A nutritionist told how to correctly count calories to lose weight

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Do you have a long-term goal to lose weight and maintain your weight, but you don't want to fall into the trap?

Have you already tried different types of diets and nutrition – from low-carb, low-fat, paleo to ketogenic diets – and still haven't reached your desired weight? Or worse: the notorious effect worked – and the scales showed more weight than ever before.

Find out how you can achieve your desired weight in the long term with the right exercise, a healthy diet and a few useful tips.

Trying to lose weight quickly with the help of strict diets is pointless.

“For several reasons – strict self-denial and constant weight control are extremely tiring, demotivating and often leave no training effect. And after a few weeks the scales show more kilograms than ever before. Such diets have serious drawbacks. For example, your immune system is radically weakened due to a lack of nutrients, and therefore you are more susceptible to infections,” says the dietitian.

In addition, your body is in a state of emergency starvation, so it accumulates more fat, and you lose mainly water due to the fast phase of the diet.

Therefore, the main task of changing your diet is to learn to eat a balanced diet, rich in vitamins, without strict moderation and with a share of patience and self-acceptance, in order to really lose weight in the long term and be able to maintain the weight.

The goal of healthy weight loss is to adopt a balanced, natural diet in the long term, in order to achieve an ideal weight and good health.

“No constant weighing. No food cravings. No yo-yo effect. And most importantly: No falling into an eating disorder or sports addiction.”

Counting calories — yes or no?

In the long run, there is definitely an advantage to not counting calories.

If you don’t yet know how high your basal metabolism is, or can’t estimate how many calories oatmeal with almond milk provides, it’s a good idea to track your calorie intake for two to three months and determine your basal and total metabolism.

A fitness trainer can help you learn to estimate your basal metabolic rate and calorie intake.

Because in order to lose weight, you need to eat less than your total turnover. This is called a calorie deficit, which should ideally be between 200 and 500 calories per day.

“It’s better and easier to keep track of your weekly calorie balance than to try to strictly adhere to your calorie intake day after day – it’s more effective for positive thinking.”

This means that on one day you can, for example, get 200 to 300 calories above your total turnover if you more than compensate for it on another day of the same week – for example, with a few minutes of extra training.

It is not recommended to aim for a calorie deficit that is too high or less than 1,200 calories per day. This strategy is counterproductive and will not be successful in the long run. Pay attention to the distribution of macronutrients – carbohydrates, proteins and fats – it should also be optimal with a slight calorie deficit.