"Calories"?

So, here's a real life conversation that took place today :

Person A: Ok...I need some help! I really want to have a "swim suit" body (or close to it...) by July at the latest. But I just can not keep myself from eating... and eating stuff I should not eat :( so...those of you out there that are "dieting", besides exercise... what else are you doing to help lose weight??

Friend 1:  you probably don't believe this but I have a SUPER slow metabolism and stuff, but I'm also a health nut. It's about moderation and discipline thats the sucky thing...is having the strength to stare at a cookie in the face and not eat it. but if you can, limit your "cheat " days to weekends only. then during the week be really strict with yourself. and print signs EVERYWHERE in your house and bathroom that say, "Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels." It helps some people.

Friend 2: Calorie counting and walking 30 min a day. Drinking lots of hot green tea lost 7lbs in 2 weeks. It is working for me and I have Hashimotos (under active Thyroid)

Friend 3: eat more vegies, stay away from fat and sugar, including soda. Decrease food intake little by little without starving yourself. make sure u r well hydrated, stay away from bread and meat, fish and some chicken are good, baked only, and of course exercise! we are designed to run, so run three times a week or walk 2x20 mins each day. others exercises u like are great too. like swimming! hope this helps...good luck! Ahhh...absolutely NO needs for medication! !!!! 

Friend 4: I just do little things...I eat whatever I want (within my celiac diet of course), I just watch my portions, that way I don't always crave what I "shouldn't have." For me, when I tell myself I can't eat certain foods, I just want them that much more, so I watch my portions. I also do things like take the stairs instead of an elevator and park my car in the furthest parking spot at the grocery store so I have to walk further....things like that. I also walk a lot during the day at work, so maybe take some time every day to walk around the block (I know it's cold right now), or if you have stairs in your house you could jog up and down those for so many minutes, etc. Just my two cents! You will find what works best for you and your body!

Person A: thanks guys!! i really appreciate all your comments:) i will try my best...im not a very strong person when it comes to food, and exercise....but i have to do something!!

Friend 5:  I've found it helps to go off sugar and starches for a week or 2 to get your cravings under control. South Beach diet ( check it out at the library ) has a great 2 week diet to get you started plus it jump starts your weight loss to get you motivated.

.... Uhhhh ... WHAT?!!  South Beach Diet, Water with Lemon, 2 week diet, sugar and starches,"stay away from bread and meat, fish and some chicken are good, baked only" ... maybe it's just the punctuation but am I suppose to be staying away from Bread and meat, fish and some chicken?  Or am I staying away from bread?  Fish and chicken ARE meat ... baked or otherwise ... and what's the matter with grilled chicken??   It's about discipline and moderation, calorie counting, having the strength to turn down a cookie. "We are designed to run" ... WHAT?! 

Okay ... This was not my conversation and these were not my friends.  Here's the conversation I had with Person A, in part:

Me: I was wondering if I could talk to you a moment about your post earlier?

The one about dieting
...

Person A: I just need someone to kick my butt in gear. I really need to lose some weight, I'm just not very good at motivating myself  

...

Me: I'll also mention myfitnesspal.com Do you know anything about how calories work? 

Person A: No I, have no idea how they work... at least I don't think I do..

So,  here's what went through my head when I read Person A's post: I really need/want to lose weight but I have absolutely NO IDEA where to start.  Can someone help me know what steps to take?  And Sweet Person A got bombarded by GREEK.  Person A is brilliant, and sweet and loving and barely needs to lose a pound (at least to ME, but I don't look at her naked in the mirror like she does) ... But brilliant, sweet and loving doesn't mean that you "get" how to lose weight.  I am the SAME way.  When people say, "read the labels", "Count your calories!" I think to myself ... I do not understand what you're even saying!  I DO read the labels, but I don't have any idea what I am looking for.  I can count my calories, I mean, of course I can count my calories, I do know how to add.  But now what?  What does "counting your calories" even mean.  What in the hell IS a Calorie and WHY am I counting it?!!  So, I end up saying, "Forget it, it's too complicated, it's too overwhelming" and I crack open a Dr. Pepper and whatever my high sugar food is for that moment and I quit.  I do it ALL the time, sometimes on a weekly basis. 

 So, where exactly DO we start?  I think we should start with defining a Calorie and why we need to count it: 

What exactly is a calorie? A calorie, as commonly referred to on food nutrition labels, is a unit of energy. 

What does a calorie do?  "When you eat food, you are consuming the energy that is stored within the protein, carbohydrate, and fat molecules of that food. The total amount of the energy stored in the food you are eating is represented by the calorie content of the food as indicated on its nutritional label."  

Say what, now? 

Everything on the earth has energy.  The energy is harnessed in different ways.  We are made up of energy.  The food we eat, is also made up of energy.  So when we eat, "we are consuming the energy that is stored within" the food.  So if I eat, say a 100 calorie candy bar, (that would be barely enough of a bite to make my mouth water), then the contents of the candy bar equal 100 "units" of energy.  (More specifically, a calorie is the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 litre of water by 1 degree Celsius.)  Does that make sense?  When I eat, I am eating energy, I need energy to run by body, to walk, eat, breathe, have a heartbeat and thoughts ... It all requires energy, which is what I need to eat.  The big question is: Do I eat as much energy as my body uses ... or do I eat more?

Your body is capable of doing only two things with the calorie energy that it absorbs; it must either burn it or store it. When we eat food the calories that are in it can never disappear or be destroyed, they can only change form.  When we eat them, calories do not disappear but rather are eventually transformed, or "burned," into the different types of energy that your body utilizes or produces each day, like heat energy, electrical energy, sound energy, and kinetic (movement) energy, OR, if they aren't burned, they are stored again as more chemical energy. "Therefore, according to the first law of thermodynamics, any calories that you consume and do not burn must be stored on your body." And, unfortunately, the primary storage mechanism for the excess calories you consume is fat, rather than muscle.

What we've learned so far leads us to some very simple rules about calories by which weight loss and weight gain can be explained. These rules are absolutely fundamental to determining how much you weigh, and it is impossible to contravene them. They are the following:

1. If you eat more calories than you burn you will gain weight.
2. If you burn more calories than you eat you will lose weight.
3. If you eat the same amount of calories that you burn your weight will not change.
   

To keep itself alive your body is always burning at least some minimum amount of calories that are used to support the function of vital organs like your heart, brain, nervous system, lungs, kidneys, liver, muscles, and skin. This rate of calorie burn is called your "basal metabolic rate". If you want to accomplish anything beyond simply staying alive, such as moving your body for example, you will have to burn extra calories to do it. "Therefore, on any given day the total number of calories you burn is the sum of your basal metabolic rate plus all the additional calories burned from the activities you do."

As an example, let's pretend that you've determined you burn 2,000 calories a day and eat 2,500 calories a day. Therefore, you are eating 500 calories more each day than you burn and you are gaining weight.

For another example, let's pretend that you've calculated that you burn 2,000 calories a day and eat 1,800 calories a day. Therefore, you are burning 200 calories more each day than you eat and you are losing weight.

If you want to lose weight, all you need to do is make sure that you consume fewer calories each day than you burn and you will be GUARANTEED to lose weight. Of course, that being said, you want to make sure that you lose weight in a healthy manner. 

Okay, THAT is why we count calories.  But counting calories doesn't mean jack if you don't know what exactly you're counting them for.  I can count up to a trillion, but that doesn't do me any good now does it?  I need to know what my caloric intake should be before counting them will do anything for me. 

How do I know what my caloric intake should be everyday?  The best way I have found is myfitnesspal.com  but a calorie calculator works too.  Your calorie intake depends on your lifestyle as well.  Are you sedentary, do you do a lot of walking or standing, are you a workout fiend?  All of that determines how many calories you need to take in each day.  If you do very little moving around, like me for instance, then my caloric intake should be very low vs. if I work out for two hours a day and I burn 5,000 calories, I'd best eat at least 4,500 or I'm going to pass out. 

So ... let's start there.  How many calories should I be eating every day? According to myfitnesspal.com, my calorie intake should be 1780.  

What's yours?