March 4

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It is not just the quantity, but also the quality of the calories we eat.

By Karen

March 4, 2021

Calorie counting, healthy eating, quality food, weight loss

Do you ever wonder why your “diet” is not working?  Having a calorie goal will only get you so far if the quality of the calorie is not there.

It is not just a numbers game

It always starts the same way.  You decide today is the day, today is the day I am going to change.  I am going to start exercising, taking care of myself, and I am going to start eating right.  

Usually where we fail is the “eating right”.  Although I do not believe there is any one way to eat for everyone, but I believe that what you eat will make all the difference.

Typically, we start with a number, a number of calories we are “allowed” to eat per day.  Whatever fits in that number is fair game.  This is where the fail happens. 

There are all kinds of parameters in those calories that can ruin a your “eating right” plan. 

What is in a calorie

Ideally, we are eating multiple times a day in order to keep our bodies fuelled. Let us pick 1700 calories as our number we are going to eat each day (this is a made-up number for the example).  If you decide to eat cheeseburger and fries at any given restaurant you can use up to 1,500 of those calories.

If you make a choice to eat quality calories you will get a lot more food during the day.  

For example, if you eat 1 container low-fat yogurt, 1 pack instant oatmeal, 2 eggs, 1 cup of orange juice, 2 slices of bread, 4 oz turkey slices, 1 slice of cheese, 1 cup of strawberries, 6 oz. of grilled chicken, 1 cup of risotto,1 cup of broccoli, a banana, and one applesauce squeeze pouch you will have met your 1700 calories.  

This makes for a day full of food and energy because we chose to eat quality calories instead of junk calories.

How do I know it is a quality calorie?

If you are just starting out in your healthy lifestyle journey, figuring out what are god choices when it comes to food can be overwhelming. 

This can lead to frustration and eventually failure.  

I have written several blogs previously that go over the three macronutrients (fat, carbohydrates, and protein) and the good and bad examples for each.  What are Fats? Learn why you should not fear them , Carbohydrates: to eat or not to eat? , and The Importance of Protein and your weight loss/gain goals , are the three blogs you can reference for some quality eating choices.

About the author

Health and wellness has always been a very important part of my life. As a competitive swimmer from grade school through college I spent a lot of time educating myself on how to eat for performance. In College I swam the mile so I really had to focus on nutrition and peak performance. Now I still continue to swim and have added CrossFit to my resume.

After college I spent 20 years working with horses. Delivering over 500 foals (baby horses for those of you not from Ocala LOL) in my career and many long hours only confirmed how important proper nutrition is to staying healthy and on top of your game.

After my middle child was born with Down Syndrome, nutrition and health became my focus because now I have to make sure I can care for her for as long as I possibly can.

Now I love being able to bring my knowledge, experiences, and guidance to you. Whether you are local to Ocala, FL or not, I want to help you to be the healthiest, happiest, and best version of you possible.

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