Not all calories are created equal

Have you heard the age old philosophy that it doesn't matter what you eat as long as you consume less calories than you burn if you want to lose weight? Most of us have heard this before, and there is certainly some truth to it, but not all calories are created equal.

The quality of the food you eat can have a huge impact on your success at weight loss and increasing your fitness level. Why? Because what your body is really looking for when you eat is nutrients. Ever wonder how it is that you can eat a huge helping of ice cream, cake, cookies, pizza, fast food, or any other junk food and still be hungry again in an hour? Ever eat a cinnabon? You can easily consume all of the calories your body needs for a day in one sitting and you'll still be hungry later because your body hasn't gotten the nutrients it needs to be content and healthy. If you're nutrient-deficient, your body will ask for more food (any kind of food), hence why we crave foods and always have room for dessert. 

Want to be able to eat MORE and still lose weight? Give your body the good stuff! Eating nutrient dense foods like fresh fruits and vegetables gives your body what it's craving. It will have an easier time digesting and processing the food, and with all those nutrients in there for it to soak up, there will be less extra stuff for it to store as fat. Not to mention giving your body all of the fuel it needs to workout hard and the vitamins and minerals it needs to be healthy and strong and ward off illness. One more great side effect of eating healthy food? You'll actually feel full sooner and not need to eat as much. Check out this chart and see how much more food you get for the calories, so it's easy to see how you can feel fuller with the good stuff. For some people increasing the amount of healthy foods means the amount of calories you consume daily will automatically drop and help with weight loss in that way.

So cook up some veggies, have a nice piece of fresh fruit, or try a nutrient dense meal replacement shake (I love my Shakeology!) and see how you feel. It will be tough to kick the sugar and fat habit of junk food, but your body will thank you for it. Do you know just how good you can feel? Eat quality calories, not just less calories, and you'll find out!

xoxo,
Amanda K

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