Are all calories equal?

How do you lose weight?  You consume less calories than you use! Simple really ;-)

A few twists can make it harder or easier though.

First off, it is not recommended to eat less than 1200 calories a day (unless you are doing a specific short lasting cleanse- but that is debatable as well).  Most people would lose weight if they only consumed 1200 calories a day... The problem that arises here is if you have very low muscle tone and a low metabolic rate and your body doesn't even need 1200 calories for basic functioning, you may still gain weight eating the smallest amount recommend!!! 

Solution... add exercise and weight training.  By weight training I don't mean rush out to the gym, load up the barbells and start lifting, it can be as simple as working on a few pushups... these can be on your toes, on your knees or even against the wall.  Dips on chairs.  Grab some cans out of the pantry and curl them, lift them over your head then out to the side.  There are many simple tools you can use to start and slowly work on building muscle... starting often requires baby steps if you have never set out to do serious exercise before.

If you are exercising regularly then you need to add calories to get you through your workouts.  If you don't consume enough calories your body can actually hold on to any extra weight if you put it into "starvation mode".  Check out the Beachbody website to calculate your nutritional needs here.  You can sign up for the FREE membership option to check things out.

Another important detail is those calories you put in your body.  Is a calorie a calorie?  There is much debate about this.  Weight Watcher's lists include McDonalds foods, there are many processed foods that are labeled as "light" in the grocery store aisles... you body has a lot of requirements to make it function optimally and if all of your calories come from processed foods you may still continue with losing weight but you will not be focusing on good health at the same time.
Does this really matter?
Does feeling good matter to you?  You probably want to lose weight to fit in your clothes better, to be healthier and to feel better about yourself.  Is the number on the scale most important?  It shouldn't be.  Feeling great and long term health should be key!  Yes, losing weight will help you feel better than you did, but when combined with good nutrition you will feel even better and it will become second nature and will be a long term lifestyle change instead of a quick fix.
An option many people peruse is a meal replacement drink.  If it can fill you up and keep you from eating a potentially unhealthy meal it will help you keep your calories down.  If it has great nutrition at the same time you win by leaps and bounds!  Here is a comparison chart on some of the leading meal replacement drinks and how their nutrition stacks up (yes, it is put out by Shakeology so you get some info on the extra ingredients too):

I am in it for the long haul.  I love to exercise, I love fruits and veggies, I can throw together a healthy meal with ease, but I cannot get all of the nutrition I need on a daily basis from just the foods I buy at the grocery store to include in a typical meal.  I could buy more supplements, but not all supplements are created equal either.  Shakeology is whole foods, fully bioavailable, not made for long shelf life so it isn't cooked and preserved.  In addition to my regular food I drink a Shakeology shake daily, I take a calcium supplement and an omega-3 supplement.  I also throw in some extra vitamin C when viruses hit our home!  I don't know if this is for you but I can tell you that people have lost weight, decreased their cholesterol and blood pressure, improved their digestion and are just plain feeling better after adding Shakeology to their day!  Take a look at Carl Daikeler's blog here for some great stories of others.
Let me know how I can help you reach your goals by email or head to my site at www.GetFitWithNicola.com