Weight is an equation. To keep the number on the scale constant, the number of calories you take in must equal the number of calories you burn on any given day. To lose weight, you need to eat fewer calories than you burn. Your daily calorie goal will depend on how much you exercise, and how much weight you aim to drop. But how do you know exactly how many calories you’re eating each day?
A calorie counter is a tool to help you stick to your target daily calorie limit. Calorie counters are available online, and as apps that you download to your smartphone or tablet. Examples of calorie counter apps include MyFitnessPal, Lose It!, and FatSecret.
With these calorie counters, you to enter your current weight, age, exercise level, and goal weight. Then, the app lets you know how many calories you should eat each day to reach the weight you want.
Calorie counters contain databases that include thousands, or even millions of different foods. You input each food you eat, or scan the barcode of the item at the supermarket, and the program adds up your calorie totals. Depending on which calorie counter you use, it also may provide information on the amount of carbs, fat, protein, vitamins, and minerals contained in each food. You can use your calorie counter as a journal to keep track of the foods you eat each day, follow your progress over the course of several months, and look for ways to improve your diet.
Some calorie counters even offer recipes to help you reach your goals. Others enable you to add in your daily exercise. They contain databases of different exercises; walking, playing basketball, skiing, and how many calories each burns. Then you can tally up your daily calories eaten, and subtract the calories you burn with exercise, to see whether you’re meeting your weight loss goals.
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could sit down to a hot fudge sundae with zero calories? Or chow down on guilty pleasures like cookies, chips, and bread without adding any calories? The concept of “zero-calorie foods” is a fantasy, although there are certainly low-calorie foods that can help you
Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) has garnered a great deal of attention from diet and nutrition experts in recent years due to its nutrition profile. Quinoa is actually a seed, although it’s commonly referred to as a grain for obvious reasons (quinoa seeds are grain-like in size, texture, and consistency when cooked).
Adopting a plant-based diet, studies suggest, can lower your risk of chronic disease and extend your life. That’s why health experts are recommending the addition of a few meatless meals—ones that contain plant-based protein—to your weekly meal plans.
Plant foods are known to contain fiber, vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and healthy
Vegetables have always had a reputation for boosting our health. Research continues to support the long-held standard that a vegetable-rich diet is a key part of any complete nutrition plan—and a winning approach to optimal health and disease protection.
Research suggests that a vegetable-rich diet can lower your risk of certain
To gain the most health rewards from your diet, prepare the bulk of your foods yourself. By doing your own cooking and putting some thought into a healthy eating plan, you can control what goes into your food and what doesn’t.
Fast-food establishments and even upscale restaurants typically serve up
The combination of that bulging muffin-top, those sore joints, and your lack of energy signals the pressing need to lose weight. Turning yourself into a calorie counter might help, but wouldn’t a respected weight-loss diet get you there more easily? So shouldn’t you adopt one of those “best diet” plans?
Diets
The foods you consume can make a significant impact on your health, and so can the beverages you drink. A growing body of research reveals that beverage choice is far more important than once thought. When you drink a beverage —even if it is rich in calories, sugar, fat, and/or fiber—your
America Walks americawalks.org America Walks, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit national organization, advocates for walking and walkable communities with federal agencies; provides strategy support, training and technical assistance to statewide, regional, and local organizations; and convenes the national Every Body Walk! Collaborative of 700 allied organizations.
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) orthoinfo.aaos.org/main.cfm OrthoInfo provides
You know how to walk, right? Walking coach Michele Stanten, member of the Everybody Walk! Collaborative, offers this refresher on form at the American Council on Fitness website:
Stand up tall. Imagine that a wire attached to the crown of your head is gently pulling you upward. Walking erect will keep
If you’re thinking about following a low-carbohydrate diet, you may want to reconsider. Some foods that contain carbs also provide a wealth of nutrients and fiber—important for a balanced diet. On the other hand, if you typically eat lots of processed, high-carb foods made primarily of white flour and added
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