Part 1 taught us that we need to lower our daily calorie consumption or “Calorie Budget” to better represent “The Necessities” or the minimum amount of calories our body needs to survive. An important step to successfully losing weight is realizing how much you are actually eating (or over-eating) on average each day.
I highly recommend that you go out and purchase the 2008 CalorieKing Calorie, Fat and Carbohydrate Counter. This book is under $10 and it breaks down every food you can possibly imagine (this includes restaurants and fast-food) into calories, fat and carbohydrates. This book will help you identify which foods are healthy for you and which foods you need to limit portion sizes or cut out of your diet completely.
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Everyone is familiar with creating a financial budget in order to survive. Each person has to save money for “The Necessities” such as rent, car payments, and bills. We also spend a portion of our money on “Extras” such as DVDs or new golf clubs. We realize that we need to pay for “The Necessities” before we splurge on “Extras.”
“The Necessities” of dieting are the minimum amount of calories your body needs to survive. “Extras” are foods that we really enjoy, but may be causing us to exceed body’s natural metabolism or “Calorie Budget.” The problem is that many people are exceeding their “Calorie Budget” and do not realize it until their pants are getting too tight. When people begin dieting, the first question they tend to ask is, “How many calories should I be eating each day in order to lose weight?” The table below is the suggested calorie range for healthy weight loss:
Women (Non-Active): 1000-1200
Women (Active): 1200-1500
Men (Non-Active): 1200-1500
Men (Active): 1500-1800
In order to get an idea of how many more calories you are eating than the above table, click on the following link to get your approximate “Calorie Budget” for each day. This is the approximate amount of daily calories it takes for you to maintain your current weight. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/calorie-calculator/NU00598
Is your “Calorie Budget” much larger than the suggested calorie range for healthy weight loss in the table above? If it is, that’s okay. The goal is to lower your “Calorie Budget” to closely match “The Necessities” by cutting out some of the “Extras.” In the next post, we will teach you manageable weight loss solutions by breaking down your eating habits.
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I love spicy food. Apparently they offer some health benefits as well.
Chili peppers are loaded with capsaicin, which gives them both their hot spice and their healing properties. Capsaicin has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, and as been shown to reduce cholesterol, ease pain, and slow the spread of prostate cancer.
Chili peppers actually don’t cause ulcers, they can help prevent and heal them!
Chili peppers are a good source of vitamins A & C, helping you to regulate the immune system and facilitate normal growth development.
Chili peppers help boost metabolism by increasing energy expenditure, by as much as 23% in one study.
What kinds of peppers do you like?
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Does coffee help you lose weight? I don’t know but the only thing I’ve been doing differently since the last time I weighed myself, about 3 weeks ago, was drinking 16 ounces of black coffee with no sugar every morning. And guess what, I lost 5 pounds. A whole 5 pounds just left the scale somehow without me working my butt off in the gym. Truly a mystery…
I did a quick search on the intertube to see whether or not caffeine helps you to lose weight and here’s what I found:
- Caffeine may act as an appetite suppressant
- No wonder, I’ve been eating smaller portions but more frequently
- Caffeine may increase your body’s ability to burn calories
- I’ve heard this one before. Good to know I’m burning more
- Caffeine acts as a diuretic, which means it causes an increase in the amount of urine you excrete
- Yes, I’ve had to pee 3 times more frequently than before
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Cooking is awesome, especially when the meal is easy to prepare, healthy for you, and can be made in batches so you can savor it later. Men’s Health has a new article out detailing a list of grocery items that are painless to prepare and perfect for the health-minded fitness enthusiast, all for under $50.
Their grocery list of low-fat protein packed meats and healthy vegetables includes:
Frozen Shrimp 1 lb uncooked, medium size
Rotisserie Chicken 1 cooked
Pork Tenderloin 1 herb-flavored or lemon-garlic marinated (about 3/4 lb)
Bell Peppers 1 tray tricolor (or pick out 1 red, 1 yellow, and 1 orange)
Yellow Onions 2 lb
Baby Mixed Greens 4 oz bag, washed
Portobello Mushrooms 2 large caps
Asparagus 1 bunch
Garlic 1 head
Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto 8 oz jar
Avocado 1 ripe
Mozzarella 8 oz bag, shredded
Instant Brown Rice 1 lb box
Black Beans 12 oz can
100% Whole-Wheat Fettuccine 16 oz box
10″ 100% Whole-Wheat Tortillas 1 package
Their Monday through Sunday individual recipes can be found here. Have fun cooking and eating healthy!
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