You do need to know roughly how many calories you are consuming!!

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The press is full of people saying you dont need to know how many calories you are consuming - you are being told that it doesnt matter how many good calories a "good" food like an advocado has because it is good for you.  Yes these foods are good for you but if you have a weight problem adding an advocado to your diet every day will be a sure way of putting on weight!!

The calories needed per day has not been revisited since we walked everywhere and didnt have central heating!  So 1800 for women and 2000 for men is very outdated unless you are very young and very active!!  It is more like 1200 for women and 1500 for men.  Dont forget as well that every 10 years you need to drop your calorie intake by 10% or you will put on weight.  Likewise if you want to add a handful of nuts you will have to make allowances in your diet otherwise you will put on weight!

I agree that eating an advocado is better for you than a sausage roll (they both have the same calories) but they will both put on weight if you are on a diet.  Eating plans that say they dont count calories do behind the scenes even though you dont have to count them yourselves.  If you are on a fast track weight loss the company wont have you eating more than 1200 calories and it will be made up of good things.  Moderation in everything is the key and if you are on a restricted diet for the rest of your life you have to be able to eat what you love occasionally otherwise you will go mad!

I have lost weight just eating a bag of crisps and an apple a day - not recommended!  Also there have been television programs where somebody has eaten a McDonalds a day and they have lost weight. So whatever people say somewhere along the line calories in will affect the weight loss.  I had a friend who went on a banana and milk diet 20 years ago.  She was told to eat as many bananas as she wanted a day as they were good for her and as she had a big appetite she ate about 9 - a biggish banana is about 120 calories so with the milk she was over 1500 calories a day and guess what - she put on weight and couldnt understand it!!!!

I have a severely underactive thyroid and have to restrict my intake and have noticed that it doesnt matter what I ate as long as I stay under 1000 calories a day.  Interestingly now they say that eating 500 calories a day for a couple of days a week is good for you.  It gives your system a chance to rest and reduces inflammation and could enable you to live longer - if you wanted to!!!!  And I do know what I am talking about as I have been on a diet since I was born at 12lb!!

I recommend a good diet (I like the Hay and Eat right for your type (blood group) especially eating 5 veg a day - it should be 5 VEG a day and not 5 FRUIT AND VEG.  Fruit should be eaten inbetween meals and max two pieces a day.  You get far more vitamins and minerals from veg than you do from fruit.  Also the fruit affects your insulin and can make you hungry.  Eat when you are hungry and stop before you are full.  Dont eat the minute you are hungry because it is good for you to feel the hunger.  You dont need 3 meals a day if you are not hungry (I have 2).  If you cant get the recommend veg in these meals either juice them (veg only) or take a supplement like JuicePlus (this is what I do).

In future blogs I want to talk about body shapes and how they rule your lives and your weight