Calorie counting can be a useful tool for achieving healthy weight loss, weight gain, or weight maintenance goals. While the procedure may appear straightforward, common errors can derail its success. Utilize this list of calorie counting tips to ensure that you have the proper numbers for success.
Note: Calorie counting may not be appropriate for everyone, particularly those with eating disorders. Also inappropriate for children and adolescents. There are alternative, more intuitive and less intrusive methods for ensuring that you consume an adequate amount of food. A therapist or nutritionist can assist you in learning more about healthy eating.
Why You May Want To Count Calories
- Some people like to count calories because it helps them balance the amount of energy they take in and the amount of energy they use so they can reach their body composition goals. Using intuitive eating may make it easy to stay at the same weight, but many people find it harder to lose fat or gain muscle mass.
- Counting calories can help you reach your goals if your doctor has told you to lose weight for your health or if you are trying to build muscle mass. Some people who have dieted before lose touch with their bodies’ natural signals for hunger and fullness. They may always eat too little and not get enough nutrients. Counting calories can help you eat enough in this situation.
- Some people may eat too many calories to lose or keep their weight the same. You might be used to eating calorie-dense foods or big portions, and making small changes to the way you eat could help you learn to eat less and get to a healthier weight.
- It’s important not to cut calories too much, because doing so can be unhealthy and hard to keep up in the long run. Counting calories can help clear up some of the confusion and stress about how much to eat.
- Not everyone should count calories, and if it becomes too restrictive or makes you feel bad about food or your body, you should stop and talk to a doctor or nurse.
Calorie Counting Basics
If you don’t know how to count calories, your daily energy needs are a good place to start. You should eat that many calories every day. Getting the number can be done in different ways, but many people choose to use an online calculator. Here is a tool you can use to help you lose weight – https://manytools.org/handy/bmr-calculator/go/
Once you know how many calories you need to stay the same weight, you can cut back on them to lose weight or add to them to gain weight. If you want to gain muscle, you should eat more calories than you burn and lift weights in a way that builds muscle mass (hypertrophy).
Tips for Success
There are several ways to make it easier to count calories and get an accurate number every day.
Make the most of tech tools.
Don’t rely on your memory to remember what you ate that day. Even if you remember what you ate, it’s hard to remember exactly how much you ate. If your food journal isn’t complete or if the serving sizes are wrong, you probably won’t get an accurate calorie count.
Instead, you could use an app on your phone to keep track of your calories. Before you sit down to eat, write down how many calories your meal has. You can also use a small notebook that you keep in your purse. The idea is to have a way to keep track of calories that you can take with you anywhere.
Measure portions accurately
Don’t guess when figuring out how much to eat. Most people don’t eat as much as they think they do. And we tend to eat too much of some foods. One great example is cereal. People often put too much cereal in their bowls, so they eat more than one serving by accident.
Spend your money on a digital kitchen scale instead. You don’t have to use it at every meal, but you should weigh a portion of food every time you eat something new so that you know how much to eat. If you eat more or less than the serving size listed on the nutrition facts label, you can get the right number of calories if you know exactly how many grams were in your serving.
Stay on budget
You don’t have to spend a lot of money to get good tools. The most expensive calorie counter might not be the best one for you. There are different tools and gadgets for every price range. You should use the one that works. You don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars on a tool for it to work.
Before you buy something, you might also want to think about how you live. People who spend all day in front of a computer might find online tools useful. And a small notepad works well for people who like to write with a pen and paper. Make sure the notebook you choose is small enough to fit in your pocket or purse.
Record macros and exercise
Don’t just keep track of the calories you eat. Depending on the tool you use, you can also track how much fiber and sodium you eat. Getting enough fiber can be good for your health. You can also make sure you get the right amount of exercise if you and your doctor have decided that weight loss is your goal.
Besides keeping track of your total calories, you might also want to keep track of your protein, carbohydrate, and fat grams. When you enter your food into a food app, these numbers will be recorded automatically.
Conclusion
You can use calorie counting to help you reach your goals for how your body looks. Most people should only use it for a short time because it can make them do things over and over again. But counting calories gives many people peace of mind because they no longer have to worry about whether they’ve eaten enough or, in some cases, too much.
Like making a budget for your money, counting calories can let you eat the foods you love without worrying about whether they “fit” into your energy balance goals. Using intuitive eating makes it easier to keep the same weight, but if you want to make changes to your weight that will last, you may need a strategy like counting calories.
