Consuming fatty foods can’t be blamed for weight gain by itself. Total caloric intake is what ultimately dictates weight gain or loss. That is why along with carbohydrates, many health enthusiasts are now regulating their intake. For them, counting the amount of calories either from fats and foods is one effective way for the systematic elimination of weight increase.
The obesity epidemic in the U.S. is directly related to the fact that people are taking in too many calories. Because of this, nutrition experts advise that people keep a keen eye on food labels and check on the quantity of calories they get every now and then.
So how can counting calories help a person to lose weight? Does it actually prove to be an efficient approach to weight reduction when we are all aware that all of us need certain amount of fats and calories to fuel up our development and bodily functions?
Checking out food labels is an initial step to know the serving size of calories in foods. People are usually asked to multiply the number of calories to the number of servings that they are going to eat to know the exact quantity. By knowing this, an individual may better be guided if he is getting just the right amount of calories he needs or otherwise.
Calories from fats are the ones that should be watched for by people. Only a certain amount of calories from fats are advisable to avoid weight increase. This should be done by maintaining only the sufficient 30% of calories from fats that is needed by the body.
Getting the right percentage requires a little of mathematics: divide the amount of calories from fats by total calories and then multiply by 100. These information bits are always available on the labels.
It’s been well documented that excess calories are directly responsible for weight gain. Eat more than your body requires for maintenance and you gain weight, eat less than your body requires and you lose weight. The basic assumption here is that excessive calories transform into fats and should be eliminated either by limiting the calorie intake or “working it off”.
It’s important to combine regular exercise with diet changes for a healthy weight loss program. Also, it is advised to eat frequent smaller meals than 3 large ones. This could turn excess calories into glucose rather than to fats.