Losing Weight by Counting Calories

Twice in my life, I have made it my goal to lose weight, and I have succeeded both times. How have I managed to drop a significant number of pounds? You might say that I’ve done it the old-fashioned way: by counting calories.

Losing Weight by Counting Calories

I limit myself to a daily calorie amount that is substantially under the number of calories that a person of my age and size is supposed to be able to consume without gaining weight. Google a phrase such as “how many calories can I eat to maintain weight,” and you will find plenty of sites that will help you select a number.

Next, I adhere strictly to my low calorie count. I make up my mind that I will feel hungry for the first day or two. My fattened body sends signals that I should be eating more than I am, and I have to ignore the messages, which come in the form of wanting snacks.

When I am unable to resist, I snack on popcorn that I have popped on the stove so as to limit the amount of fat to the smallest amount necessary.

I also must steel myself to the fact that others will try to get me to eat more than I should. For some complex reasons that are beyond me to explain, some friends want to push food onto my plate whenever I have made the decision to lose weight. I am firm with them: “No, all I really want is this salad; no, I am not having dessert; and, no, I do not want a fruity cocktail.”

I exercise regularly. My author friend Eleanor Y. Stewart and I walk 5.2 miles three times a week, and, on many of the days in between, I ride a bike from 7 up to 12 miles. Walking and riding alone will not help a person drop unwanted weight, but, in conjunction with counting calories, such exercise can help the weight to come off quickly.

I also work a half hour of calisthenics into three days per week. I go online to read about age-appropriate exercises that I can readily do to stay in shape, and I will not perform exercises that I feel are going to be harmful eventually. I want my calisthenics to be simple, easy, and free of pain: just enough to keep my muscles responding to what I need them to do each day.

I seek to eat a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, and meats while avoiding white sugar and white flour. Essentially, I avoid breads, desserts, and anything that has white sugar as a main ingredient. I am not recommending my diet to anyone; after all, people have vastly different dietary needs. I can tell you only that my diet works for me.

On both occasions that I have counted calories to lose weight, I have lost over fifty pounds, and I have kept the weight off for most of my life. Another way of saying the same thing is that I have been slender far more years than I have been pudgy.