Know Your Calories

To start with, what is a calorie? A calorie is how you measure energy supplied to your body through food. No matter what type of food source you are consuming, a calorie is pretty much the same in how it impacts your body. Proteins, carbohydrates, fats and sugars all contain calories. If you are currently on or contemplating a diet which focuses on only one type of food component, you are not fully addressing your weight problem. This is definitely not the best way to formulate a healthier lifestyle program. When it comes to maintaining the proper weight, all calories matter.

Calculate your Calories

To begin a change of lifestyle aimed at weight loss, finding out your personal calorie usage is very important. Finding out your BMI or BMR is an excellent way to get these numbers. BMI stands for body mass index and uses your weight and height to evaluate how overweight you are. BMR stands for basal metabolic rate and it is a formula which finds out the calories your body will use in a day for basic functioning. The BMR formula uses your weight, height, sex and age and is very helpful in making a plan to help you drop your extra pounds.

How Many Calories to Lose a Pound

Keep in mind that everyones body is different and will not only require different amounts of calories, but will have distinct metabolic rates as well as dissimilar reactions to food sources. Here's a tip to remember; it takes about 3,400 calories below what your body requires to lose 1 pound of fat. Yep, 3,400 and only one pound. Look at it this way, to drop a pound a week you will need to lower your calories by 500 a day or burn 500 more than you take in, seriously doable if you are serious.Once you know the number of calories your body uses during the day, it will be relatively simple to come up with a eating and exercise plan to move you along on your road to a healthier life.

What is Your Calorie Count

While the BMI and BMR formulas are good ways to help in tackling your weight and health issues, they aren’t exact. The calories tend to be underestimated for people with good muscle mass and overestimate for people with little muscle mass, but they are still quite close and a good startng point.

If you are the kind of person who is very “exacting” there is a way to get a closer number on the amount of calories you burn during the day. Just keep track of everything you consume and write down the calories and your weight. Maintain these numbers in some sort of journal for 3-4 weeks and then it should be fairly easy to figure out an individual weight loss plan. Maintain your weight and you're in balance; gain weight and you're taking in more calories then you are burning; lose weight and you're burning more then you consume.

Trustworthy Weight Loss Plan

Remember, everyone is unique so you will need to come up with some type of eating and exercise plan that will stay interesting and motivating for you. There is a huge varity of foods and exercises to choose from so this should not be an issue. Try to maintain variety and be honest about your temperament so you will increase your chance of success.

Healthy Eating and Exercise

The majority of people are not real big on calorie counting and the better weight loss programs don’t advise it. Using your BMR or talking to a doctor or nutritionist and you can get a very close estimate of your bodies caloric intake. Remember, stay focused and that to be successful at weight loss it requires a combination of healthy eating habits and exercise. Always remember these words- moderation, balance and variety, they are vital components in starting a healthier lifestyle. Don't forget your support system. It's tremendously helpful to have friends, family or a great weight loss program to stand behind you.

It does take some sweat and effort in the beginning, but as you move along in whatever program you decide to go with, it will get easier, more enjoyable and most important, you will feel better physically and mentally.