Calories? What Role Do They Really Play In Weight Loss?

If you have been on any diet for any length of time, you became quite good at counting calories. Many diets give you a set amount of calories you need for the day, and every food is given a calorie count.

Limiting calories has always been the way most diets teach you to lose weight. Much new scientific evidence is surfacing telling us that this is just not true. Our bodies react differently to various foods, and has little to do with the calorie count.

You could eat the same exact amount of calories of spinach or ice cream, but your body would metabolize the foods differently. The reason why this matters is what your body does with the food after you eat it. Your body reacts to food and environmental factors, by releasing hormones and enzymes.

The process that your body does automatically is deeply embedded in your Genes through your DNA. You see your body is primal in nature. Our body's number 1 job is Survival. Our genes have not adapted to the modern world and still operates on how life was long ago, when famine was a real threat.

Calorie restriction is one sure way to put your body into fat storage mode.Your body thinks it is starving, and in order to protect you, it goes into survival mode. It releases many enzymes and hormones that tell the body "Hey we got a problem here; there is a real threat to our survival!" We need to slow down the metabolism, make your body tired, as to not expend much needed energy.

There are many things your body will do, if faced with calorie restriction, as most diets will have you do. It will deaden your taste buds, so you crave more salty, sweet foods. It will turn on your appetite, so you are hungrier more often. This is where most diets fail. Most diets rely on calorie restriction for weight loss.

The real way to lose weight, and lose it permanently is to learn what to give your body, that it is "starving for". Where your body will work with you, instead of against you. It will be like swimming with the current, instead of against it. Your extra weight will just start to "melt away".

Calorie restriction is not the answer... knowing what foods and lifestyle habits to incorporate for the permanent healthy body you desire is the answer...

A good way to start is to add green leafy vegetables to your diet everyday. I make a Morning Shake for breakfast. This way I know I am getting a good start. One recipe I use often is: a handful of baby spinach and arugula, ½ celery stalk, ¼ apple, a scoop chia seeds (for Omega 3's, real important for weight loss) and frozen wild blueberries... this is really delicious! Then I will throw other veggies in that I have on hand. Your bodies actual biology will start changing!

You won't believe what will begin to happen before your eyes... Your body is a really amazing thing! Give it what it needs and wants and watch the magic happen.

To you good health!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/