even though it won't help with weight loss, it is a good idea to stop munching a few hours before you hit the bed in order to give your body time to digest.

5. You can eat two big meals per day: Eating small frequent meals throughout the day speeds up your metabolism and gives a boost to your weight loss efforts. On the other hand, eating 2 big meals a day actually slows down your metabolism and promotes fat storage.

6. Fat Free foods are low in calories: Watching fat intake is important, but fat-free foods sometimes have as many calories as regular foods, or even more. When manufacturers take away the fat in a product, they add extras like sugar to improve the taste which increases the calories. Fat is also an important and necessary part of any healthy diet, yes even a weight loss diet.

Remember the key to total wellness is Diet, Fitness and an Attitude that says you can achieve your goals!