So after a post-Halloween splurge that left me with about a marathon run’s worth of emptied calorie packets (better know as hershey’s and crunch bars) scattered throughout the the house, we’re calling a second consecutive audible on this week’s post.
We’re well past healthy eating this week, (trick or treat, indeed) so let’s tackle the other side: finding out just how much crap your moment(s) of weakness let in.
If you need some inspiration for counting calories on the back of food packs, read this story that can tell you just how much impact a little knowledge can have. More often than not, we don’t know what we’re putting in our bodies or how to quantify the wealth of information on the back of food packages. Keeping track of how much we’re actually eating, never mind how much we think we are, is a pretty simple and often times surprising way to lose weight.
Using the bodybugg, a nifty little armband with a not-so-nifty $200 price-tag, you can keep track of all the calories you are burning to complement the ones you are consuming (which you should also be tracking). The science behind it seems solid, and it’s earned some pretty good reviews.
Thanks to size8jeans at http://www.flickr.com/photos/newbirth/3219134373/
The math says 3,500 calories amount to a pound of weight, so a deficit of 500 a day will amount to losing one pound a week (math and diets don’t apply to weekends.)
But this isn’t a mandate to treat calories like the enemy. There is such a thing as too little, which ironically can keep weight on by convincing your body to store fat whenever possible.
So, keep track of all those Twix, Snikers, candy corns and jolly ranchers as you splurge. Just make sure to do the math, and the running, when it’s all said and done.
Austin Ries
Cassandra H
lonnyca
msherfield
Fitness and Outdoors 
I’ve tried calorie counting, and I hated it. I think it takes away from the enjoyment of eating.
I have diets in general. I’ve been trying to cut back by limiting junk food. Every once in awhile I’ll eat sweets, but for the most part I try to stick with fruits.
Well, putting a little math in the middle of a meal isn’t my idea of a good time, either. But it’s pretty amazing what it can do. I’ve started paying more attention to calories and I’ve been able to hold off on a few snacks and late night Whataburger runs as a result.
i think i would feel funny wearing that thing around. it seems kind of cumbersome. after taking nutrition classes as my science credits (major cop-out, i’ll admit), i’m like a walking calorie encyclopedia from months of doing food nutrition break-downs. ridiculous!
You can take nutrition as science credit? Damn, missed the boat on that one.
I have been watching the “Biggest Loser” lately and they have been using these. I like that we have the technology to have the option available. It is always tough to know exactly how much you are actually burning versus what you are putting in your system. I started a food journal once with everything that I ate and kept track of calories that way. Seeing it all in black and white definitely puts it all in perspective for someone trying to lose weight. I think that it could go either way, you could hate it and have it really affect your workouts/perspective on food or you can take it as motivation.