Food Calories

It used to be a widely held belief that calories were bad and must be avoided at all costs. That was probably why many people tried the 2,000 calorie diet - meaning they counted the calories for every single piece of food they ate. But as many found out, calorie counting isn’t really effective, and in some cases, it can prove to be dangerous. That just goes to show the prevalence of the misconceptions about calories and their role of those numbers in just about any diet.

Calories in Food Not the Culprit!

Many used to believe that the number of calories you consumed was directly proportional to the amount of fat you gained. Dietitians today would laugh at this idea. You see, the number of calories isn’t really as important as those same people would think it is. What’s more important is where you get your calories.

For example - consider two people and their respective caloric intakes. Both Person A and Person B consume the same total amount of calories in a day. 55% of Person A’s calories come from carbohydrates like rice and wheat bread, while 55% of Person B’s calories come from fatty foods like deep fried chicken and fast food. Numerically, both Person A and Person B would be consuming the same amount of calories. Person A would be just fulfilling the United States RDA for dietary carbohydrates, while Person B is in extreme risk of obesity.

Therefore, what’s more important in taking control of your weight is cutting the calories in your diet that come from fatty foods. Skip the mayo. Hold the dressing. Get the whipped cream removed. Try to make healthier foods like veggies a more major part of your diet.

Calories Burned - Get Your Timing Right!

The time you consume your calories is another important yet often overlooked aspect about calorie-based diets. In a culture where you’re taught to eat three meals a day, breakfast is oftentimes the smallest meal while dinner is the heaviest. The problem with this routine is that you need a lot of energy in the morning when you study or go to work, while you barely use any energy after dinner when you’re winding down and preparing to hit the sack. Thus, the calories consumed during dinner is usually stored as fat because they’re not broken down and used as energy immediately.

To solve this, balance your meals throughout the day. Break the old mindset and eat several smaller meals - experts recommend about six. More often throughout the day and minimize your consumption during dinner. That way, you stagger your uptake of food and, thus, give your body a fairly steady flow of nutrients throughout the workday. Your body also has to store less in the evening when you go to sleep.

Many dieting dilemmas in the past occurred due to people changing their eating routine and had the wrong idea about food, particularly calories. Get the right idea and you’re likelier to improve your overall healthy and keep your weight in sync.