Is it Important to Know the Calories Needed to Lose Weight?

Do you need to know the calories needed to lose weight? When you lose weight peacefully, you will naturally know the quality and amount of food to eat and knowing the exact amount of calories in each food becomes irrelevant.

However, sometimes it can be useful to see how many calories your body is burning to maintain your current weight and the number of calories required to lose weight.

Below is a BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) calculator. You can use it to calculate the number of calories needed for your body to maintain normal bodily functions at rest. It will also provide a guide to the number of calories needed to lose weight.

It is important to note that using this calculator is a rough guide for estimating calories needed.  I do not advocate the use of "counting calories" for dieting purposes. It may keep us in the diet mentality and creates obsession about the foods we eat.

The purpose of knowing the calories in food is to serve as a reminder that food is fuel. We want premium quality food for for each and every calorie we eat.

If you think you are getting better calorie value  from a low fat alternative, think again. When the fat is removed from a product, there has to be a replacement to fill this space. 

Consider low fat yoghurt. If you look at the ingredients, you may notice that sugar is one of the top ingredients. It is a "filler" ingredient. It replaces the taste of the creamy and satisfying fat content with sugary, processed and empty calories.  It may actually having more calories (and definitely more sugar) than regular yoghurt. 

If you are physically hungry, imagine enjoying a regular, organic, real fruit yoghurt. It will be much more satisfying, keep you fuller for longer and you will know you have provided pure quality fuel for your body.

If Not Counting Calories...Then What?

If we don't make our focus about the number of calories, how are we going to know that we are eating food that will allow us to lose weight?

Take the yoghurt example above. Once you eat high quality food, you will naturally eat less. You will crave foods that give you satisfaction and you won't be looking at how many calories you are consuming per serve. 

You will naturally eat within your required Basal Metabolic Rate, you will get the calories needed to lose weight and your weight will naturally return to its ideal.