What are the benefits of Calorie Counting?
Calorie counting is normally carried out by people who want to lose weight.
What are Calories?
A calorie is a measurement of energy. The exact amount of energy can be confusing. Science defines a calorie as the energy required to raise one gram of water through one degree Celsius. The energy contained in food is usually expressed as kilocalories or 1000 calories. Unfortunately, the unit of calorie is still used. For this reason the calories found in food are often written down as Calories (note the capital “C”). One Calorie (capital “C”) is equal to 1000 calories or one kilocalorie (kcal). One Calorie is therefore the energy required to raise one kilogram of water through one degree Celsius. At sea level one litre of water weighs one kilogram so one Calorie is also the amount of energy required to raise one litre of water through one degree Celsius.
Most people who are overweight are that way because they eat too much. Calorie counting is used as a method of reducing the amount of food eaten.
How Many Calories Are Required to Make Us Fat?
If we consume more Calories (more energy) than we need, the excess is converted to fat. One pound of body fat contains 3,500 Calories.
The average daily energy requirement for a woman is 2,000 Calories and for a man is 2,500 Calories.
In other words, if the average woman ate 2,500 Calories a day (500 Calories more than she would normally require) it would take her one week to put on a pound of body fat.
As the major reason for being overweight is overeating, it makes logical sense, if you are overweight, to engage in Calorie counting and reduce the number of Calories you consume.
There are certain pitfalls in attempting to lose weight by Calorie counting.
Reduce Your Calories Too Much and You Could Put on Weight
The majority of weight loss diets aim to reduce weight by Calorie counting. Calorie counting may be done overtly or covertly by the sale of pre-prepared “foods” or by requiring that the dieter stick to certain types of amounts of foods. If you reduce your Calorie intake too much (1500 Calories for a woman and 1800 Calories for a man), your body will go into starvation mode and the end result will probably be that you put on weight. See “Dieting Makes You Fat”.
Eat Your Calories at the Wrong Time and You Will Get Fat
An interesting experiment reported in the press in 2008 indicated that eating your food more towards the end of the day caused a significantly greater weight gain than eating it at the beginning of the day. This could be that starvation effect kicking in. So reduce your Calorie intake by missing breakfast or lunch (or both) and you may be wasting your time Calorie counting.
Eating food only at the end of the day is one of the strategies that the Japanese Sumo wrestlers use to put on weight.
Research Suggests That You Will Overlook Up to 50% Calories Consumed
If you are going to use Calorie counting, you need to do it properly. Many people think it is just a question of cutting out “fattening foods” but the term “fattening food” is meaningless and frequently results in the consumption of “non-fattening” foods being overlooked!. Many people will happily tuck into a bowl of fresh fruit instead of a “meat and two veg” meal even when the Calories are the same. As the “full” feeling from eating fruit wears off quicker than from the protein rich meal, they will be inclined to snack on fruit and ignore it because fruit is regarded as “non-fattening”. This sort of Calorie counting just results in significantly higher Calorie intake than is realised and the exercise becomes pointless.
Use Calorie Counting to Lose Weight and What Have You Achieved?
So what happens if you actually achieve the weight loss you desired through Calorie counting? The theory is that you have educated yourself to eat differently and this will result in your weight becoming stable. If you have achieved your weight loss by Calorie counting, then you have re-educated yourself to eat based on Calorie counting. To remain at your achieved weight, you have to continue Calorie counting. Calorie counting then has to continue for the rest of your life because you have learnt no other way of weight control.
Managing Your Weight Does Not Require Calorie Counting
We all have an inbuilt mechanism for managing our weight. If we are in contact with that mechanism, we will naturally manage our food intake without Calorie counting. Eating what we want when in contact with our natural weight control mechanism results in our eating a naturally balanced diet. Being able to detect when to stop eating will reduce your energy intake without the need for Calorie counting.
Hypnotherapy for Weight Control Without Calorie Counting
Hypnotherapy can help you to achieve weight control without Calorie counting.
Book an appointment, ring Stephen Rigby now on 01483 566115. You can also book online. (Please specify Guildford or Woking)
Appointments are available at Guildford and Woking, Surrey. If you are unsure if hypnotherapy is for you why not take advantage of a free introductory session at Stephen’s Guildford practice.