How To Get More Fit Without Counting Calories

The experts make it sound so easy but the reality is, it’s almost impossible to count calories unless you have

• paid chief,
• calculator at every meal
• eat exactly the same food items every day.

I hope for your sake the latter is not true but I’ll take the chief idea anytime. Take the example of dinning at a restaurant....the food is served and you look at your significant other and say excuse me for a minute...... you then pull out your calculator, little calorie counting book and just to be on the safe side a calorimeter (a device used to measure the heat that is given off in food items to determine caloric density), boy doesn’t that sound like a real intimate moment!

The added stress alone will make eating food a task instead of a pleasure. Even trying to take an educated guess at what the numbers might be is a challenge. In a 1996 survey conducted by New York University trained dietitians were asked to estimate the content of five restaurant meals? The results: they underestimated the calorie content by an average of 37 percent and the fat content by 49 percent. If dieticians find it difficult what chance do we have!

If you are concerned about your weight and want to achieve your fitness goals try these basic and easy to following guidelines:

• Don’t eat any carbohydrates at your last 2 meals (dinner and bedtime snack). When the sun goes down, protein should be the bench mark for the rest of your meals. When carbohydrates are broken down into glucose.

Glucose has 3 fates

1) It can act as the main fuel source used for bodily movements, including muscle contraction during exercise.
2) It can be used to replenish depleted glycogen stores, before, during and after exercise.
3) If glucose is not used as energy and if glycogen stores in the muscles are full, the glucose will be stored as fat.

So it makes sense at night when most people are home relaxing not to eat any carbs.

There are however a couple of exceptions: Vegetables and salads are healthy choices and are low in carbohydrate calories. They go perfectly with any kind of meat or fish. After working out, your muscles are depleted of glycogen so the best time to indulge in carbohydrate goodies like pasta, bread, and cereal is right after a hard workout. You are less likely to store a meal containing carbohydrates as fat if the carbohydrate meal is consumed between 20-90 minutes post workout. So if the workout is at night you get a free pass with the carbs. I bet a lot of health clubs will see a rise in the number of members working out at night, real soon!

• Portion control your food at every meal. Read labels to discover what constitutes 1 serving. More than likely you will discover most people eat 3-4 servings instead of the suggested 1.

• You must exercise! Folks don’t believe the hype in some popular infomercials... exercise is hard work and it takes disciple and time to get in shape and lose weight. You must exercise at least 4-6 times weekly, 30-60 minutes each session. If you don’t know where to begin, find a good personal trainer for guidance and support

• Eat 5-6 smaller meals throughout the day. Well designed meal planning through out the day will raise your metabolism and turn on the fat burning process.

• Keep tabs on protein intake. Any exercise program will produce better results if the proper protein requirements are administered. Protein is the only digested food product that can rebuild damaged tissue, including muscle tissue.

• Drink at least a gallon of water a day. Water makes up 55-70% of total body weight. Studies show that ideal spacing must exist between the contractile proteins actin and myosin in order for optimal muscle strength to occur. Dehydration causes the spacing to actually decrease, which causes the muscles to get weaker. This may explain why strength decreases when a person is dehydrated. It also explains why creatine is such a powerful strength aid. Creatine causes muscle cells to be extra hydrated. This causes you to get stronger (the optimal spacing thing). The take home message is.... your muscles are constantly begging you for water.

Here are some simple but effective methods that if implemented can help you achieve your fitness goals without interrupting your romantic dinner!