Top 10 Weight Loss Tips for Moms - Tip 2 Don't Count Calories, Count Nutrients

I'm sure you have heard people say that weight-loss is all about the amount of calories we take in versus the amount of calories we burn off during each day? For years people have been saying weight-loss is a simple, calories in calories out equation. The "thinking" goes like this: If you eat less and exercise more you will HAVE TO create a caloric efficiency, and then you will lose weight and be healthy. But if (and when) this doesn't work it is because you LACK WILL POWER with the calorie in calorie out diet. Does this sound familiar? If this really worked I wouldn't have spent the last decade researching and experimenting with different theories on weight loss.

I did quickly find out though in my early days of doing the "D" word (dieting!) countless times that when I restricted my caloric intake 2 things happened. First, the scale told me that I had lost weight, and very quickly. And secondly, when I began eating again another thing always happened, I always gained the weight back, and sometimes even MORE! While it appeared that I had lost weight, I had actually just lost water and on longer, more extreme calorie restricted diets, I lost muscle, and this is a very bad thing, lean muscle is attractive and healthy for women, and it looks good!

So, why doesn't this simple theory of calories in versus calories out actually work, it seems very logical. This is because our bodies are far too complex for this simple formula. We have evolved and survived over thousands of years. Our ancestors experienced times of famine, and during these times with little to no food their bodies did what they are designed to do in order to keep them alive, they turned themselves into FAT STORING MACHINES! And we have evolved from our ancestors, and therefore our bodies do the exact same thing when we restrict our calories. Our bodies think we are entering into famine and our bodies go into fat storing mode.

When you eat less calories your body actually go into starvation mode, which SLOWS DOWN YOUR METABOLISM and CAUSES YOU TO GAIN WEIGHT! And I don't need to point out that this is the exact opposite of what you are trying to do. Not to mention the misery you experience when you are on a low calorie diet. So don't count calories, they are not worth your time. Count nutrients instead.

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