How do I lose weight while still eating my delicious Nigerian foods? This is a common question I get nearly every day because a lot of us believe that it is impossible to lose weight while eating our local foods. Well, good news to you today, Nigerian foods are not the problem, our major issue is how we eat it day in and out.

THE NUMBER ONE FACTOR THAT CAUSES WEIGHT GAIN
While there are lots of factors that cause weight gain, the number one cause is excess caloric intake (1). I totally agree that there are other factors that contribute to weight gain such as genetics, hormone imbalance, gut health, drugs such as steroids, etc, the simple truth is that 99% of weight gain is caused by excess caloric intake(2). Everything we eat and drink on a daily basis contains calories. Whether you don’t eat breakfast, you eat once a day or you just walk past the food (**winks**), you can exceed your daily caloric recommendation. I remember when I will sit down a big loaf of hot fresh agege bread, fried egg and chilled Pepsi yet I was wondering why I was gaining weight despite eating just once a day! Hahaha, Trust me, you can exceed your recommended caloric intake with just 1 meal.

THIS THEN BEGS THE QUESTION: WHAT IS A CALORIE AND HOW MANY SHOULD YOU EAT IN A DAY TO LOSE WEIGHT?
A calorie is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius. Calories in food provide energy in the form of heat so that our organs can function. Our bodies store and burn calories as fuel. Storing more calories than you burn will result in weight gain and vice versa for weight loss.

CALORIE VS. KILOCALORIE
When the word “calorie” is used in nutrition settings, by dieters or simply by consumers who are talking about food, they are usually using a casual definition of a calorie. But they are actually referring to kilocalories, which is what you see on nutrition labels. This is how the two terms are different:

The definition of calorie (cal), or small calorie, is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celcius.
kilocalories (kcal), or large calorie, however, is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water by one degree Celcius. A kilocalorie is equivalent to 1000 small calories. Kilocalories are sometimes called “food calories” or simply shortened to “calories” when referring to the energy in food.
Another unit of measurement used to quantify energy is called the “joule.” One small calorie is equivalent to just under 4.2 joules. A kilocalorie (kcal) is equivalent to approximately 4.2 kilojoules.

Our body needs calories to function on a daily basis and this is what we call Basal Metabolic Rate(BMR). It has nothing to do with exercise. Just by eating, breathing, moving your bowel, etc you’re burning calories. The number of calories to eat in a day, therefore, depends on your goal which can be:

Lose weight
Maintain weight
Gain weight

There are different ways to determine your caloric needs. You can get a quick estimate online or a more specific (and expensive) test performed in a lab. The best method for you depends on your goals, how much money you want to spend, and your access to various health services.

In Summary, Nigerian foods are not the problem, calories are.

For more on this topic, visit the source: https://fit4healthng.com/how-to-lose-weight-on-a-nigerian-diet/