To lose weight, how many calories do I need to burn – Wan Wan Wan!
I can’t stand it every time I hear this question, “How many calories do I need to burn?” Now I suppose I could do the right thing when asked this question and be like the hundreds of other ridiculous weight loss sites, programs and supposedly experts out on the net and tell you the answer to the question of how many calories do I need. Burning is five hundred a day! You will find that you need to eat 500 fewer calories per day or exercise enough to burn at least 500 calories per day to lose 1-2 pounds! Wan Wan Wan!
But being correct is never one of my best points! Well then ?? What is that information going to do for you? Who in their right mind thinks that they will count the calories consumed or burned for the rest of their life? Instead, tailor this to the way you think, and you’ll see much better results with your weight for life.
Ok, so most people know that they need a certain amount of calories for their body to function properly. If you’re active or doing other more strenuous tasks throughout the day, you need even more. I recommend thinking of the calories you need for energy as money in your pocket. Everyone has a total calorie “budget” and, with any budget, you have to break it down into “needs” and “extras.”
With your financial budget, the needs would be things like your mortgage and food. The extras would be like vacations, eating out, new shoes, etc. On a calorie budget, needs are the minimum calories required to meet your nutrient needs. The nutrients found in food are the essential building blocks we need to sustain life, grow, and be active. Healthy eating is often misunderstood as drastic calorie cuts or unbalanced crash diets. Which usually stems by the way with that hated question of how many calories do I need to burn!
By selecting foods that are lower in fat and have no added sugar, you get the best buys of nutrients. Why waste extra calories on high-fat or high-sugar foods when healthier options taste just as good? When considering what to eat over the course of a day, don’t ask yourself how many calories I need to burn, instead think in the sense that you want to get the “most bang for your buck.” Depending on the foods you choose, you may be able to burn more calories than you need to meet your nutrient needs. These calories are the “extras” that can be used in luxuries like solid fats, added sugars, and alcohol. They are your discretionary calories. If you’ve been fine all week and have eaten clean meals … every now and then there may be some room for you to indulge yourself. It’s when our calorie count is always overdrawn with extra calories, that doesn’t allow you those goodies, because you just keep storing more calories, in turn, more fat.
When asking how many calories do I need to burn, the best rule of thumb is the 80/20 rule, which is applied in 2 different ways. The first is that 80% is what you eat and 20% what you do, that is the deciding factor whether or not you reach your weight loss goal, much easier than asking how many calories do I need to burn. The other rule that applies when wondering how many calories do I need to burn is 80% of the time you must eat to fuel your body, 20% is enough to enjoy junk food. With that in mind, make informed decisions about what to put in your body. Every time you eat something, tell yourself: am I eating for fuel or for pleasure? Take pride in your informed choices and pass your health knowledge on to the people you care about – it’s all about knowledge, so teach someone something today! Explain that the question is not how many calories do I need to burn, but how many do I need to function during the day and lead a healthy life.