Do The Math!

As a Christian woman I haltingly admit that I never thought much about my caloric intake or expenditure. I never equated it to the kind of godly stewardship that all followers of the Lord should strive for. I now know that my attitude is what got me to this place of having to work hard to lose excess pounds. I am not a health and fitness expert at all but I know the pain of seeing my weight go up and feeling helpless to control it. It seems like a no-brainer but I actually thought I wasn't eating that much so I didn't have to get up and get moving to burn it off. How silly is that?! Once I actually saw the numbers of how many calories are burned by doing virtually nothing and how many calories I was taking in I was horrified. I had been taking in far more than I was using up and every last jelly bean, every extra small slice of birthday cake, and every second helping of lasagna was just making itself right at home around my stomach and getting stored up as fat. I was pretty grossed out, I have to say. Something really had to change!

"Calories in, calories out" my friend, Alisha often says. We don't like to think about it but the real hard truth is that most people in this country consume far more calories than they are burning up. Let's face it, thinking about calories ranks up there with monthly budgeting or studying for college exams. We know we should do it but we avoid it, we procrastinate, we live in denial. Well, it's time to get our heads out of the Frito Lays and think about what we're putting into our bodies! And, if we need incentive, our health lives depend on it.

Daily exercise is ideal and even preferred. But there are days when our energy level just isn't up to it or when we've worked out so hard the previous day that we need some time for the muscles and joints to recover. That's okay, rest is good. So take it easy on the high calorie snacks and entrees. Opting for lower calories and lower carbs on those days when we're not likely to burn much more than the average couch potato will help keep the weight from creeping back up. If a heavy workout is planned for the following day then, conversely, a dinner of slightly higher calories than normal is fine. Just keep the appointment with the treadmill or free weights and the scale should balance out.

One very good way of balancing the calorie scale is knowing and even memorizing how many calories are in certain food products. Take my breakfast this morning, for example. I am only allowing myself 300 calories per meal and 5 meals a day. So I wanted to add a fruit and a protein to my first meal. I know that 1/4 cup of dried plums (I personally avoid saying prunes) is about 110 calories, as is 1/4 cup of basic granola, and 1/2 cup of plain yogurt. There is my 300 calorie meal. The same can be done with fruit, vegetables, whole grain foods and protein items. 3 Fat Chicks On A Diet has a neat little list of foods that are 100 calories, to help out.

So once all those calories have been carefully and thoughtfully taken in, how long does it take to use them up? Wait about an hour and you've just burned 100 calories doing nothing. If you don't want to wait that long or think you don't have time to work out for a half-hour or more, then 10 minutes of any of these activities will burn 100 calories. Extend the workout to 30 minutes or mix a few of them up to burn a small 300 calorie meal:

•Running - 1 mile
•Jumping rope
•Stepping - 30 steps per minute, 7 inch step
•Cycling - 13 mph
•High-impact aerobics
•Running up stairs
•Circuit training
•Calisthenics - pushups, jumping jacks, plyometric jumps and kickboxing-type moves

Remember: "Calories in, calories out." Thanks Alisha!

Glory