It seems to be an easy concept to eat less and work out more, but for some of us it is not that easy. Some weeks we gain weight or fail to lose the weight we expected to lose. If this is the case it is really important to write it all down. I have mentioned in the past there are free websites to track the calories. One is www.livestrong.com and the other is www.sparkpeople.com. I tend to like spark people a little better. It seems a little more user friendly. My name is Harpie19 on the site if you want to link up with me or give me referral credit.
Otherwise write down everything you eat. I have found the days I think I am getting around 1700 calories I am actually eating around 2000. It makes a difference in what I need to do for a work out if I am eating more than I think I am.
Also it is helpful to look for ways to trim the calories here and there. I cannot start my day without a good Chai. Starbucks has some low calorie options but I found if I make it at home not only do I save money but save on calories. I also switched my Chai from low-fat milk as a base to almond milk. The texture of my Chai is not as creamy as with dairy but it is still the rich spicy flavor I am looking for. I save myself 30 calories with every Chai made that way, but by the end of my five day week, I have saved 150 calories, which means the first 15 minutes of my Adapt work out is now just burning fat calories and not Chai calories. :) What ways do you think you can trim the fat/calories?
Friday, March 5, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
A History of Eating
Just some fun facts. The government occasionally keeps track of what people are eating and we also use how much restaurants serve as a guide now as well. The last official data from the government was from 2005.
In 1909 the average American consumed 3500 calories a day but most of it was vegetables and carbohydrates and the jobs involved more labor than anything else. By the 1970's people were consuming around 2300 calories a day. The latest data says Americans now consume 2800 calories a day. The 500 calorie increase is mostly due to sugar and fat consumption. Our consumption of sugar has gone down by 28% since 1970 but our consumption of corn sweeteners has gone up by 490%!!!
So what does all of this really mean? In the sedentary world we live in, we have to eat less than or equal to what our body burns(our Basil Metabolic Rate)just by being awake. The average sedentary female BMR is around 1900 calories a day. If we consume 2800 calories a day and only burn 1900 a day that means we are gaining .3 pounds a week. It's not much so it can easily sneak up on us weeks at a time.
Just remember 1 pound is equal to 3500 calories so burning 500 extra calories a day ( or a work out equivalent to an hour of hard dragonboating) will help burn off one pound a week. Keep up the good work all.
In 1909 the average American consumed 3500 calories a day but most of it was vegetables and carbohydrates and the jobs involved more labor than anything else. By the 1970's people were consuming around 2300 calories a day. The latest data says Americans now consume 2800 calories a day. The 500 calorie increase is mostly due to sugar and fat consumption. Our consumption of sugar has gone down by 28% since 1970 but our consumption of corn sweeteners has gone up by 490%!!!
So what does all of this really mean? In the sedentary world we live in, we have to eat less than or equal to what our body burns(our Basil Metabolic Rate)just by being awake. The average sedentary female BMR is around 1900 calories a day. If we consume 2800 calories a day and only burn 1900 a day that means we are gaining .3 pounds a week. It's not much so it can easily sneak up on us weeks at a time.
Just remember 1 pound is equal to 3500 calories so burning 500 extra calories a day ( or a work out equivalent to an hour of hard dragonboating) will help burn off one pound a week. Keep up the good work all.
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