For weight loss, count calories first

WHEN it comes to weight loss, the formula seems simple enough make sure that you burn more calories than what you take in. But the execution can be frustrating especially when you're as hopeless at mathematics as I am.

One of the first things I learned was to eat more smaller meals throughout the day and to snack often enough to keep me full for the day.

So I went through the shelves of a nearby store to find healthier options to junk food. In the healthy context, a snack simply means something you munch on to keep yourself fuelled and your metabolism going. This is understandable as when you reach actual meal times, you won't immediately start shovelling food down your gullet.

That is where people who define "diet" as starving themselves go horribly wrong.

Yes, their calorie intake is lower but the body's metabolism isn't burning as efficiently as it should be. Instead, the body is bracing for the worst and in an effort to hold on to whatever energy reserves it has left, it burns much slower. So scratch that ... starvation simply doesn't work and will just do you harm.

People who have tried this "starvation" diet where they eat once a day will simply find themselves getting weaker, feel sluggish and struggle to even function normally physically and mentally. And even if they end up losing the desired amount of weight, they'll put them back on in no time.

Instead, pay more attention to the nutritional value you consume rather than the actual numbers while keeping within the recommended daily calorie intake (which is approximately 2,500 calories for adult males and around 2,000 calories for females).

When you break that down into three main meals and two snacks in between, we'd be looking at an average of about 400-500 calories a session.

Theoretically a person could go through a whole day drinking cans of soft drinks. But opposed to having servings of rice, noodles, meat and vegetables, there would only be sugar entering the body instead of more valuable nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and minerals.

While experts would recommend staying away from high-sugar soft drinks and juices, it's only human to crave it once in a blue moon so long as it doesn't end up being a staple at the table.

Before you arrive at the conclusion that healthy living seriously equates to a life involving drinking nothing but water and chewing on nothing else but sticks of celery, consider the delicate reality of our body system.

Too much sugar and salt brings about irreversible damage and various vitamin deficiencies leave us at less-than-optimum. We should be making all the steps necessary to make our lives as fabulous as ever. So enjoy life... which includes food and drink. But don't over indulge. Take life seriously enough but have fun while doing it.

"Balance" isn't impossible but it isn't easy. Try asking a tightrope walker.

The views expressed by the author are his own and do not reflect the views of The Brunei Times. The Brunei Times