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This article isn’t about the number of calories in food. It’s about why you’ve come here looking for the calorie count of foods. Now, be honest!
In my experience it’s for one of two main reasons:
- You’re on a calorie controlled diet and looking to reduce the number of calories you are eating.
- You’re eating sensibly and are just curious and wanting to avoid the most calorie-dense foods.
Now I’ll bet my pension that 9 out of 10 of you will be here because of (1) and a measly 1 out of 10 because of (2).
If you’re one of the latter – Congratulations! You are thinking about what you eat, looking for advice on what to avoid, and hopefully accept that weight loss has to be slow, steady and sensible.
If you’re in the first category, it’s not too late! Throw away that “latest fad diet – lose 9 lbs in 3 days” that you got from your friend Caroline and continue reading. Become one of the very few that lose weight and keep it off.
For most of us in the developed world life has just become too easy and comfortable. I’m not saying there aren’t people who are poor and who don’t have many possessions, but very few people in the western world and in particular the United States are so poor they can’t afford to eat. The problem is these days we are surrounded by cheap calorie-dense but nutritionally-poor foods – and unfortunately, we are programmed by nature to eat and eat and eat!.
In the old days, that would be a good thing. We would desire foods that would ensure our continued survival. What happens, though, when we don’t have to work for our food (we don’t have to expend energy catching it!) and we can eat cheaply any time we choose? What happens is our survival programming becomes a curse. We overeat on a massive scale and we get the obesity levels we are seeing now. And they are getting worse – our younger generation now is suffering the curse of fast-food and obesity.
Combine this abundance of food with the “quick fix” mentality which teaches us we can satisfy our desires immediately. All you have to do is whip out your credit card and you can have whatever you want tomorrow, no waiting or patience required. Why do think the weight loss market is so huge? Billions of dollars spent on the latest gadgets, diets, drugs and exercise equipment that just are not going to work on their own.
Nothing you can buy will do you any good if you are not prepared to put in the effort required to make it work. Buying the equipment isn’t going to remove that excess flab. You are.
Accept that you don’t get anything for nothing and be prepared to put in some effort to make it work.
My guess is that by now 9 out of 10 people will have left this web page! They will have become uncomfortable realising I’m not selling some Lose-Weight- Quick –No –Effort-Required product and that they are not hearing what they want to hear.
To be honest I could earn a small fortune just selling people what they really want to buy! What they want is the magic bullet for weight loss and they don’t seem to mind how much money they spend in their search for this mythical holy grail.
Sigh, if only I could. But unfortunately I can’t. Because I won’t. Because it’s not true – the magic solution does not exist and people who tell you it does are only after your hard-earned bucks and not your long-term health and happiness.
On the other hand, there are a few weight loss products that - dare I say it - aren’t too bad and at least won’t do you any harm! If you would like to check them out visit my Weight Loss - Diets section. If I feel the products aren't effective or safe I'll tell you.
All the best,
Robert E. Bartram
(Hypnotherapist & Pilates Instructor)
Calories In Food
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