Do I need to count calories to lose weight?

This is a question we hear from a lot of clients. I liken it to driving a car. How do you know if you’re going over the speed limit? If you are happy to leave it to chance don’t look at the speedometer, but if you keep getting speeding tickets then you need to check.

The basis of all effective weight loss programmes is calorie or energy balance. In the short term, your calorie balance has the greatest influence on your ability to lose weight and exercise helps to minimise loss of muscle, keep your metabolism high and maximise loss of fat.

The safest and most effective way to achieve sustainable weight loss is to eat 500 calories per day fewer than you use. This will produce a weight loss of 1-2 lbs per week. For a lot of women, this means eating 1,500 calories per day rather than the recommended 2,000 per day. We work with our clients to calculate their personal calorie needs for weight loss.

You don’t have to eat the same number of calories every day

To achieve weight loss, you need to be consuming less calories on average across the week. It’s OK to have a bit more at the weekend, if you have saved a few calories up during the week. Just don’t go over your weekly calorie allocation. Eat more but stay within reasonable limits. And remember there are lots of calories in wine, gin and beer!! In this example, the average calories across the week is 1500 per day.