Are you sabotaging your calorie counting by subtracting the calories burned by exercise? Is calorie counting actually ruining your attempt to lose weight? There’s so many ways to fail to lose weight, you might think you need a big elaborate plan that must be followed to the letter, but in reality, the simpler you make it, the better off you’ll be. That’s why many people find that learning to eat smarter, not counting calories is the best method of weight loss.
If you choose to count calories, watch out for this pitfall.
Too often people become obsessed with calorie counting and not only restrict their caloric intake, also subtract the calories they’ve burned. That becomes a slippery slope as it gets even more detailed when they start associating specific movements, like running up and down the stairs a specific number of times, so they can consume their favorite treat. To make matters worse, there are levels of intensity for various exercises…and anyone that’s hungry for a sweet treat naturally chooses the highest intensity level, regardless of whether or not they’ve achieved it. It can make the difference between weight gain and loss.
Counting calories leaves you feeling deprived.
At the end of the day, everything was about food. What you could eat, what you couldn’t and how many calories you have left for dinner. People who diet often go to bed hungry. Some studies show that it even can cause changes that lower your metabolism, leaves you hungrier by making hormonal changes that tell the brain you’re hungrier and even place a higher mental focus and excitement on eating. It becomes the reward for all situations, the soother of all bad moods.
Eating healthy stops all the pitfalls.
Sure, you can’t down a whole pecan pie when you’re eating healthy and expect to shed a single pound, but that shouldn’t stop you from eating a little on special occasions. You never have to feel hungry, because there’s so many filling foods that are also delicious. You even plan to eat snacks when you eat healthy. Eating healthy means making smarter choices that are minor. It might mean eating brown rice instead of white or substituting Greek yogurt for sour cream.
- Don’t make too many drastic changes at once. You’ll never stick with a weight loss program if you start out exercising for hours and restricting your food intake drastically. Start making changes, but don’t go overdo it to a point that it’s not sustainable.
- Stick with smart eating. Don’t try to lose weight with the latest, “greatest” diet. Choose healthier foods and make lifestyle changes that last forever.
- Weight loss and a healthy lifestyle isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. Too many people sabotage themselves by cutting their calorie intake too low. It’s not sustainable over the long haul.
- When combining healthy eating with exercise, get the help of a professional to find the best foods to eat. For instance, if you’re training for a marathon, a low carbohydrate diet simply won’t do.