Burn more calories than you consume.
Move more. Eat less.
It is that easy, and yet so very HARD some days.
I have tried to lose weight without working out and it just doesn't, well, work. Sure, you'll have some initial success but when you turn the corner and the cupcake is staring you in the face saying, "I triple dog dare ya" (like in the picture below), you'll have nothing to combat it.
(thanks google)
When you add movement to your life--and I know I am preaching to the choir here--you are able to have more "room" in your diet for special treats AND you find that your body requests more healthy things (in the form of cravings).
I walked past a weed on the ground the other day around breakfast time and I found myself picturing it in a salad with olive oil and garlic. My body wasn't asking for a cinnamon roll, but instead for a weed. Amazing, huh?
Now, back to the equation.
When I first started weight loss, I used Weight Watchers. I love the plan. At the time, I had no idea how much food "cost" the body. Once I started using the points plan, I learned what was healthy and why.
Most of you know a "point" on weight watchers equals roughly 65 calories. Depending on the amount of fiber and fat in the food item, the points of an item can change. This is why those amazing tortillas I eat are only point--because while they have 100 calories, they also have about 1 gram of fat with a whopping 7 grams of fiber! There are plenty of calculators out there for anyone trying to figure out what their cupboard really offers.
Recently, I realized that the points system was separating me from my food choices. I would have a piece of cheese even if it had 3 grams of fat because it was "only one point". I would also make bad choices just because they were low in points-- like those 100 calorie packs that are not nutritious at all or sugar packed granola bars. This realization reminded me of the golden rule:
Use your calorie allotment for the day on healthy, natural and unprocessed glorious goodness that will keep your body going.
It is easy to forget the golden rule when you figure out that a sugar free ice cream sandwich is only two points.
When I started counting calories, I started to see these foods as what they really are--fuel for the body. And now when I look at food and know that I will have to be accountable for every calorie, I tend to make slightly better decisions. I don't eat when I'm not hungry, for instance, because I know I'll need those calories later in the day to stave off hunger. Whereas, on Weight watchers, I would often just rejoice in all the "points" I had left.
I try to stay around 1500 calories a day. If I work out, I sometimes allow myself to go up to 2,000. On weight watchers, I currently get 31 points a day. (There are calculators out there to tell you how many points you get too--for anyone interested). 31 points is roughly 2,000 calories a day. But sometimes when I was doing weight watchers I simply couldn't hit that number-- one day I converted my 24 point menu for the day and it only came out to 1200 calories. Most nutritionists will tell you that you need at minimum 1500 calories a day so that your body will not slip into starvation mode and start hoarding all you give it (=weight gain! yikes.).
So for me, at this point in my life, the weight watchers system can be a little scary. I work in a Biology office of a university and often talk to the biology professors here about weight loss. One professor is on weight watchers as well and has been really successful. She tells me that she keeps chocolate in her freezer for the days she is too low on points because she knows, as a scientist, that you have to eat to lose.
Now here is a conundrum: a woman eats chocolate, sometimes very late in the day, because she has to so she can lose weight?
Wait, what?
There is a reason why so many of the blogs I read are not only dedicated to weight loss, but to healthy, natural eating.
Everywhere you turn there is an opportunity to throw points or calories away on food that is not good for your soul, heart or hips. Even if it is "only 4 points".
I have to count calories at this time in my life to better my relationship with food. Once I lose and am maintaining, maybe I can go back to points--after all, it is simple, fast and convenient. But until I change my relationship with doughnuts, I can't use the points system. Because, you know, a glazed doughnut is only five points.....
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