Personally, I am not a calorie counter. But it is important to know how many calories you consume on a daily basis. Most people are either consuming too many calories, or a good portion of the calories they are consuming are "empty" calories. (more on this in a moment)
How many calories should you be consuming per day?
The answer is different for every person. It depends on your gender, age, and activity level. Being a 26 year old, active, breastfeeding woman, I consume over 3,000 calories per day! (I eat constantly, for those of you who think I don't eat ;) ) But, if you are an inactive (no exercise on a regular basis) 40 year old woman, your daily calorie intake may only be about 1,600. I have included a link for a calorie calculator so that you can figure out what your daily calorie intake should be. Here's another reason to start exercising: the more active you are, the more calories you can consume! (i.e. the more healthy food you can eat!) Like I said, I don't count every calorie every day, but occasionally I will pick a random day to count how many calories I have consumed. This gives me a rough idea of what I am consuming on a daily basis.
Another good number to know is your BMI. This is your body mass index, and gives you a rough idea on what category you fall in using only your weight and height. What's your BMI? Mine is 21, smack-dab in the middle of the "normal" category. (I had to point this fact out to my mom who said I was "too skinny". You know how mom's are, always trying to fatten you up!)
BMI
Need to burn some extra calories?
Start a regular workout routine! This can be anywhere from joining a gym, hitting the weights, or taking some classes, to going for long walks, running, or doing some workout videos (there are many that are free online). Or just get up and start moving. Pay a house cleaner? Don't. Wake up an hour or two earlier on the weekends and clean it yourself. Park further away when you go to the grocery store or mall. Work or live in a tall building? Take the stairs. There are so many things you can do to burn those extra calories. I am so tired of hearing people say they don't have time to workout. You have time, you're just not making time. No more excuses!
How many EMPTY CALORIES do you consume per day?
Empty calories are basically foods that contain energy (calories) but have very little--if any--nutritional value. Here are some examples of foods with empty calories:
Sweets
Candy
Ice Cream
Soft drinks or other fruit-flavored beverages
Refined grains (white bread, white rice, etc.)
Margarine / shortening
Butter, lard (saturated fats)
Foods high in fat (hamburgers, hot dogs, fried chicken, french fries, pizza, donuts, etc.)
Did I just list off a typical menu for you and/or your children?? YIKES. These are foods that should reduced (if not ELIMINATED) from your diet. They contain calories, and must be counted in your daily calorie intake, but there IS NO NUTRITION IN THEM. Which leads me to my daily mantra: If it's not going to nourish your body in some way, why would you eat it? Or why would you feed it to your children?? Because it tastes good?? Because you want to eat it and feel guilty so you let them eat it too??
Make some changes.
You always seem to know exactly what we (the readers) are thinking.
ReplyDeleteI found this website too for information regarding food: www.foodfacts.com...you input enter the food, it interprets the label (points out the good and the bad) & gives it a score. It's totally free, check out your fave foods.
That's because I have been in your (everyone's) shoes, Sang! Thanks for the website, now you're beating me to my posts! Keep checking back for a post on produce nutrition facts :)
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