Everything you need to know about Diet and Weight Loss

The relationship between diet, calories and weight loss

The relationship between diet, calories and weight loss is very strong and here is everything you need to know about it...

They are not very distant relatives - diets and weight loss. What you eat and how much of it you eat; play a crucial role in maintaining a healthy weight. 

Whilst experts are divided on the benefits and sustainability of low-calorie fad diets; there is enough consensus on the fact that portion control and a healthy, balanced diet can help you maintain a healthy body weight and help reduce health risks.

Diets:

A healthy diet should be a lot of things - sustainable, enjoyable, balanced, wholesome, nutritious and included local and seasonal foods. A good diet isn't just about a low calorie intake that leaves you craving for unhealthy fats. 

Some types of popular/ fad diets:

To be able to follow a healthy diet however, it is important to understand what consists of a well-balanced diet. Allow us to take you through some good diet practices.

Understanding Calories:

A calorie is basically a unit of energy, often used in the context of food and diets. A human body gets its energy from dietary calories and needs these calories to be able to perform everyday bodily functions. In order to maintain good health therefore; you need to make sure that your calorie intake is equal to how much energy you use each day. 

Everything you eat or drink has a calorific value and it is important to measure your calorie intake, in order to be able to control it. By controlling your diet; you can control your calorie intake—for instance; fatty foods contain higher amount of calories than those that are rich in protein and carbs. Based on how active your lifestyle is therefore; you can decide if you need more calories than average. 

To maintain a measured diet that correlates with your lifestyle and how much energy you consume in a day; you can do the following. 

Calorie check:

It is important to take note of the information about kilocalories or kcal on the food packaging of any product. Keep a check on your calorie intake as consuming too many calories over a prolonged amount of time can lead to weight gain.

A guide to measure your daily calories, sugars, fats, saturates and salt intake:

In order to help people maintain a balanced diet that suits the needs of an average adult, the NHS has published a recommended daily calorie intake , and some guidelines to consuming various food groups like fats, carbohydrates, sugars, salts and protein. 

Even though each individual has a different requirement based on their system and lifestyle; here is a broad guideline to measure the calorie intake for an average person in a day.

Whilst this calorie guide has been put in place for an average adult; they will not apply to everyone. For instance, people with type 2 diabetes or polycystic ovary syndrome may not be able to consume the mentioned amount of carbs in a day and still manage to lose weight due to their metabolism. 

Precisely why, it is important that a person with any underlying health conditions consult a professional dietitian or a nutritionist in order to get specialist advice on what they should be eating each day to maintain a healthy body weight.