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Life gets extra tough when you’re a very busy mom and losing weight might just not be your biggest priority especially when you still have little kids running around the house.
On days when you feel like you’re already gaining a lot of weight because of stress and other factors, you often ask yourself, “How can I lose weight effectively if I don’t even have time for myself?“
And then it finally hits you, so you go to Google and search for different fad diets that may or may not work for you.
But do you really need to lose weight if you’re a mom?
Will your kids love you less if you ended up overweight?
And how can you lose weight if you have a hectic schedule?
Although some people lose weight to make them look and feel better, the main reason why you need to lose weight, even if you’re a busy mom, is to stay fit and healthy so that you’ll become a role model for your kids as they grow up.
I know it can be very frustrating since there are so many ways to lose weight, but do you know which weight loss method is the best and the easiest?
If you’re a very busy mom who doesn’t have enough time to go to the gym or do some exercises at home, Calorie Counting might just be the best and most effective method for you.
Calorie Counting
This is simply a method where you determine your recommended daily calorie intake and eat less or within that amount.
If you stay within your recommended amount, you may or may not lose weight, but it doesn’t mean that you will gain weight either.
When calorie counting is combined with exercise, it will be a lot more effective to help you lose weight faster.
But if you’re a mom with a hectic schedule, you might not have enough time to go for a quick workout.
Luckily, you can still lose weight even without breaking a sweat as long as you eat less than your daily calorie limit.
How Calorie Counting Helps You Lose Weight Faster
Since weight loss is our main goal here, you should reduce your calorie intake to at least 500 less than your daily requirement.
So if your recommended calorie intake is 2000, then you should limit it to 1500 a day to help you lose about 0.45kg or 1 pound per week.
How Many Calories Should You Eat In A Day?
Women are recommended to consume 2000 calories on a daily basis while men need 2500.
If you aim to lose weight, eat low-calorie foods, but if you wish to gain a few pounds, eat more than your daily limit.
It is also important that you should not consume less than 1000 calories a day unless under medical advice.
However, a person’s daily calorie allowance not only depends on gender alone.
Factors such as age, height, weight, and activity level are also used as a basis.
You may also click here to learn your daily calorie requirement with our online calorie counter.
How to Determine Your Daily Calorie Intake
Although computing for your recommended calorie intake sounds complicated, it is definitely not.
You can look for the Mifflin-St Jeor Equation online, which is the formula for computing calorie intake.
But if you prefer the easiest method, you can use our online tool here to figure out how much is your required calorie amount.
Benefits of Counting Calories
- Helps you lose weight faster even without hitting the gym
- Less time consuming than exercising
- Motivates you to eat healthy foods
- Encourages self-discipline
Why Calorie Counting Matters
Not only does calorie counting help you lose weight effectively, but it is also a great way to keep track of your meals and develop an eating habit that will motivate you to have a healthy diet.
Tracking calories is also an effective strategy to maintain weight without having to go to the gym.
Is there a calorie counting app?
YES
Noom is a weight loss program that will help you achieve your target weight with its amazing calorie-counting tool that lets you log your meals and determine the number of calories in your food.
It is an easy-to-use food diary app that will save you more time counting calories and will also guide you throughout your weight loss journey in general.
You may also click here to check out a trial of their amazing platform.
What should you eat when counting calories?
It’s time to say goodbye to fast-food chains, junk food, and other unhealthy foods if you want to lose weight effectively with calorie counting.
And not because your snack’s nutrition facts section says it has less than 200 calories per serving, it doesn’t mean it’s a green light for you to dive in.
To achieve the best results, it is essential to have a well-balanced diet made up of:
- Vegetables – Spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, potatoes, peas, etc.
- Fruits – berries, grapes, watermelon, pear, banana, etc.
- Fish and Shellfish – salmon, shrimp, oysters, sardines, sea bass, clams, cod, trout, etc.
- Eggs – organic eggs
- Whole Grains – oats, brown rice, quinoa, barley, millet, etc.
- Poultry and Meat – chicken, beef, turkey, etc.
- Legumes – chickpeas, lentils, kidney beans, black beans, etc.
- Unsweetened plant-based milk – coconut milk, almond milk, cashew milk, and hemp milk.
- Plant-based protein sources – tofu, plant-based protein powders, and tempeh.
- Dairy Products – reduced-fat yogurt, kefir, cheese.
- Seeds and Nuts – macadamia nuts, sunflower seeds, walnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds.
- Non-calorie beverages – water, coffee, tea, sparkling water, etc.
The reason why these will help you lose weight faster is that it promotes fat loss most especially high-quality foods that have high-fiber and high-protein content.
However, if you’re always on the go, you can just stick to a meal plan to make it a lot easier for you to keep track of your calories without having to figure out how to turn them into a delicious meal.
What should you avoid when counting calories?
Although there may be times where we can’t resist guilty pleasure, like that delicious New York Cheesecake that’s waving at you, you may still eat a little occasionally to treat yourself.
You should also limit these type of foods:
- Ultra-processed foods – French fries, chicken nuggets, pizza, hotdogs, burgers, etc.
- Refined carbs – white rice, white pasta, white bread, corn chips, tortillas, etc.
- Sweetened beverages – soft drinks, energy drinks, sweetened coffee drinks, etc.
- Sweets – candy, sugar, chocolates, etc.
- Fried foods – doughnuts, cheese sticks, potato chips, etc.
Are there other weight loss methods to help me lose weight?
Here’s a list of a few weight loss methods in case you think calorie tracking isn’t for you:
- Portion Control – focuses on portion or serving sizes.
- Intermittent Diet – a diet without restriction but is eaten at a specific hour or time.
- Keto Diet – a very low-carb, but high-fat diet that’s quite similar to the Atkins Diet and low carb diet.
- Atkins Diet – a low-carb diet that encourages you to eat foods that are high in protein and fat.
- HCG Diet – involves taking a Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) supplement to go on an extreme diet that has dramatic results.
- Paleo Diet – gives emphasis on eating whole foods, fruits, nuts, veggies, lean protein, and seeds.
- Vegan Diet – a meat-restricted diet or any type of food that came from animals.
- Exercising – the most basic and popular weight loss method that we all know.
Which is Better: Calorie Counting or Intermittent Fasting?
There are different ways to do intermittent fasting:
- 16/8 Method – includes skipping meals and restricting your eating period to eight hours, then fasting for the next 16 hours.
- Eat-Stop-Eat Method – a fasting method that lets you fast for 24 hours at least once or twice a week.
- 5:2 Diet – involves restricted calorie intake to 500-600 calories at least 2 times a week non-consecutively.
- Warrior Diet – a diet that lets you have a heavy meal at night and small amounts of fruits and vegetables during the day.
Calorie counting, on the other hand, doesn’t involve different methods other than tracking calories alone.
Both methods are very effective in weight loss, but since intermittent fasting sounds a little more extreme, you should just opt for calorie counting.
Which is Better: Calorie Counting or Keto Diet?
The ketogenic diet might look easier compared to calorie counting, it is actually a highly restrictive diet that does not allow carbs.
Since you can have a wide range of food packages with calorie counting, it is an easier and safer weight loss method for you.
Is Portion Control different from Calorie Counting?
Although both methods are effective in weight loss if done consistently, calorie counting focuses more on tracking food content while portion size or portion control doesn’t necessarily require tracking calories.
Portion size is the amount of food per meal and it is also used as a guide to help most individuals control their serving sizes.
So if they want to consume less, they just reduce the portion size of a meal.
Excited to lose weight? You can click here to get a personalized weight loss plan with NOOM.
You may also click here to compute your daily caloric intake.
