The decision to count calories is dependent on your goals and where you are in your fitness program. If you are beginning a program, are unsure about how much you are eating, how much you should be eating, if you are trying to lose weight, or gain muscle, it may be beneficial to track your calories.
In simplest terms, the key to weight loss or muscle gain is energy balance – balancing the number of calories you ingest with the number of calories you expend. If you consume less calories than you burn, you will lose weight. If you consume more calories than you burn, you will gain weight. If you are not counting calories and are merely guessing, you may not achieve your desired results or goals.
Counting calories is not something that needs to be done long-term. At first the task may seem a bit cumbersome but once you are familiar with caloric content in the foods you eat on a regular basis, the hard part will be out of the way and it will become second nature. Everything you need to know is usually listed on the food items you buy. Be careful to also note the number of servings in a container, sometimes what you may think is one serving size may actually be two or more.
Once you are comfortable with the caloric content of the foods you eat and you are making progress towards your goals, you may choose to stop meticulously counting calories. If you begin to plateau or if you are not seeing expected results, you may want to start counting again.
Do you regularly track your caloric intake? Do you use a different method such as portion size or a food scale to determine how much you are eating?
Really interesting post Maria. I've thought about calorie counting a lot and I've found for myself when I only eat non processed whole foods, I don't need to count calories and I can still stay in shape. I remember doing a wonderful residential cookery holiday course in England in 2007 and I ate so well for the month I was there, full breakfast, lunch and dinner with wine and desert each night and zero exercise. Would you believe I actually lost weight on that course!! I think it's because for a full month, I cooked everything from scratch.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI used to count calories - obsessively. Now since I want to lose about ten pounds I'm monitoring my choices rather than count the calories. For me it's a better way to go - whole wheat english muffin vs. whole wheat large bagel at DD. No brainer. :)
Debra
Hi Debra and Susan,
ReplyDeleteGlad to see you have both found methods that work for you. I try not to obsessively count calories either. If I find myself plateauing or not reaching my goals then I start to monitor my intake more carefully.
Maria
I don't count calories at all and I think it is so much to actually do. If I cut my portions done, but eat more throughout the day is that better for me?
ReplyDeleteJasmine,
ReplyDeleteEating smaller meals more often is a good way to accelerate your metabolism but you still need to exercise caution and be aware of much you are eating. If you overeat by just 100 calories a day, you could potentially put on ten pounds a year.
Maria