The Ultimate Guide to Tracking Calories for Body Composition, Health & Living a good Life.

There’s always going to be a divide between the people that like the idea of calorie tracking and think it’s a good idea to monitor what goes in our mouths, and those that oppose it and believe in an intuitive style of consuming foods and drinks where you see fit. Here’s an easy to digest (mind the pun) explanation of the pros and cons of calorie tracking. Read on…

For those unaware, tracking or monitoring your calorie intake has become increasingly popular over the last five years using apps such as MyFitnessPal where you can actively log all your foods and drinks onto the aforementioned program and you’re able to see your total amount of calories consumed for the day, along with information about how many macro-nutrients (carbs, fats, proteins) and micro-nutrients (vitamins, minerals) and fibre that you’ve had for that particular day.

Where I’m an advocate of calorie tracking and think it can be beneficial, especially for newbie clients are the following : -

1. CT helps raise awareness of how certain foods are a lot more calorie dense than others and you can easily overeat without thinking about it in a given day or weekend.

2. Helps people previously unaware, understand the importance of portion control especially when it comes to a fat loss goal.

The Haters

Where some are against calorie tracking and think that it shouldn’t be common in modern practice is that it can potentially encourage orthorexic behaviour, link to eating disorders, plus it takes the enjoyment out of having a good time/social occasion and can be seen by some as a monotonous task.

Although there is part of this that I agree with, I do believe that if more people took the time to monitor what they’re stuffing down their gobs, we’d probably not be facing a Worldwide Obesity crisis. (bigger problems to face right now too).

I also believe there’s worse things to be obsessed with : — some examples include our smartphones, crack cocaine, crystal meth and alcohol!

If you’re looking to start tracking your calories and have no idea what to do or want to do it well without consuming all your time, here are some pointers.

What you should look out for?

Unfortunately there are an array of foods, as good as they are to taste can be lathered in extra calories without our knowing.

Some of these can include oils, butters, fatty cuts of meats/fish, donuts, cakes, pizza and alcohol. This is not a ploy to get you to stop having certain calorie dense foods, but to just be mindful of how these can add up very quickly.

A better alternative in this instance could be to swap out more calorie dense foods with something a little leaner like chicken breast, egg whites, white fish or chucking vegetables into the mix.

Two things you shouldn’t do

1. Become obsessive.

Although I had mentioned previously that there are bigger things to worry about, CT shouldn’t consume our lives or make us resent what we don’t or do eat. But more so, help us understand to moderate most of the things that we consume and that we can still socialise with friends and family whilst being in good shape. Not enjoying yourself in fear of going over on your calories all the time is a recipe for disaster, so aim to avoid that. If you do go over on your calories for one day, just eat a little less the next. Sorted.

2. Track. Absolutely. Everything.

This can be tedious, takes too much time and is hard work. Scanning your favourite low-cal sweetener, greens and berries won’t add up to much in the long-run, but not scanning your Burger & Chips probably will count. See what I mean?

What to do if you don’t know exactly what you’re eating, say when getting a takeaway or at a fancy restaurant?

Some simple strategies that have worked wonders over the years are broken down into three options :

1. Eat a little less earlier on in the day to save some extra cals for the evening, so you can enjoy yourself and not feel guilty about the meal.
2. Overestimate what you’re having at the meal, so at least if you have gone over on your cal intake for the day, you know about it. Most people tend to underestimate and think they’re eating less than they actually are and stump a fat loss goal.
3. Overdone it? Don’t worry, just compensate with a little more activity and less calories the following next day. Unless you’re doing this regularly, it’s not going to make a massive difference in the grand scheme of things.

If you’re wanting to preserve Lean or build Muscle (or both), go for a high Protein diet. Aiming for 1.6–2g per KG of Bodyweight will help.

Three reasons why this is beneficial : 1.Helps keep us satiated the most compared to any macronutrient (carbs, fats & proteins). So the fuller we are with a meal, the less likely we are to experience hunger/cravings at their worst. 2. High protein helps us burn more fat because it requires more energy to metabolise it (win win). Lastly a high protein diet helps us build or maintain muscle. Typically people tend to have low protein, high carbohydrate and high fat meals, so switching this on it’s head (along with a solid resistance training program) can really help us look and perform better every day.

Long-term Strategies to Win.

Those that are able to maintain a good shape, will typically monitor what they eat and moderate for the most part without an obsessive attitude towards food and drink.

This will also coincide with an active lifestyle, walking whenever possible, obtaining good quality sleep and reducing stress (where possible). Do this for a number of months and you’ll feel better for it and want to keep at it. The ultimate way to live a good life.

Putting yourself into an unhealthy relationship with food, exercise and your general lifestyle and you’ll set yourself up for disappointment further down the road.

@shredquartersbrighton