Is Counting Calories the Best Way to Lose Weight? | Diet and Exercise | Real Life Fitness | PhitZone

Is Counting Calories Effective for Fat Loss?

There is a lot of conflicting information regarding the best way to lose weight. Some say that it is simply a matter of eating certain foods and avoiding others. Others say you can eat anything you want but in moderation (whatever that means!). There are many resources available to help you maintain a healthy diet and lose weight; some of which include specific body sculpting procedures like liposuction. Some diets recommend focusing on carbohydrate amount. Many weight loss experts stress the importance of a food diary. But is that really necessary? And what about the calories? Sorting through all the confusing information is enough to drive you crazy even before the diet begins.

Perhaps you have encountered weight loss information claiming that “calories don’t count” and that what really counts in weight loss is the quality of the food you eat. Some say that it is all just a matter of keeping a balanced ratio of carbs, protein and fat. Others claim that the act of counting calories is such an arduous task that keeping track of every single calorie is not something anyone can stick to in the long run, and so is not effective.

For example, the book “Body For Life” refers to energy consumption in relation to output and recommends paying attention to portions rather than calories. The fact remains that, regardless of how you view food, calories do count. If you expend more calories than you consume, you will lose weight. If you consume more than you expend, you will gain weight. If the amounts are the same, you will maintain your weight. Energy–in versus energy-out is just another way of expressing that because a calorie is a unit of energy.

It isn’t the act of counting the calories that helps you lose weight; it’s the consuming fewer calories than you use that does the trick. So if you want to lose weight, you could just take your chances and hope the numbers line up in your favor. Or, you could do the math and make sure they do. Also, there is a bit more to consider as far as nutrition is concerned. To ensure you consume a healthy ratio of protein, carbs and fat, it is a wise idea to create a menu plan and use that as a guide. Fortunately, there is a wide variety of nutritional software available to help you do just that.

If you have tried everything and still can’t get the pounds to drop off, especially from certain areas, you might want to consider a medical procedure such as liposuction, a procedure normally recommended for people within 10 percent of their ideal body weight, who have not been able to reduce fat through diet and exercise alone. Dr. Loeb, a NYC plastic surgeon, says, “Liposuction is one of the easiest and longest lasting ways to lose fat.” You can see before and after photos of successful liposuction procedures by visiting http://drloeb.com.