Calorie Counting

Ah, the scary world of calorie counting.

I always said that going on a diet and counting calories is the one thing I will never ever do, but it has helped me so much I feel like I need to smack old me on the side of the head. Even if you don’t incorporate calorie counting into your daily routine, it is incredibly helpful to do it for at least a couple of days if you are thinking of losing weight. Such a huge portion of your weight loss will come from diet and not exercise that it is incredibly important to have a grasp on how much food you are consuming.

I especially recommend using a food scale because you’d be surprised how much more something weighs than you might expect. For example: although I personally do not eat peanut butter, I’ve heard from countless people that when they finally measured the weight vs simply used a tablespoon they found they were eating twice as many calories!

So try it out – I personally prefer Calorie Counter to record my daily meals, but lots of people like My Fitness Pal and Lose It. Just find one that works for you, and stick with it!

 

How do you get started?

Here’s a link to the calculator that is most often used to approximate your TDEE, or Total Daily Energy Expenditure. Many people recommend setting your exercise level to “no exercise” to start, or at the very least try not to over estimate if you are trying to cut. For example, I do p90x daily, but one of those days is Stretch and another is Yoga so I set my activity level to 5x week just in case.

Once you fill everything out, the calculator will give you the BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) which shows how many calories your body needs to function if you were essentially in a coma, and the TDEE which is approximately how many calories you need to maintain your weight with your current exercise regimen. From here on, if you want to bulk you eat above your TDEE, and if you want to cut you eat below. You are warned to not eat below your BMR, so be wary of the restrictions you set on yourself, and ensure you get adequate vitamins and nutrients from your food.

 

What is your dietary plan?

Each pound is approximately 3500 calories, and at the start my aim was to lose about a pound a week (a 1-2lbs/week is considered healthy). This means that I have to eat 500 calories less than my TDEE every single day. I weighed 155lbs at 5’7″, so my TDEE was initially ~2175, and has since dropped to ~2049 because I now weigh 136lbs. My daily goal has remained at 1400-1600 calories/day as it is something I’ve found I am able to maintain most days without feeling hungry or out of energy.

Macros are also quite important to me. I used to be in competitive sports, and am slowly trying to ease my way into those sports after a long hiatus. When losing weight you lose both fat and muscle, but ensuring you have enough protein will help you retain a lot of your muscle as you cut. There are lots of conflicting opinions about just how much protein is needed in our diet, and the range can be anywhere from 0.5-1.2g of protein per 1 pound of body weight. I try to eat anywhere between 115-135g of protein a day, and this has helped me prevent a lot of my muscle loss, and also keep me quite satiated.

I urge you to do your own research and find a plan that works for you, especially if you have any dietary needs or restrictions. Please feel free to ask me more about my diet, or setting up your own!

 

How do I more accurately determine my TDEE?

I will post a calculator here soon, but it is completely possible to estimate your TDEE a lot more precisely by using your own data. All you need is three consecutive weeks of recording your calories (don’t forget things like sauces and dressings!) and weight.

1. Add up all of your weigh-ins from week 1 and divide that number by 7. This is your average weight for week 1.
   • Example: Week 1 average is 140lbs
2. Add up all of your weigh-ins from week 3 and divide that number by 7. This is your average weight for week 3.
   • Example: Week 3 average is 138lbs
3. Subtract average for week 1 from average for week 3. If you lost weight this should be a negative number, if gained this should be positive.
   • Example: Week 3 – Week 1 = 138 – 140 = -2lbs
4. Multiply the weight change by 3500 calories to get your weekly surplus or deficit
   • Example: (-2) * (3500) = -7000 calories (deficit)
5. Add up all of your calorie intakes from week 2 and week 3. Add your deficit or subtract your surplus you calculated in section 4
   • Example: Week 2 + Week 3 + deficit = 10850 + 10900 + 7000 = 28750 calories
6. Divide that number by the two weeks (14) to get your daily maintenance calories
   • Example: 28750/14 = 2054 calories

So for those few weeks, the example individual’s TDEE would have been around 2054 calories. It’s best to re-calculate this number every couple of weeks or months as you continue losing or gaining weight, or if you significantly change up your exercise routine.