Calorie Counting

I've never really been the type of person that counts my calories religiously. I've counted my calories sporadically throughout the years and I know what ALOT of my favorite foods amount to. But now that I'm doing this weight loss challenge with my friends I'm tracking my calories again daily. I've come to the stark realization that sometimes it isn't that you are eating too many but actually eating too few! I knew that this was a possibility but I never thought I'd fall into this category because I see myself as a pretty hearty eater. Of course my Mom is convinced that I'm starving myself since I moved out. Which truly is not the case!

What people often do NOT realize about loosing weight is that sometimes you actually have to eat more in order to loose weight. Based on the calorie counting standards I should be on a 1200 calorie diet if I want to loose the 15lbs in two months. That sounds like hardly any calories, considering a normal person should have a 2,000 daily caloric intake. However, I have discovered with once again counting my calories that almost every night by the time I go to bed I'm still supposed to eat atleast another 600 - 1200 calories for the day because of my level of intensity for my workouts. Based on the calorie counter and the fact that I have a desk job, my lifestyle is considered sedentary, but I wouldn't consider myself anywhere near sedentary! In an average workout I burn close to 700 calories depending on the activity. Yesterday's workout for example I burned over 900! This reason alone shows I need to eat more than 1200 calories!

So, why count calories if it fluctuates so much based on food intake and daily workout? I think counting calories is an excellent base for people. If you are overweight, I guarantee it will open your eyes to how much you are really consuming each day. Most people that are over weight often don't realize what they are putting in their mouths. If you are like me and it seems like no matter what you do, you can't shed those unwanted pounds, it will help you to realize that maybe you are under the amount of calories you should really be consuming. Technically my body is in starvation mode, and so it's not burning calories as affectively or as quickly as it normally would or should because it's saving it, and using it later on.

Now the tricky thing for me, is figuring out how to consume more calories. I know... Quite the problem to have! But it's not as easy as just adding calories, it's still important to eat healthy items which are often lower in calories. I'm truly not hungry so in some ways it's training my body to be able to physically eat more!



This is the notification I received from the Calorie Counter, telling me I am eating too few Calories! You DON'T want this!



So the goal is to figure out how to consume more calories and loose the weight in the process but remain health. So try it for yourself! Where do you fall with counting calories? Too many? Not consuming enough? Right on?