If you eat certain foods, you will lose weight and not have to count calories. And, if you eat refined carbs, acquiring more calories than you burn up, you will surely gain weight. In my opinion, even though I eat a low-fat diet, fat is not the main culprit weight gainer.

Nevertheless, do avoid added fats and oil, as it brings (in time) great harm to our cardiovascular system. Oil is not healthy, no matter how many times they say it is. No, not even olive oil.

It isn’t worth the heart attack or stroke! Refined oil will damage the endothelium lining of our veins and arteries. Weed this out of your diet asap.

Have you noticed the belly on horses, cows and pigs? They all eat grain. But, refined grain somehow makes us gain even more weight because of its increased ‘surface area’ caused by grinding it into a fine powder or flour.

I always hated ‘starving to death’ on some stupid portion controlled fad diet! How about you? Have you found the popular diets don’t work? They never do. Only a lifestyle change does. This means, you eat differently for the rest of your life.

There are many equations dietitians utilize in calculating how many calories someone should eat each day to maintain his healthy stable weight. Factors like height, weight, age, sex and activity level must be considered.
You can estimate your calorie needs by approximation by: multiplying your healthiest weight by 12. Go see the healthy weight chart!

In other words, if you eat certain foods, you never have to count calories, ever. I eat plant-based whole foods. But, I don’t eat processed and refined food.

Whole grains are brown rice, millet, rolled oats, quinoa, whole-grain barley and wild rice. Refined grains are corn bread, white rice, pizza, corn flakes, white bread, flour and corn tortillas, crackers, pretzels, spaghetti and macaroni noodles.

I know they say whole grains are all healthy and good for you. Personally, I disagree. I avoid almost all grains including corn, wheat and barley. While I love pinto beans, and have them every day, the only grain I consume is brown rice. For complex carbs, try my fried potatoes and my baked organic russet potatoes.

Refined carbs have a very ‘high glycemic index’. The ‘GI’ measures how fast a carbohydrate causes blood sugar to rise. Brown rice has a ‘relatively’ low GI of 50, while white rice is higher at 87.

Fiber tends to stabilize blood sugar. Refined grain acts just like sugar. Too many carbs makes the pancreas secrete extra insulin that will store (convert) the ‘extra carbs’ as fat. But, the body will continue using glucose for energy and not burn the fat!

This is precisely why I don’t eat ‘hash browns’ anymore, (they make me feel tired. Potatoes with their skins on don’t) but substitute sliced russet potatoes (with the skin on!) and fry them in a pan without oil. It takes only about a half an hour to give them that ‘brown crust’ on both sides. It’s worth the taste!

Refined sugars are an ingredient in candy, soda pop, syrups, white table sugar, grain based deserts (cake, cookies, pies, sweet rolls, pastries,) fruit drinks and dairy desserts like yogurt. Most convenient foods have added sugar, like packaged, bottled, canned and restaurant food.

So, how do you avoid refined and processed foods? You have to primarily eat whole foods like fruits and vegetables. You will never have to ask this question: how many calories should I eat to lose weight?

Be sure to get in the habit of reading labels on processed packaged foods for refined carbohydrates like high-fructose corn syrup and corn syrup, maltose, sucrose, dextrose which are basically ‘pseudonyms’ for refined sugar. It’s easy to be tricked, even when you buy ‘organic’.

Note- consult your doctor before you change your diet.