Calorie Counting – Part I

Since food is like gasoline and body fat is your gas tank, if you take in less calories (food) in one day than you burn, you will have to burn some of your fat. This is a simplified picture, but something I keep in mind. If for example, you need, on average, 2000 calories to make it through a typical day, and you take in 1800, then your body will have to burn 200 calories that is has stored. If however you eat 2200 calories in a day and still only need 2000, your body will store the extra 200 – and a lot of that will be fat. Most candy bars are over 200 calories. When I had to lose 30 pounds to get to my present weight, I often thought back to the unnecessary candy bars I had eaten in the past, pinched a bit of my fat and realized my body was finally using that Snickers now. It helped ease the hunger pangs.

Listen to Pros

I am not a Pro OK, so take everything I say with a grain of salt. I have made plenty of mistakes doing this. As I mentioned in previous post on 10/27/2006, I have over worked out. I have done this before actually. There is nothing worse than seeing your muscles shrink because you have to take time off from lifting so you can heel. I haven’t been able to work my chest, back, or shoulders for 5 weeks now! I am losing it – more mentally than physically at this point, but it sucks. I never took rest days and now I feel like I am in forced retirement. When I get back to it, I will be listening to my body more carefully, and heed the advice of the Pros – rest!