Healthy Eating 101 - Beginners Level 2

 
Level 1 was a simple way to eat healthy and save some money. Did you pass Level 1 or did you fail? If you failed, go back to Level 1. If you beat Level 1, congratulations!!! Welcome to Level 2, where you will learn the basics of calories. 

(To read more about calories, click the link below “Read More”.)

Level 2: Calories
   

What are calories? Calories, or kcals for short, is energy from for our body. We need calories to fuel our every day activities. We get calories in the form of food and drinks we consume. Our daily calorie intake depends on age, gender, height, and activity level. You can find your daily calorie intake here.

Now that you have your daily calorie intake, remember it, write it down, instill it in your head! You want to reach this number everyday. What happens if I go over or under? Remember this: 1 pound of fat = 3500 calories. With basic calculations, 3500 calories/7 days = 500 calories. If you eat over 500 calories everyday, you will gain 1 pound per week. If you eat 500 calories less everyday (or burn 500 calories from exercise), you will lose 1 pound per week.


What's next? Now that you understand what calories are and what you need to consume daily, track what you eat. All foods and drinks have nutrition facts. Read this post to learn about how to read and understand nutrition facts.

There's an app for that! There are many apps that can help you track your food consumption. MyFitnessPal, Lose It! or MyPlate Calorie Tracker, just to name a few. 

Now what? Well, start off slow; baby steps first. Track your food consumption, and I mean everything, Even 1 chip, 1 M&M, 1 piece of broccoli, etc. Once you get into a habit of tracking your calories, change it gradually for a better and healthier lifestyle.

I know it's hard at first, but do the best you can. You can't fail if you don't try. Let me know how you're doing. Feel free to ask questions or comment. See you next time when you level up!