Should I Count Calories or Carbs?
The better weight loss tool you can use is a calorie counting. You will not need to do it for very long as you will learn it on your own as time goes on. You do not need to count fat or carbs. Your caloric intake and the calories burned will decide if you will need to lose, gain or maintain your current weight.
Lowering the intake of fat does not lower the amount of calories you take in. Generally, high fat foods are also high in calories. There are foods high in fat including nuts that are very nutritious, satisfy’s your appetite, and are healthy. Limiting your saturated fats such as fatty meats and dairy products that are full in fat, are things you need to keep in mind. If the word hydrogenated appears on any food labels stay away from that food as that means the food has unhealthy trans fats which is not healthy. These are commonly found in processed baked products and foods that are fried.
Counting carbs does not have a benefit even though the fad of having a low carb diet is very popular. Fried foods for example do not contain carbs but are very high in calories. However, limiting empty carbs like what is found in sodas and eating fruits and vegetables and other foods high in fiber is a great idea.
Keep track of the calories you eat daily. You will be very surprised at how many you take in each day. To do this, write everything you consume, amounts consumed and the estimates of calories from the food labels in a calorie journal. This is where you could use a calorie counter for help. Then examine this list and look for ways to eliminate calories and empty carbs. Just switching to nonfat milk rather than whole milk can save you about 100 calories.
Counting calories is not all there is to weight maintenance. You can get all of your calories in one meal by eating out at a fast food restaurant where a double burger often contain as much as 980 and often has way too much saturated fat and you will then be hungry again. In place of the double burger and the shake you could have several servings of cereal, milk, fruits and vegetables, salad, chili, chicken breast and even a piece of chocolate which is enough for three meals and you won't be hungry later.
In conclusion, eating small portions and a different range of foods, you shouldn't have any reason to count calories. Eating will no longer be fun when you have to use a calorie counter every time you put something in your mouth.
