Lose Weight Calories Counting - At Your Own Risk

Lose Weight Calories - While losing weight calorie counting can be an effective strategy if you are simply looking to drop scale weight, it might not be a sustainable strategy long term. A good friend of mine tried this strategy and was fairly successful at losing 'scale weight'. He was so proud of his accomplishments and even let others know that he could eat 3 doughnuts a day, and as long as he didn't consume over 1600 calories he would continue to lose weight!

Immediately, within 3-4 weeks, he was able to lose 20lbs, which is excellent by most standards. It was not until the second month when he confessed to me that he was really starting to feel sluggish and his weight loss was stalling. It was obvious to people that knew him that he was not looking as vibrant as he did just three weeks into this program.

Why this strategy is not effective long term :

Lose Weight Calories - To explain this further, I will discuss the importance of the calorie source and why all calories are not created equal.

For starters, what weighs more, 200lbs of bricks of 200lbs of feathers? Well the answer is obvious I know, but applied to different situations it may not be so obvious. For example, if you had the choice to eat an apple with a total of 80 calories, or an Oreo cookie also totaling 80 calories, which would you chose? Your decision may seem simple, but supporters of calorie counting would argue that a calorie is a calorie, so either source would suffice. Weight Watchers for example has a great program largely based on calorie counting. To their credit they do advise users to select nutrient dense food sources and eat from all food groups.

The problem is that most people miss the second and most crucial part of that plan and begin to cheat. You may have witnessed a colleague in the lunch room eating a packaged snack and then announce to another that "it's so good, and it only has 100 calories!" Amazingly most people are impressed, and want to know where they can purchase this snack themselves.

Lose Weight Calories - Not all calories are created equal....

You have no doubt heard this before, but may have still fallen for the fools gold that is propagated by conventional wisdom. The problem is, when people beginning a weight loss food plan meticulously count calories, they tend to show complete disregard for the nutritional value of the source. They tend to look for quick fixes, for example granola bars, or other packaged foods with a low calorie message on the box. 

Unfortunately, the most nutrient dense foods are grown or raised on local farms, and may take more time to prepare than a processed substitute. No matter which foods you chose to eat, it is just common sense that real food is better for you than processed food.

Lose Weight Calories - Although you can not create and apple in a lab and package it, you can come dangerously close to producing a food product or "edible food like substance" as Michael Pollan would explain it, with the identical nutritional values to that of an apple.

In his book, "In Defense of Food", Michael Pollan articulates just how the synergy of nutrients in a real apple can not be duplicated in a lab. He argues that like many things in life, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This is called the synergy effect.

If you have the choice to be the same weight but made of brick, or made of feathers which would you choose? The choice is obvious. Take advantage of the synergy effect by eating real food and become a brick house!

Lose Weight Calories - When it comes to sculpting your best body, selecting the most nutrient dense source of calories is paramount. In order to lose weight calorie counting, and still look healthy, you need to give priority to the source of calories first