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Knowing your calorie intake is like having a road map to your weight loss journey. If you don’t have one, you will get lost and probably get fatter.There is a saying in the fitness industry, “Don’t obsess over your calories and just eat well and train hard.”This is false advice. If you are trying to lose weight, you must have a general idea of how many calories you’re consuming. You don’t need to obsess over it, but you must have a general idea of how many calories you’re consuming and if you’re at a caloric deficit.
The usual approach is that Assuming your diet is in a calorie balance, that is, a number of calories you eat is equal to the amount you spend throughout the day and through physical activity, you may be able to lose weight.
That being said, if you’re trying to get a six pack, you’re different from those just hoping to shed a few excess pounds. You are looking to get so lean that your abs have no fat to hide behind.
Calculating Your Calorie Intake
You absolutely must obsess over your calories. You need to know your food intake and roughly how many calories you have expended. Many bodybuilders weigh their food before preparing them. There is a reason for this.
They are calculating their calorie intake.
There are 155 calories in a boiled egg. Fry that same egg in 2 tablespoons of coconut oil and you’re looking at 389 calories (the coconut oil contains 234 calories ). These are numbers worth knowing.
It’s the same egg. It has just been prepared differently. Many people will assume it’s still 155 calories and forget to factor in the calories from the oil. This will result in their numbers being off and they may not be losing the weight they’re hoping to.
Find out the calories for the food you consume. In our current age, this is incredibly simple. Just go online and Google the food and see how many calories it contains. Smartphones often have many apps that serve this purpose.
Once you know the calories of the food, you will need to know what your ideal weight should be based on your height.By the time you reach your ideal weight, you will have a specific number for your daily calorie intake. Do not cut your calories further.
Calorie Intake And Macronutrients
Once you reach this stage, you will need to adjust the proteins, fat, and carbs that you’re taking in. Some people are carb sensitive and gain weight easily with carbs. If this is the case, you may cut out all the carbs from your diet and just eat more fats and protein but still maintain the same amount of calories.
This is known as ketogenic dieting . It’s highly effective at burning off the last layer of fat. Once your body notices that it is getting sufficient amounts of fat, it will tap into its fat stores more readily to burn off the stubborn fat that it was clinging on to all along.
Minimal carbs will also ensure that insulin levels do not spike too high and result in fat storage.
How Low Should I Cut My Calories?
The point to take away from all this is that there is a limit as to how low you can go. If you cut your calories till you’re eating the same amount as a 9-year-old girl, your body will go into starvation mode and hold on to its precious fat.
Find out your ideal weight based on your height. Then eat sufficient calories to maintain the weight. Next, manipulate the components that make up the calories. Train harder to boost your metabolic rate and burn the stubborn fat off. When your metabolic rate is high, your body will be burning calories around the clock.
It will tap into your fat stores and automatically burn the fat for fuel. You will not need to starve yourself. This is the best way to go about it.
Conclusion
If you give your body exactly the calories it needs, you will maintain your weight. If there is a negative balance between what you eat and the calories spent, it leads to weight loss, while a positive balance leads to weight gain. Depending on the physical activity and macronutrients (carbohydrates, fats, and proteins) ingested, this change results in a major variation in the percentage of body fat or muscle.
