Calories In, Calories Out

I know you have all heard that it is all about calories in versus calories out. If you eat more calories than you burn in a day, you are going to put on weight. Many experts have even said that it does not matter what you are eating but that all that matters is that you eat less calories that you are burning up to lose weight.

I absolutely agree that if you want to lose weight, you do have to eat less calories BUT I do feel that it matters what type of calories you are putting in your body. Many experts say that a calorie is a calorie but I disagree. You can't eat a bunch of food that is non or low fat but all high in sugar grams & expect to look lean & fit.

I have been at this for 25 years plus. I have changed my food plan many times based on paying attention to what my body does and does not do based on the food I put in it.

For me, I found that by changing the types of carbohydrates I put in my body made a huge difference. First, I preface this by saying that every body is different so you need to find what works best for you by trial & error. But for me, I work better on close to a 40/40/30 type of program. My body likes to have approximately 40% protein, 40% carbs and 30% fat. Again, these are approximate numbers. I like to change it up at times to keep the body guessing but because I do a pretty strenuous weight & cardio routine, my body needs both protein for muscle building/maintenance & carbs for energy. Again, as stated in a previous post, healthy fats are integral to all of this. I have gone the super low fat way & it does not work.. meaning trying to cut your % of calories from fat to 10-15%.. don't do it!

Always remember, carbs are not bad. For me, eating more of the vegetables & leafy green types of carbs while mixing in sweet potatoes, yams, brown rice & things like this as a lesser % than the vegetables tends to keep me leaner. NOW, I DON'T ELIMINATE ANY FOODS, I just play around with the % of them in my food plan.

PROTEIN... don't forget your protein, which women tend to do. It is very important to get that in along with your healthy fats. This is very important for not only building muscle which helps you burn more calories at rest but it also helps you get leaner AND prevents osteoporosis.

Pay attention to what you put in your body & start understanding what works for you. AND, always re-evaluate. I have had to make changes all thru my many years due to the exercise program I am on, hormonal changes, age changes etc. As long as you do this, you are on your way to accomplishing your goals!