How To Lose Weight, Calories, Do You Have To Count Them?

Now we all have to get rid of all those pounds that piled up during the vacation! This is when we start thinking about "how to lose weight, calories, do you really have to count them?" It seems so difficult and time consuming to do that. Well, the good news is there are other ways to lose weight than having to count calories.

Now if I say that in how to lose weight, calories do not have to be counted, how then? The answer is a good balanced diet. If you follow a good diet, stick to a few good basics, you will lose weight without having to count calories.

So the basis of a good diet is that it should be balanced and them that you have to control your portion size. Portion control is very important because even with the most balanced eating plan of all, if your portions are too big, you will not lose any weight.

As elementary as it may sound, portion control is not always that easy. What can be considered a "normal" portion can vary from person to person, society to society, country to country and culture to culture! This, of course make the question "how to lose weight, calories, do I have to count them?" even more of an actuality.

Think about it for a while. Consider something like a portion of yogurt. Compare a yogurt container in the US to a yogurt container in France. Compare what a portion of pasta is considered in a fancy restaurant and that what a good Italian "Mama" will dish up!

Another big problem with portion control is what we have become used to. Everything is bigger now. In all the fast food joints you can no "upsize" your meals to bigger portions of fries etc. We have lost the natural "instinct" to know what is normal and what is not. This, of course, makes the question, "how to lose weight, calories, do you have to count them?" more and more important.

If I think back to the times when I grew up, I can still remember what would be considered a "portion" of meat in those days and what is considered a portion of meat today! My mom would cook one piece of lamb neck per person and these days none of us will be satisfied with less than two!

Another good example from South Africa would be rice. Years ago, because we serve a lot of veggies with our meals, cooking one cup of rice for a family of six or more was considered more than enough. These days we will only cook one cup of rice for a family of four or less. If there are more eaters, we will cook more rice!

Fruit is another food that can give you big problems with what can be considered a portion. What is the correct size for a portion of banana? How big should and apple be to constitute a portion? What should the size of a slice of melon be to be the correct portion? So it can go on and on.

Now, you may say, why go on and on about fruit. Fruit is healthy not? That is true, but fruit unfortunately also contain a lot of sugar and thus calories and too much fruit can make you gain weight!
So, the answer to the question 'how to lose weight, calories, do I have to count them?" is no, but you have to follow a good diet and know what proper portion control is.

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