HOW I DO IT

I COUNT CALORIES!
Weight management all comes down to the calories you take in versus those you burn off. Weight loss is really all about calories.
Calorie counting means recording the calorie amount of every food and drink you consume each day.
Calorie is the amount of energy in food. The body has a constant demand for energy and uses the calories from food to keep functioning. Energy from calories fuel our every action, from breathing to fidgeting to dancing and so on.
In my opinion calorie counting is VERY IMPORTANT. It helps ensure that the calories you consume throughout the day do not exceed the number of calories you burn. If you eat more calories than you burn you gain weight. The calories you eat are either converted to physical energy or stored within your body as fat.  The stored calories will remain in your body as fat unless you use them up, either by reducing your caloric intake and creating a caloric deficit, so that your body will draw on the reserves for energy or by increasing physical activity so that you burn more calories. I DO BOTH! By keeping calorie intake in line and adding a daily exercise regime you can effectively start losing weight.
To start counting calories you need to work out how many calories you need each day to maintain your present weight and how many to lose weight.

FOUR STEPS TO CALORIE COUNTING
1. DETERMINE YOUR DAILY CALORIC INTAKE FOR WEIGHTLOSS... To determine the number of calories you can consume and still lose weight, use an online tool such as this.
There are many free weight loss tools available on the internet. Once you sign up you enter your weight, height, age, activity level, target weight and any other information needed to calculate the amount of calories you should be eating everyday. To lose weight try to stay as close to that number as possible on a daily basis.

2.KEEP A FOOD JOURNAL... You can use a pen and paper, online calorie trackers or download a calorie tracker to your phone. The nutritional information of various foods can be found right in the online calorie counter. Being that the calorie trackers do not have most of our Nigerian/African foods, make google your new best friend. You will find the caloric contents of such foods there. Your food journal will become your most important tool because it holds you accountable and keeps you on track through out the day.

3. PURCHASE A FOOD SCALE, MEASURING SPOONS AND CUPS.
I measure and weigh everything I eat. My mum and siblings make fun of me when I do that and my friends think I'm obsessed. I tell them that weight loss is serious business!
It helps ensure that I am always eating or drinking accurate portions. It is easy for calories to get out of control when you don't know how much you're eating. For example a serving of cereal is one cup and about 200calories depending on the brand. If you just dump it into the bowl straight from the box you can easily cosume 2 to 3 servings without thinking and thus bringing you up to 600 calories. Measuring and weighing your food lets you have control over the calories you are putting into your body.

4. PLAN AND PREPARE MEALS AHEAD OF TIME... It will be so much easier to stick to your daily calories if you plan and prepare your meals ahead of time. Once you get accustomed to meal planning you will find out that you are eating healthier, feeling better and enjoying your meals.

With calorie counting you can eat what you want as long as you stay within your calories. Calorie counting may not be fun and easy but IT WORKS!