If you’re looking to lose weight, you may be extremely concerned about calories. Everyone knows that to lose weight, you simply have to consume fewer calories than used, but… how? You may be asking yourself questions like how do I count calories? How many should I consume in a day? And even: what are calories? In this article, we’re going to provide all the information you need to know about calories so that you can succeed in healthy weight loss.
Plenty of people try to count calories when trying to lose weight, but in reality, this is one of the most ineffective ways of losing weight. This is because there are many types of calories and grouping them all into one category doesn’t take into account the use different calories have within your body. For example, calories that come from processed foods are different from calories that come from healthy fat foods, proteins, and whole foods like fruits and vegetables. While the latter type of calorie can positively impact metabolism and curb hunger calories from the former will result in increased hunger and hormone imbalance.
Calories are digested differently from body to body. Some bodies have an easier time breaking down calories due to the individual’s basal metabolic rate (BMR) and some have a harder time. BMR is influenced by factors such as age, weight, and overall health meaning that the older, more overweight/underweight and unhealthy a person is, the harder it will be for them to burn off calories.
Digestion is also heavily influenced by our hormones. Any imbalance of hormones can cause the body to store or use up calories in ways that may not be advisable for the body. Female and male bodies have different hormone levels, which means that calories will function differently within these different bodies.
Knowing how calories work, and how they don’t work, is the start of learning how to lose weight in a productive and healthy manner. If you are looking to lose weight in a healthy way, why not try the naturopathic way? Call Dr. Cecilia Ho, naturopathic doctor in Pickering, today to get started on your weight loss journey.