| |
| |
|
Weight Loss Information Center |
|
|
|
If You Dont Track Your Diet? You Are Wasting Your Time
Frankly, I'm puzzled whenever I hear this from somebody who's frustrated with their lack of gains: Me: So what are you eating? How many calories per day and how many do you need? Them: I don't know. I just eat. Huh? Yes, it's true. People don't track their diets, don't calculate their calories and just guess at what they need. They have no idea where they are going, very little facts on how to get there and yet are frustrated and mad when 6 weeks later they don't see the results. Imagine, for a moment, that's it's 6-months from today. And you've made no progress. Wouldn't you be frustrated?! I sure would. But here's the deal, there's a real simple method to make sure you don't end up like so many people you'll hear about. Please don't be the person who just "eats" or does whatever without a plan. If you aren't tracking your diet you are wasting your time! Let me explain? In order for your body to change, you must do something different. Let's suppose that you want to burn as much fat as possible. What's the first thing you should do now that you have a long-term goal in mind? Here's a h-i-n-t! Make a plan! A quick plan for losing fat: 1. Determine how many calories a day you need based on your situation 2. Track your daily food intake (yes you should count calories Bodybuilding manuals go into great detail about how to calculate your caloric intake, giving formulas and such. Anyway, a typical conversation might go like this: "Excuse me? My wife made spaghetti bolognaise yesterday, I can't be asked to weigh my meals in order to count the calories, can I? (What would she think about me (not to mention what I would think about myself ;-) ?) I tried to go to fitday.com and calculate the calories, but it totally eluded me how many grams they were and looking for pasta and meat in different categories is a hassle anyway, so the site was no use for me with that. Good heavens, there must be a way to go without the calorie counting, mustn't it?" Despite what you may have heard? Tracking your diet (counting calories) is important and I'll tell you why and how you can get around the whole calorie counting ordeal. You see, in order to lose fat or gain muscle you need to know what you are eating in order to do such. Let's say you need 3000 calories a day to maintain your current weight at your current activity levels. Now you decide you want to lose fat. Training more and more, more cardio, longer sessions will just tire you out. You can bump up the cardio and do certain fat loss tips and techniques but overall keep in mind: Where do I burn the fat: 80% of fat loss comes from diet and 20% from cardio. As you can see, the area you want to manipulate is the diet. Back to the example. You decide to lose the fat. You know you need 3000 a day to maintain. You do some calorie calculations and find that you want to be aggressive and cut your calories by 20%. It's aggressive but it's just enough to get fast results without making your body go into a 'starvation mode' and hold onto everything it's got. Except you don't want to count calories. That's sort of like saying... I want to start in New York and get to California but I don't want a map or directions. I just want to drive West. It just won't work. You might zig zag here and there. Maybe one week you'll eat less and lose a pound. The next on vacation you'll overdo it and gain 5 pounds. Who knows. You won't. But do you have to count each calorie? And especially when you look at homemade items that have some many ingredients? What do you do? While this isn't the most accurate method, I just basically get a good estimate by looking up the general food item, quantity I consumed and input that. Over time, because I eat a lot of the same things for breakfast, I already know the calories and I don't need to track it anymore. I know via portions that a bowl of oats is such and such calories and how it adds into my total daily allowance. I personally do not weight each piece of food. I will go to lunch, look at what I'm eating and know generally what portions of what I ate. At the end of the day, I know roughly that I'm 20% below my maintenance for fat loss and 20% above for weight gain. The problem that most people have is exactly what you describe. They DO NOT want to track what they eat. The bottom line is, if you don't know where you are, and where you are going, you really don't know how you'll get there and it's no wonder so many people are frustrated. Look, you don't have to track every single piece of food you put into your mouth. And I know that when there's a home cooked meal, you aren't likely to know what's in it. But you can and should generally get an idea. Eventually you can track your portions if you tend to eat a lot of the same things every day. If you don't track your diet, you are wasting your time. Marc David is an innovative fitness enthusiast and the creator of the "The Beginner's Guide to Fitness And Bodybuilding" method on http://www.Beginning-Bodybuilding.com. He can show you how to reduce your body fat thru diet, how to gain weight or create more muscle thru an abundance of workout tips by training LESS! Not more. He dispels many "bodybuilding myths", tells you what most people never realize about nutrition, and what the drug companies DON'T WANT YOU to know. Go to: http://www.Beginning-Bodybuilding.com to find out more about The Beginner's Guide to Fitness And Bodybuilding.
MORE RESOURCES:
Weight-Loss - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Surviving September: The Dietary New Year With summer completed and school back in session, it'll be time to settle back into another fall routine. And, even though the flexible schedules of summer have gone, this is actually a very good thing for your weight and health. Losing Weight - Stop Focusing on the Carrots! What do I mean by that?Well, carrots are good for you and I encourage all of my clients to eat them - as well as all the other veggies - whenever they can. The problem I find with most of my clients looking to lose weight is that they are focused on the wrong things. A Before and After Look at Tummy Tucks If you have a protruding abdomen, loose skin as a result of weight loss or childbirth, if despite your best efforts at diet and exercise, you just can't seem to tighten those abs, a tummy tuck may be a good option for you. What can you expect from a tummy tuck, before and after? The process will vary depending on the health of the patient and the type of procedure performed. Hoodia- Modern Zeal of Ancient San The long marginalized San tribe of South Africa has suddenly come to the time light. An ancient practice of chewing a plant to ward of hunger has given birth to the modern charisma called P57. Close Kept Secrets to Weight Loss Lesson #7 Well, look at you go! You keep moving closer and closer towards your goal. How extraordinary are you? Do you want to know? You are the most extraordinary person on this earth!! To quote Wayne Dyer, we are human beings having a spiritual experience. Weight Loss? 2 Skills You Need If you have been dieting, there is a good chance you have lost weight. Unfortunately, large numbers of successful dieters quickly regain the poundage. Can Quick Weight Loss Really Work? Quick weight loss is promised by diets all the time. "Lose 10 pounds over night," the ads will scream. Scales Are For Fish, Not Weight Loss Contrary to common belief, your weight is not really the indicator of a weight problem - the actual percentage of body fat is the true indicator. You need to know what percent of you is actually FAT. Why Do All Diets Fail? There's a dirty little secret in the diet industry. The sellers of weight loss programs won't admit it, but no weight loss plan works for everyone. Winter Weight Loss Magic If winter hibernation tends to pack on the pounds, take heart. There are some simple steps you can take this winter to prevent yourself from gaining weight. Dieting 101 - For Those Who Want to Start But Dont Know Where to Begin Okay, so you've read some of these articles, done your homework and now you're finally ready to begin a diet and exercise program. But you still have this one same nagging question in the back of your mind. How I Lost 51 Pounds In 4 Months Using The Simplest Diet Plan In The World Like many people I've been on dozens of diet plans over the years ranging from Atkins to South Beach to Weightwatchers to Jenny Craig and lots more besides. In fact, I've eaten enough cabbage soup to satisfy a small country! I'm 5 feet 10 and I used to weigh 230 pounds and needed to lose a good 50 pounds to get myself in some short of shape. Playing Games Does Not Help Your Weight Loss Efforts Have you ever wondered why some fat people can be playing tennis, swimming and jogging often, yet they never lose weight?Many overweight people began playing tennis, walking, running or swimming because they were told that these activities are aerobic and therefore, beneficial to weight loss.So, is it really true that aerobic activities promote weight loss?Technically it is true that aerobic programmes do help. Lose Weight, Get Fit, and Live Longer If all we have to do is exercise to live a fuller and healthier life then why isn't everybody doing it? Not enough time? Too expensive? Unmotivated? Well the fact is everybody wants to be healthier but it is time consuming and expensive. Or is it? The problem is that an individual's health is not given a high priority until it's gone. Weight Training for Weight Loss Weight training combines building muscle tone and working the cardiovascular system. Weight training tones your muscles and raises your metabolism, which helps yourbody burn more calories not only when exercising, but also while you sleep. Exercise Resistant Fat Removed with Liposuction Liposuction works best with people who are a normal weight but have localized areas of excess fat. These spots are usually found in the buttocks, hips, thighs, chin, knees, love handles, or along waistline. The Low Carb Craze and Other Dieting Mistakes Dear BMTers,Low carb this and low carb that?that's all you hear nowadays. Kinda reminds me of something that was the craze a few years ago?The Low or No Fat Craze?Can you remember where that got us? Still Fat!!!Well my friends this Low Carb Craze is going to bring us to the same exact place?Yep?Still Fat!Listen, anyone who tries Low carb dieting will experience some Short Term success?but it's only short term. Low Carb Intelligence vs. Low Carb Stupidity Remember that movie with Jim Carey, "Dumb and Dumber?" And remember the sequel to that movie, "Dumb and Dumberer?" Well, the low carb mania that is sweeping the globe today has reached a level beyond dumberer? It's more like dumberererer (try to say that five times real fast)There is an epidemic of "low carb stupidity" running rampant among millions of people throughout the world today - and fast food restaurants, food product manufacturers, supplement companies, and weight loss programs are capitalizing on it in a big way!The low carb diet is not inherently "stupid," however. It can be quite beneficial within certain parameters and under the right circumstances. Your Metabolism and Fat Loss If you know someone that has been trying to lose weight and get into shape, you have probably heard words such as, "I just eat one meal a day to lose weight" or "I'm afraid if I eat, I'll gain weight" but sadly, this misnomer is why so many people are in the "battle of the bulge". People all over the world still believe that eating breakfast, or even three meals a day will cause them to gain weight. Weight Loss and Water: The Unknown Secret Weight Loss and Water: A Way to Make Your Body Shed Pounds Fast and Keep Them Off!Almost everyone reading this -- even the skinniest -- think they should lose weight. And Americans are almost obsessed with weight loss.
|
| home | site map | Home Site |
| © 2006 |
