Calories Matters

Everyday I need to eat at least three meals -- breakfast, lunch and dinner. Everyday I take snacks too. My snacks include fruits, tidbits, sweets, jellies, etc.

Have you ever wonder why some people are fat while some are thin? Some of my friends are very thin even though I can see they eat a lot. Some of my friends are obese. They tell me they are dieting. They tell me they don't eat a lot. I don't want to be like them, overweight. Being overweight is unhealthy and people tend to laugh at fat people too. I do not like it at all. I just want to be normal, average weight, not too thin and not too fat.

Maintaining the weight we want is dependent on the food we take in everyday. All food has different amount of calories in them. For my weight and size, I can afford a daily calorie of about 1300 cal. If I want to gain more weight I can take a daily cal up to 1500cal. If however I want to lose little weight, I would try to cut down my calorie intake into a daily of approximately 1100cal. I do not want anything to be extreme. Dieting gradually or putting on little weight gradually should be the right way. This is to allow time for the body to adjust.

Right now, I am just maintaining my body weight. I do not want to increase or decrease anymore. Everyday I have to take note of what I have eaten, their calories and then I have to do a calorie calculation -- adding up all the amount of calories I had taken so far for the day. Some times by lunch I had already taken about 1000 calories! That seems impossible but it is. When my appetite is very good, or when I am stressful, I can eat a lot -- during meal times or in between meals as in snacking. If I had consume too much calories, like this case, then I try to cut down my calorie intake during dinner time and try not to take supper too. But it is difficult when we need to face the sight of delicious food when it is meal time again.

So at times no matter how well you had planned, how well you know the fact that how much calories you can take, it is hard to stick to it -- especially when tempted with nice food. Then we would always say to ourselves 'Never mind, just a little more. I am not overweight anyway! I can afford to take in more food.' This kind of thinking is dangerous, it has no discipline. I might get fat gradually without knowing.

When counting calories, you need to take into consideration how much energy you have expended for the day too. For example what sort of exercise had you done for the day. Sleeping as in taking nap also expend energy. So keeping records will be easier if counting calories, otherwise I have a hard time recalling what I did.

Having a calorie counter helps a person to achieve the kind of weight they want. MyFitnessPal is a free diet and fitness website. Their calorie counter is fast and easy to use and they will teach you the nutritional contents of what you are eating, and consequently, how you can make better food choices. www.MyFitnessPal.com is truly 100% free - no credit card is ever required.