I have made some progress. Taking that pressure off and just focusing on how to make me overall a bit better, in general, not “I-must-lose-weight-now” has helped. It hasn’t been miraculous, nor a straight line of improvement – but overall: better.

So now, I move onto my next step. I’m in that bit-better of a headspace that I want to improve my eating habits. I’m ready for that.

Count your calories – I believe this to be a key to weight-loss. I can’t cite any scientific evidence to support this methodology. [Not yet, I will research this properly in the future.] But I feel this has to help in weight loss. Weight loss *should* be simple. My understanding is: Calories in -> calories are used in the energy we use (to move, breathe, do any bodily function. Therefore: excess calories = excess energy, which in turn is converted into and gets stored as fat.

However, even as I write that, I’m thinking there’s so much more to it. There are types of food, and different ways of metabolism and storage, and different movement requirements, and – and – and…. Even as a doctor, and a doctor in Endocrinology, it’s so complex. And there are no clear guidelines that we have been taught about this. I believe it’s being integrated more into curriculum nowadays – lifestyle and nutrition medicine (I would’ve *loved* more education on this). And that is the planned purpose of this blog – to really want to look into what, if any, evidence and guidance there is.  And also to compare it to all of those Instagram fads out there (what is their evidence for all their claims?).

But right now, let’s keep this simple. Count your calories.

And in this day and age – it’s much easier to do. I remember the days of my mum. She was an avid Weight Watchers attender (we are a family guilty of carrying a bit too much podge). We’re talking 20 odd years ago.  For weight watchers, you kept to a daily about of “points” each day. BUT, these points were only found in little books. Food were categorised into generalised categories and words. It was difficult and tiresome to pour through these books to find out what your sandwich from the local deli equated to in their “points”.

These days, we have technology. And it’s so handy. There’s an incredible website – MyFitnessPal.com, and it helps you track your food intake. And nope, I am not in anyway affiliated or earning anything – I genuinely just recommend this for everybody to use. You can scan in the barcodes of *your food*. As you put items in, it remembers them for the future too – making it easier to record again. And most big brands or generic items (eg, an apple) can be found in their listed items. (I can go into all of this in a lot more detail later.) And of course, it has a handy app for all phone types.

But the key is – track your food. Understand how much you are eating. I think a good target is to try to loose 1 pound a week. The glorious thing is, MyFitnessPal.com will work this out for you. In creating an account with them, they ask for your details including your height, weight etc. They work out your “Basal Metabolic Rate” – ie, how many you approximately burn each day. (For those wanting to understand the maths here: One pound  = 3500 calories Therefore to lose 1 pound a week, you need to have taken in 500 calories less than you have used each day.) Therefore, you use the app and track your food, and it shows how your food consumption will likely affect your weight. It also includes your recorded exercise (if linked to the app).  It’s brilliant!

Possible negatives? I do know that some people find counting calories affects their view on food, and can worsened aspects such as eating disorders. As I will continue to say throughout this blog, everybody is different and everybody needs to find out what is right for them. Whilst I am discussing what I think may be best, I’m hoping it is generally good advice for the population. But everybody will likely need to adapt it to their own personal preference or needs.

Count your calories. This is simple thinking, but it’s a start. And no, it doesn’t mean changing your diet immediately tomorrow. This is a marathon, not a sprint. It’ll help make you aware of your intake, and where you can start to make small changes. Maybe you’ll be less likely to eat that whole large bag of crisps in the evening if you know it’ll add 800 calories to your day, especially if you did a work out that morning. Then you can progress to the bigger picture.

Again, to emphasise, this is just my personal feeling on things at this stage. Maybe as I delve into the research, I may find evidence supporting or contradicting this – and I will discuss this as I do. If you know of any sources on this – please do recommend. I want to read them!

So, for my journey. I shall begin to count my calories. And try to plan my days to consume what will help me lose weight. But, I shall have treats. I very much advocate for treat meals, or a day at the weekend – to give your head a break and also enjoy any social event when you’re eating out. But it needs to be considered how that overall affects your goals, and maybe reign it in a bit if it is too much in the end. But only time will tell with that. I think most should be able to have a treat day, and lose that pound a week.

Lets see how it goes.