Counting Calories!

Continuing our March focus on different diets, this week we are looking at calorie counting.

Calories are a measure of energy used to measure the energy content in food and drink.

All packaged food will have nutritional information on the side detailing the breakdown of ingredients and calorie content.

To lose weight, ideally you need to be burning more calories than you are consuming throughout the day.

Your basic metabolic rate (BMR) is the number of calories your body needs to function at rest; the more active you are the more calories your body needs.

Everyone’s calorie burn is unique to them as it depends on your body composition but as a rule women burn 2,000 calories a day and men burn 2,200. If you take part in a 45 minute HIIT session you can expect to burn an extra 200-300 calories; a 60 minute kettles session will burn 300-500 and if you run a half marathon you can expect to burn an extra 500-700 calories. How much you burn will depend on your weight, height and fitness ability. The most accurate way to know how much we’ve burnt is by wearing a heart rate motor, the next best piece of equipment would be a watch which measures heart rate and calorie burn.

As technology has advanced, counting calories is a lot easier than it used to be and almost effortless. There are many apps available where you can input all your unique data and the app will calculate how many calories you need to be consuming a day. They will also give you a guide to how many calories you need to be cutting out to lose weight. Technology has advanced so much you can even scan the barcode of food and the app will automatically come up with the product.

However, it is important to honest with yourself and input the correct amount eaten especially foods such as pasta.

Before you start, clear out your cupboards of junk food to avoid temptation, familiarise yourself with the app and make a plan.

Slow and steady is the best way to lose weight healthily.