Count That Calorie

Written by Sky Taylor, Diet Bites

The importance of counting calories - even measly carrot calories.

Most of us have heard about the 'good food gone bad' syndrome but it bears repeating. Garden salad.

Sounds healthy and harmless doesn't it?

But if you care to tank-up that salad you may need to put away your abacus and drag out your calculator.

Top those greens and tomatoes with grated cheese, low-calorie ranch dressing, croutons, bacon bits (imitation or real), sliced eggs - and the calories can really add up.

And you don't even want to start frying things. It's a solid guarantee that fried mushrooms will make one's body mushroom.

That's why they made spandex. Black seems to be the most popular color.

Overall, it takes such a short time to consume everything we eat in a day. If one overeats they may spend the rest of the day on a wild guilt trip.

If you think about it, those extra helpings and double-Mayo sandwiches are just not worth it.

We have so many things in life that we cannot control. Fortunately, our weight is something we do have the power to direct.

Exercise: What a nasty word.

The New World definition might be as follows: "Sweat, grind, sweat, pump, sweat, run, sweat, puff, sweat, then sweat some more."

In the happy golden days there was no need for ab-busting, thigh-pinching, arm-routing machines. Farmers plowed their fields (literally) and generally burned several thousand calories per day, depending on the amount of offspring one had. The more helpers, the less he burned. That aside, at quitting time they'd retreat to their humble abodes and spend the evening resting up, generally watching their clock set in the western sky as mom dolled out piles of lye soap from the cauldron adjacent to the back porch.

Technology has lunged us forward. Most of us have docile jobs with little activity and great stress. At quitting time we retreat to our humble abodes and spend the evening resting up, generally watching other people do massive activity via television through shows such as Survivor and Boot Camp, while eating our 2-bag allotment of low fat potato chips. Do you ever notice that when they reduce the number of calories on a goody-item that we tend to eat more rather than reap the benefits intended?

"Oh, it has half the calories so now I can eat twice as much. How ingenious! How wonderful!" Then five years later, "I just don't understand why I had that massive coronary. I eat so healthy - low fat and lots of it."

If I'm Good Will I Live Longer?

When one ponders longevity many things go into play. Our bodies are a bit like a car; if you run it fast and hard and never change the oil, grease the axles or change the fluids you can just about bank that this car will face an early destination to the auto boneyard. The valves will clog (i.e. arteries), the tires will wear out (i.e. heart) and the engine will eventually freeze up (massive coronary). So yes, if we pamper our bodies it's definitely worth the payoff. This translates into nutritious eating, vitamins, exercise and avoiding habitual substances such as alcohol and tobacco.

However, other things that influence our final outcome include genetics, mental stability, disease and stress levels (good or bad). Of these we have little control, but again technology is making tremendous strides. Toss in Mad Cow and StarLink corn and the formula gets a bit interesting.

In Conclusion

Summing it all up, the message is simple. Take time for yourself because you're worth it! You don't have to go ape with the calorie counting but it's a wonderful monitoring tool when you're watching your waistline.

And remember, modern technology is hard at work, trying to develop a magic pill that will cure all our ills, including the downsizing of our midsections. Until then:

Determine your weight.

Determine how many calories per day you need to maintain your weight.

Determine how many calories are burned throughout your choice of daily activities.

If you want to lose weight adjust your calorie-intake and activity level accordingly.

Eat healthy and take those vitamins.

Excess equals excess.

And last but not least, count that carrot!

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