Counting calories... It Works

By B.A. Dobson

Bikini season is fast approaching and many women are now keenly focused on shedding their winter weight. Over the past few weeks I’ve been peppered with questions about every fad diet and weight loss supplement under the sun. But much to the dismay of the folks firing off their questions, my answer is always the same: To lose weight you need to burn more calories than you put in. PERIOD. The usual response?  “Ahh…Who wants to count calories?”

But here’s the hard truth. If you’re serious about your weight loss you’ve got to get serious about minding your caloric intake. Two cases in point.

My friend Penelope, former coach potato and beer guzzler, recently dropped SIX dress sizes (that’s 45 pounds and counting), going from a size 16 to a very sexy and statuesque size 10. How’d she do it? By cutting out alcohol, making the decision to eat better, tracking everything she ate in her food journal (which she always had on hand), and ensuring that she exercised enough to burn off the calories required to meet her weekly weight loss goal of 1.5 lbs per week.

Then there’s SJ, a svelte size six at her heaviest, who decided to train for a fitness competition. To meet her goal she made the decision to cut calories by measuring and weighing her portions. The result? She dropped eight pounds in about four weeks, making her a toned, taut and ever so teasin’ size four. 

Ladies, all you need to drop those extra pounds is the commitment and discipline to: 1) reduce your caloric intake by eating better; 2) increase your caloric output via exercise, and 3) have a tracking system (in Penelope’s case a food diary, for SJ a kitchen scale) to keep your calorie consumption in check. It’s that simple.

Now, if you’re like most women you have the will (as evidenced by your goal to lose those same ‘last few’ pounds for years – if not decades – now), but lack the discipline to achieve your weight loss goals. So, here are my tips, for those of you who (much to your chagrin) can relate.

Get a weight loss buddy. Someone to work hard right alongside you and hold you accountable for tracking those calories, as you huff, puff and calorie count your way back into your skinny jeans.

Find a way to make it fun. If counting calories sounds boring, check out myfitnesspal.com. There you can easily track your food intake and exercise each day – even on the go with their smart phone apps – for FREE.

Never EVER Give Up! You didn’t gain the weight overnight, so it’s not going to magically fall away in a few days or weeks. Be patient and keep going – for as long as it takes. Besides, everyone knows quitters never shake off those pesky pounds, and winners are “as sexy as I want to be” lasses, right?

Image courtesy stock.xchng