Embarking on a health journey is an exciting yet challenging endeavour. Whether your goal is to lose weight, gain muscle, or simply maintain a healthy lifestyle, understanding your calorie intake is crucial. Tracking your calories can seem daunting, but it’s a powerful tool that can significantly improve your long-term health.
In this blog, we'll explore the importance of calorie tracking, provide tips for accuracy, highlight the common mistakes people make when trying to track, and recommend some tools to help you along the way.
3 Reasons Why Tracking Calories Matters
- Awareness and Accountability
Tracking your calories increases your awareness of what you’re consuming. Many people underestimate their calorie intake, leading to frustration when they don’t see the results they were expecting. By keeping a record, you hold yourself accountable and ultimately create a way to help you make informed choices about what you eat.
❌ Tracking can uncover shocking stats you might not have been aware of. Did you know those little dips that come with pizzas can add 600 calories to your calorie count? Some energy bars can be over 400 calories, and Granola can be a calorie nightmare if you add too much to your healthy breakfast.
- Understanding Nutrition
Counting calories isn’t just about numbers; it’s also about understanding the nutritional value of the food you consume. Tracking helps you see patterns in your diet, identify nutrient deficiencies, and balance your macronutrients (proteins, fats, and carbohydrates). When you are aiming for a high-protein diet, tracking your daily intake can be hugely beneficial to educating you on what works for your daily plan. Calculating how much protein you need depends on your height/weight and activity level as a rough guide aim for 1g to 1.5g per lb of your goal weight.
If possible, consuming a variety of complete proteins is recommended. A complete protein is a protein that contains a good amount of each of the nine essential amino acids required in the human diet. Examples of complete protein foods or meals include:
Meat/Dairy examples
- Eggs
- Chicken breast
- Cottage cheese
- Greek yogurt
- Milk
- Lean beef
- Tuna
- Turkey breast
- Fish
- Shrimp
Vegan/plant-based examples
- Buckwheat
- Hummus and pita
- Soy products (tofu, tempeh, edamame beans)
- Peanut butter on toast or some other bread
- Beans and rice
- Quinoa
- Hemp and chia seeds
- Spirulina
- Tailoring Your Diet
Everyone’s body is different. Calorie tracking allows you to tailor your diet to your specific needs, whether you're aiming to lose weight, gain muscle, or maintain your current weight. It provides a clear picture of your energy balance (calories in vs. calories out), helping you adjust your intake based on your goals. However, the key to making this tool work for you depends 100% on your accuracy (and honesty!).
Here are a few tips and insights to ensure you are really tracking like a pro!
Tips for Accurate Calorie Tracking
Use a Reliable Tracking App
Invest in a good calorie-tracking app like MyFitnessPal, Lose It!, or Cronometer. These apps have extensive food databases and make it easy to log your meals and snacks. They often include features to track your water intake, exercise, and weight progress as well.
Weigh and Measure Your Food
To track calories accurately, it’s essential to measure your portions. Using a digital kitchen scale ensures precision, especially with foods that are calorie-dense. Measuring cups and spoons are also handy for liquids and smaller items.
❌ Common mistakes people make when tracking are not including fats or oils their food may be cooked in or accurately adding enough of what they have used, which can be the difference over several days of 200-400 calories a day not being tracked, which can really add up over a week. These hidden calories are usually the reason most clients tend to not actually be in a calorie deficit when they think they are, leading to frustration and lack of progress on the scales.
Read Food Labels
Understanding food labels can help you make better choices. Pay attention to serving sizes and the number of servings per container. The nutritional information provided will help you log the correct amount of calories.
❌ Many people make the mistake of miscounting pasta calories. There's a huge difference between 100g of cooked and dried pasta, which means underestimating calories by up to 200+ calories. Ensure you are tracking the cooked or raw weight, as calories and weight change when cooked.
Be Honest and Consistent
Honesty is crucial in calorie tracking. Log everything you eat and drink, even if it’s a small snack or a condiment. Consistency in tracking, even on days when you eat more than planned, helps you stay on track and understand your habits better.
❌ When getting into the groove of calorie counting, you must commit to being consistent and not just in the week. Learning your patterns, especially over the weekend can be critical to your success. Being on track in the week and off over the weekend might mean your calorie intake is wildly out. If you take the average of the actual calories over a week it might be the reason you aren't seeing the results you want to see.
Be consistent, check your data and then you can see what the data is really telling you. Set your calorie budget for the week and stick to it, If you know you are going to need a bit more over the weekend then allow for it.
Plan Your Meals
Planning your meals in advance can prevent last-minute unhealthy choices and ensure you stay within your calorie budget. Preparing meals at home also allows you to control the ingredients and portion sizes.
Be a geek. If you like to home cook meals then take the time to measure out a handful of your key recipes and save them so you can track them more accurately and don't forget to add in those oils and fats.
Tools to Help You Track Calories
- Calorie Tracking Apps
- MyFitnessPal: With a vast food database, barcode scanner, and community support, MyFitnessPal is one of the most popular tracking apps.
- Lose It!: This app focuses on weight loss with personalised calorie budgets and a comprehensive food database.
- Cronometer: Known for its accuracy, Cronometer tracks over 60 micronutrients and offers detailed nutritional analysis.
A digital kitchen scale helps you measure food portions accurately. It’s especially useful for items like meat, cheese, and grains, where estimations can lead to significant calorie discrepancies.
Fitness Trackers
Devices like iPhones, Fitbit, Garmin, and Apple Watches not only track your physical activity but also integrate with calorie-tracking apps to provide a comprehensive view of your energy balance.
Try not to eat your earned calories! Even though you might have 'earned' 200 calories from exercise during the day try to get in the habit of sticking to your calorie deficit without taking those 'earned' calories into account. You will reach your goals quicker and form better habits around tracking your meals and upping your step count.
Food Journals
If you prefer a more hands-on approach, a food journal can be an effective tool. Writing down everything you eat helps reinforce mindful eating and can be a helpful reference for discussing your diet with a nutritionist or healthcare provider.
Tracking your calories is a fundamental part of any health journey. It provides the insights and accountability needed to make informed dietary choices and reach your health goals. With the right tools and a commitment to accuracy, calorie tracking can become a manageable and rewarding habit. Start today, and take control of your nutrition to pave the way for a healthier you!
The Truth: Calorie tracking is not a tool you will use forever, but doing this consistently for a few months will help you to build good habits that you can take with you long-term.