Why Do We Need to Count Calories To Lose Weight or Maintain Our Weight?"

Counting calories is an almost surefire guarantee that you will eventually lose every last pound you've ever wanted to lose while keeping it off for a lifetime.   It takes the guessing and all the "drama" surrounding weight loss and maintenance out of the overall picture.   Once we reach our goal weight we will have the information we need for life from the knowledge we gained from becoming accountable for the amount of calories we eat each day.  This knowledge will be ours for a lifetime!

We talk in depth about the importance of knowing your count or daily intake of calories in weight loss mode in our book "Tame Your Inner Octopus!"  We feel it is the single most important skill we acquired in order to lose all of the unwanted weight.  Knowing your count is extremely important once you reach your goal weight also.  Yes, we all know that we can follow a particular "diet" or we can simply take a guess at our daily intake.  We wanted results; we didn't want to guess.  We wanted the facts.  We felt it was extremely important to see what our intake added up to each day in weight loss mode and thereafter in maintenance.  Research confirms knowing our count and writing it down daily makes us become accountable. This leads to overall success on a weight loss and maintenance journey.

This puts the power in your hands when it comes to determining how many calories you choose to eat each day!  You can look up the calories for a particular item on the Internet, from a calorie counting book or simply purchase a calorie counting device if you're short on time.  Then, you simply jot down what you eat throughout the day and add it up at the end of the day.  The facts are there staring at you straight in the face; there is no guessing and you are educating yourself for a lifetime each time you do it.  It is then, you will be able to see what 1,400 calories looks like in weight loss mode or what 1,800 calories looks like in maintenance for an average woman.

That's why people who keep a journal of their intake in weight loss mode are so successful.  They instantly become accountable and it keeps them on track each and every day.  They simply know they are doing everything possible, along with exercising, to reach success.  There is no guessing involved.

Once you have this valuable information; you will have it for a lifetime.  There will be no need to search for a new "diet"; there will be no guessing; you will have the knowledge you need to maintain your weight for  life!

Of course, you will need to set up a balanced healthy eating pattern both in weight loss mode and afterwards in maintenance.  This can be achieved by following the healthy guidelines at  http://www.mypyramid.gov/.  All of these suggestions and many examples are in our forthcoming book "Tame Your Inner Octopus!"

Maybe the question should be:  "Why wouldn't we want to count calories in order to educate ourselves so that we can lose weight and maintain our goal weight for a lifetime?"

Have a great day!