"I Don't Like Counting Calories"

It's the quote I hear the most and it's most people’s downfall. In an ideal world we'd all be able to know exactly what we can get away with eating while staying the size we desire without having to monitor our intake. But life just isn't like that, there are far too many temptations out there which is where we go wrong.

Losing weight is actually quite simple. It's Calories In < Calories Out. Our body counts in calories and so should we. It's all about being in a calorie deficit. It's not sexy but it true!

So why make things complicated? Because it sells! People look for something that is fashionable. Something that is popular or that offers a quick fix to get you hooked and to get you to buy their recipe books and snack bars. Have you ever looked at the nutritional label of a low calorie snack bar vs a Mars Bar? There's actually not all that much difference in calories per 100g. OK I’m not suggesting that we should be eating Mars Bars but it just shows that most of these branded Syn / Points / Low Calorie foods are actually just smaller portion sizes.

So why should I monitor my calorie intake? Because that's the measure of energy our body uses. A calorie (kcal) is actually the amount of energy required to raise one kilogram of water by one

degree Celsius. The human body needs calories (energy) to survive, without energy our cells would die, our hearts and lungs would eventually stop, and we would perish. We acquire this energy from the food and drink that we consume. If we consume too many calories we will gain weight / body fat. If we consume too few we will lose weight / body fat.

I told you it wasn’t sexy but that is how simple it is to lose weight! Now, if you want to increase your fitness, improve your health, tone up and change your body shape then that’s a different story - you need to train SMART.