by Adam Whitlach
Many people struggle with basics of a good nutrition plan. It isn't always clear what good choices should consist of or how many calories to eat. A large majority of people are stuck using fad diets, quick-fix weight loss pills, and fumbling around with foods that are advertised as "healthy." I'm hear to tell you that eating properly, whether you want to lose weight, prepare yourself as an athlete, or just develop a healthier lifestyle, is simple... but it isn't easy! Let's start with the bear bones of nutrition and weight management.
It is important to realize that your body requires a specific amount of calories to function properly. The more active your lifestyle is, the more calories your body will require. The opposite is true if you have a sedentary lifestyle, you will require fewer calories. If your calorie intake exceeds the number of calories that burn each day, then you will gain weight, gradually. For every 3500 calories that you consume beyond what your body requires, it is possible to gain 1 pound of fat. The same is true in reverse. For every 3500 calories burned beyond what your body requires, you could lose a pound of fat. By reducing your calorie intake by 250 calories a week, it is possible to lose 26 pounds with in a year.
Calories in vs. calories out. This is the backbone of the weight loss world. It is 100% true. In order to burn fat, you MUST burn more calories than you ingest. However, there is more to this fact than fad diet plans and weight loss programs, like weight watchers, would have us believe. The problem is this. Some plans allow you to maintain a base caloric level but don't restrict what foods those calories come from. If I have two clients and both have the same gender and the same over all build, and I give one of them a 2,000 calorie diet from chicken, brown rice, green vegetables, etc; and I give the other client a 2,000 calorie diet from brownies, cheese burgers, and French fries... Their bodies are going to react two completely different ways. That calorie count at this point does not matter even though they are eating the same amount.
There are plenty of arguments out there that might say otherwise; however, I've never had a successful diet, neither with myself, nor with one of my clients using a diet consisting junk food. This is a basic as it gets ladies and gentlemen. Calories in vs. calories out using clean sources is your ticket to a new, leaner you. This does not have to be an overly complicated process. If you're just getting started, stick with these basics for now.
-extracted from Ufit2.com/blog