Simple Calorie Counting: A Successful but Unwise Diet Tale

I was in high school, and the summer before my senior year I stepped on the scale only to realize that I was about to break into an unhealthy BMI. I was about to pop the overweight cherry. How did this happen? I led a relatively active lifestyle during school, participated in sports, and ate like I had nothing to care about. Puberty was doing its job, however, and my propensity for weight gain was increasing. I was maturing into a woman and suddenly had joined the masses of women who experience Fat Fear.

I knew that with the start of the new school year I would be getting more active again, and it was true. I lost about 7 lbs between the time of that first fateful weigh-in in August and the next, around January. Physical activity has its place, and many including myself would argue that working out is the best and healthiest way to lose weight, either in addition to calorie counting or on its own. Alas, our story does not continue on this path.

Sometime in February, after the sports seasons that required dance teams had finished, I made my first step towards weight loss. For Lent, I decided to give up soda. For psychological reasons that you might or might not require, I associated my weak stab at health with not just a religious season, but with a period of time that had a clear beginning and ending point. If the thought of giving up something permanently depresses you, try giving it up for a set period of time. You will crave it less, you will feel successful, and you will take with you encouragement to do more.

And so I did. Around the same time, I happened upon a short little blurb in a teen magazine; the type that gets one or two sentences along the left border of the page. It stated that the average 18-year-old female's body burned 1770 calories in a day while completely at rest. Different equations exist to come up with your personal estimate of caloric burn while at rest, and since I have no recollection of where I read 1770 as a general number, here are a couple links to some of those equations. They came out about 300 calories apart from each other for my own estimate, which can give you a range to work with as you set your daily goal.

The Diet Channel

A Calorie Counter.com

As a seventeen-year-old I didn't really care where the writer got the number from, just that it sounded reasonable. Given that I wasn't prone to hitting the gym and certainly not to running, I reasoned that all I had to do to lose weight was simply eat less than 1770 calories a day. So simple! The added bonus is that if that was going to be my only rule, then it didn't matter where the calories came from. I could eat whatever I wanted and do (or not do) whatever I wanted and the pounds would just drain away.

The first day I counted my calories started with the determination to only eat one piece of the pizza that my parents had ordered for dinner. I told myself sternly that it had plenty of calories despite looking so skimpy, as I had figured out from CalorieKing.com. My success that first night gave me confidence to move forward. I had to do some guesswork as I realized that I had no idea what my school was serving me. I worked it out by overestimating calories (using the caloric content of the highest calorie form of pizza pockets, for example) and eating very slowly. I started looking at labels and eventually memorized the content and serving sizes of what I ate on a regular basis. Indeed I was amazed by how little food I actually needed to consume.

I was right in my equations, and by the summer I was drinking soda again (albeit with a greater appreciation for juices and water), but only diet soda as it didn't add anything to my caloric intake (which meant more food). I was also 15 lbs lighter (an average weight loss of 2-4 pounds a month- quite reasonable) and buying smaller sized clothes in all my favorite stores. To say that I was getting healthier would be a complete lie, but I gained confidence in my own discipline and my appearance. I realized that I could control how my body looked; it was up to me, not some genetic inertia.

The problem with eating so little is that it's hard to do any sort of sports on a regular basis and stick to your caloric intake. I found it was easier to overheat and harder to work a job that has you on your feet all day. In addition, you begin to develop some sort of sick appreciation for the feeling of hunger; if you're hungry, you know you are not eating too much. It just became a way of life at the time, but upon reflection, seems like a danger sign to the development of eating disorders. Funny, how dieting is alright and even considered a positive thing, but can develop similar attributes to anorexia.

In finale, I did not develop anorexia, though I did gain some tips in combating hunger from anorexia websites (Eat an apple, drink a glass of water, and go to sleep.) I did lose weight and kept it off until I had a major lifestyle change (hello college!), but in the end I cannot in good conscience recommend a sedentary and hungry lifestyle for anyone. Please take my successful but unwise diet story and use it as a study in the simple math of caloric control. Discipline is the key, and is a trait that will benefit you in all aspects of your life. You can do it!

Sources

http://www.thedietchannel.com/what-are-your-calorie-needs
http://www.acaloriecounter.com/calorie-counting.php
http://www.calorieking.com/foods/