Back to Articles Main Page

Fats, Carbs, Protein – It Still Comes Down to Calories

Courtesy of Jazzercise, Inc.

(CARLSBAD, CA) - Conventional wisdom was right – to lose weight, you need to eat fewer calories than you expend.  That’s the simple, straightforward approach people took 35 to 40 years ago, and it remains the one basic truth about weight loss.

However, as our national obsession with weight loss has grown over the past few decades, we’ve been lured down low fat, low protein and low carb paths looking for the perfect diet fix.  Each trend has diverted our attention from a simple fact: most people simply eat too much.

While it is important to monitor the content of your diet, and strike a healthy balance among carbohydrates, protein and fats, it still comes down to calories.  A calorie is a calorie regardless of its source, according to Jazzercise founder Judi Sheppard Missett, and it is far too easy for individuals to consume more calories than they need in today’s world.

Portion sizes have ballooned as the quality of our food has plummeted.  With the explosion of packaged products, we are eating more nutritionally barren foods.  Chips and other processed snacks have replaced fruits, nuts and vegetables as our staples.  (Ask your grandparents what they snacked on as children, and you probably won’t hear them mention chocolate covered granola bars or Doritos®.)

To complicate matters, caloric needs decrease as we age, at the same time that physical activity also diminishes for many individuals.  Almost imperceptibly, you begin consuming more calories than you expend and the excess begins appearing gradually on your body.  Before you know it, you’re carrying around an extra five to 20 pounds.

The answer to this dilemma doesn’t lie in following an extreme diet, in which certain types of foods (e.g. carbohydrates, protein and fat) are severely restricted while others are allowed in unmitigated quantities.

Rather you should eat a balance of fat (20 to 30 percent), carbohydrates (55 to 60 percent) and lean protein (15 to 20 percent), trying to consume a bit of each in every snack/meal.  In other words, a bit of protein with your carbohydrates will help slow digestion and leave you feeling satisfied for a longer period of time.

The real ”trick“ to weight loss is figuring out your personal caloric needs and creating a balanced diet and exercise program that allows you to expend more calories than you consume.  To determine your true caloric needs, use the following formula:

Next, learn proper portion sizes.  The Federal Citizen Information Center offers a helpful brochure online at http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov/cic_text/food/food-pyramid/main.htm which includes guidelines as to what counts as a serving.

Finally, create a diet and exercise plan that allows you to burn about 500 more calories a day than you consume.  That equals a one-pound loss per week, which most experts agree is the best approach to safe and lasting weight loss.  A combination of aerobic exercise and strength training is the best way to burn calories.  Whether you do them on alternate days or accomplish both in one workout be sure to do both.  Aerobic exercise burns fat while strengthening the heart, lungs and circulatory system.  Strength training maintains and builds muscle, which increases your base metabolic rate, or the rate at which your body burns calories at rest.  (Simply put, muscle burns more calories than fat.)

If you like step aerobics, try the following ”over the top“ move to get your heart pumping and fire up your calorie burning furnace.  Place your step in a lengthwise position and stand to the left side of it.  This is a four count movement, basically ”step, together, step, touch,“ only you will be going ”up, up, down, tap“ since you are using a step platform.  Begin by stepping up onto the platform with your right foot on count one.  On count two, place your left foot up on the platform next to your right foot.  Step down off the right side of the platform with your right foot on count three, and tap your left foot on the floor next to your right foot on count four.  Now you are ready to reverse the movement and go over the top to the left by stepping up left, up right, down left, and tapping down right.

Once you master the basic steps, you can increase the intensity of this exercise by adding a little hop as you go over the top of the platform.  To do this, push off your right foot as you take the first step up on the platform, and leap up as you change from foot to foot and land on your left foot on top of the platform.  Step down on your right foot and tap left as in the basic over the top move.  Continue going back and forth right and left until you are ready to change to another movement.  The four-count movement used in this exercise step will match the format of most popular music.  Just make sure the music you use is energetic, fast enough to get your heart pumping but not too fast for you to perform the steps safely and comfortably.

Jazzercise, created by Judi Sheppard Missett, is the world's leading dance-fitness program with more than 6,800 instructors teaching 30,000 classes weekly in the U.S. and around the globe.  Since 1969, millions of people of all ages and fitness levels have reaped the benefits of this comprehensive program, designed to enhance cardiovascular endurance, strength, and flexibility.  For more information on Jazzercise go to jazzercise.com or call (800)FIT-IS-IT or (760)476-1750.