Counting calories isn't as cut and dry as it sounds

The common misconception for anyone trying to lose body fat is that exercise is the key and will do it all for them. They join a gym which is a great step but commonly this only serves in giving a false sense of security as far as calorie or energy expenditure goes. A lot of the time visiting the gym even 5 hours a week by itself will not be enough activity for most people who are otherwise sedentary. In this day and age a minimum of 7 hours a week physical activity should be undertaken in a week for good health and to help the fat loss process.

There are usually four main problems associated with the way we think of achieving fat loss in my experience.

1. They count calories but don’t realise that anything that is heavily processed and unnatural is not an equal to a fresh and natural calorie packed full of nutrients. They aren’t getting the food value their bodies require. This is especially relevant today with low fat, diet and heavily sugared or artificially sweetened foods.
2. They commonly skimp on breakfast to save calories. This is the easiest way to stop fat loss in its tracks. Metabolism doesn’t function optimally and again quality nutrient dense foods are sacrificed for less valuable foods nutrients wise.
3. The portion sizes of their food can usually cut by ¼ to ½ . Even eating bad food options with a reduced size serving will still increase their capacity for fat loss. Unfortunately anything that gets binged on is usually heavily processed and sweetened so reducing the size down to half can save a lot of excess calories being consumed.
4. Move more in any way you can. Physical activity is needed for energy expenditure.

In summary quality should always take precedence over quality or lack of it in a weight loss campaign. The more nutrient value a food has the better effect that food will have on fat loss.