How to NOT Count Calories
Over on the “Bodybuilding Revealed” and “Fat Loss Revealed” forums, we encourage people to weigh/measure their food and keep track of their calorie intake. After all, changes in body composition are the name of the game. If things aren’t going the way they should, you need to know exactly what you’re doing, in order to get an idea of what to change.
On the other hand, it can get out of hand. I know of some people who keep obsessive records of every morsel that goes into their mouths, lest they slip up, and – God forbid – enjoy themselves a bit. It doesn’t help that some of these OCD types are in excellent shape, as they lend credence to the fallacy that you must sacrifice all and be as iron-willed as they are in order to get – and stay – in shape.
This is – to put it politely – horse hockey. Yes, counting calories is a valuable exercise: but it should ultimately teach you enough about foods and portion control, so that you DON’T have to count calories. Life’s too short to spend it on bookkeeping. Eating is an activity that should be psychologically – as well as physically – healthy.
FWIW, I don’t count calories most of the time, yet maintain my weight and body fat percentage quite easily. These are the rules I live by:
- Lean protein, green/fibrous veggies/some fruits (citrus, berries), and healthy fats (fish & extra virgin olive oils + food sources such as nuts/seeds, avocados, etc.) are the essential foods I build my menu around. What do I mean by lean protein? I mean low fat red meat/fish/poultry, eggs/whites, and cottage cheese. I generally reserve protein powders for workouts only.
- If I need to cut back, these foods represent practically all of my total cals. When maintaining or gaining, other foods are added. These include legumes, starchy veggies, additional fruits, additional dairy foods (lowfat milk/plain yogurt/kefir) and whole grains.
- I also drink plenty of water/tea throughout the day – there’s always a big cup of green tea at my elbow while sitting at my desk, for example.
- I eat only one serving of the foods that constitute the main source of calories in a meal – no seconds. What constitutes a serving varies with the food: if it’s meat/fish/poultry, then it’s a piece about the size of my hand. If it’s something like pasta, chili, or stew, its about a cup. If it’s something like take out Indian food (my favorite), I’ll just fill a small (dessert or salad) plate, rather than a dinner plate.
- I also eat slowly (this comes naturally) and only enough to feel comfortable. If I can’t go out for a reasonably brisk walk after eating, and instead, feel like just sitting around – or worse – taking a nap, I’ve eaten too much.
- On the flip side, I eat to prevent hunger – so I generally eat 4 – 5 meals/day, not 3. That way, I avoid the other extreme: feeling hungry and deprived vs. feeling bloated and stuffed.
- I always rely on foods w/high nutrient density and avoid “displacement” eating of foods w/low nutrient density. Deep fat fried anything is verboten. I generally avoid sweets or desserts (I don’t really have a “sweet tooth” so this comes pretty naturally). I have a glass of red wine on occasion, but generally no more than 3 times a week. In restaurants, I’ll skip the bread, and ask the server to hold the rice/potatoes, and substitute double veggies.
- When a special occasion arises, I eat what I damn well want and don’t worry about it. BUT: “eating everything I want” isn’t synonymous with “eating everything.” Rule Number 4 still applies. Rule 7 usually does too, since I happen to like healthy foods – I just bend the rule a bit to accomodate my whims (like having blue cheese crumbles on my salad or mornay sauce on my fish). But even when it doesn’t, the indulgence is of no consequence, since I’m right back to living by all the rules again for subsequent meals.
It’s a pretty simple system, and it works like a champ. To take a recent example, we recently moved to Washington (state) from Ohio, so we ate in restaurants exclusively for close to a month – places like Olive Garden, Applebees and Outback – your typical chain eateries. It was chaos, and I missed more than a few workouts. Yet when all was said and done, I not only didn’t gain any weight, I actually lost a couple of pounds.
