Calorie Counting: Calculating Your Dieting Budget – Part 3

In Calorie Counting: Calculating Your Dieting Budget – Part 1 and Part 2 we talked about how to figure out the size of your calorie budget as well as how to learn how much of your calorie budget you are spending, and on what so that you can reduce how much you eat enough to lose weight regularly.

But when you’re spending more money than you should be, there are two ways you can fix the problem. One way is to spend less, the other is to earn more. Let’s look at how you can “earn more” calories to spend in order to either lose more weight or be able to eat a few more of your favorites.

When you run out of money and you need to pay off debt, sometimes you may need to take a second part-time job for a while, do a little extra work on the side, maybe freelance here and there, or find some other way of earning extra money. Weight loss is the same.

Weight Loss is Simply About Burning More Calories Than We Take In

Weight Loss is Simply About Burning More Calories Than We Take In

Increase The Activity Levels

If you’ve gone over your spending limit long enough that you are now carrying extra weight, or if you would like to loosen up how much you are able to eat without gaining weight, you might want to consider upping your activity level. This work you do on the side can be in addition to your regular workout or, if you don’t have a regular workout, it can mean starting one.

Is there somewhere in your schedule you can slide in a few more minutes of workout time here and there? Perhaps a little elliptical work for 10 to 15 minutes before you jump in the shower at the start of your day? Maybe a brisk walk or jog on the treadmill while you’re waiting for the pasta to boil?

What about taking a walk around the block in the evening for a half an hour instead of watching reruns of that show you don’t even really like all that much? Any little moments of extra time that you can squeeze in will add up and, unlike overtime or a part-time job, no one needs to approve your extra hours and you don’t have to send out any résumés!

Increase The Intensity

Another way to earn more is to get a raise. If you don’t have the time (or the desire) to work out anymore than you already are, then maybe what you need to do is earn more in the time you are already using. Increase the amount of calories you’re burning by walking at 4 miles per hour instead of 3, but for the same amount of time. Turn up the tension on your workout machine just a little or supercharging your cardio workout and burn more calories in the same amount of time.

It can sometimes feel like there is no rhyme or reason to our weight loss efforts or their woes but, just like your finances, it’s really just a matter of not spending more than you’re earning. Weight loss is just as much of a numbers game as our personal finances are and if we treat it that way, we can get where we want to be faster.