Calorie counting will keep you on track with maintaining your weight. Staying aware of the calories in your foods and total calories you consume in a day will help to avoid weight gain. Information is power and knowing what is in your food will give you the power to stay at a healthy weight.
What Is a Calorie?
Technically, a calorie is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 liter of water by one degree, according to Health.gov. Calories are found in our food and they provide our body with energy.
Calories Required
Your body needs a certain amount of calories on a daily basis to carry out the most basic bodily functions. This required amount of calories is know as your basal metabolic rate and varies from person to person based on a number of factors. You can find many free BMR calculators online that will give you this information.
Calories Consumed
To maintain your weight you need to consume the recommended BMR for your body. For example, if your body requires 2,000 calories then you can effectively maintain your weight by consuming 2,000 calories on a daily basis. It's best to add exercise to your lifestyle to reap the health benefits from cardio and strength training. Also, you can burn off calories through exercise if you have consumed excess calories.
Food Choices
Counting calories and staying within the calorie allowance of your BMR will help you maintain a healthy weight but you must also be aware of your food choices. Nutrient-dense foods such as fruits, vegetables, lean meats and low-fat dairy products will provide your body with essential vitamins, minerals and amino acids. Watch out for hidden calories such as dressings, condiments and drinks, which all contain calories but some people forget to count them into their daily total. Also, avoid processed foods whenever possible such as simple sugars and refined grains as they provide little to no nutrition.
Adjusting your BMR
Our BMR changes as your body gains weight, loses weight or ages. As you lose weight, most activities become easier and will cause you to burn fewer calories when performing the same activity, according to CaloriesPerHour.com. It's good to regularly reconfigure your BMR to be sure you're on the right track to maintaining your weight.
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