My Week of Calorie Counting

Most of my clients’ main goal is to lose weight.  The general principal behind weight loss is a simple one: you have to burn more calories than you consume.  Obviously I provide clients with ways to incorporate exercise in to their daily routine but I also provide some basic education on ways to keep track of their nutrition.  People who are new to diet and exercise need to count their calories to bring awareness to just how much they may be consuming.  It can be eye opening.
I believe I have a fairly good knowledge of the calorie content of most foods, therefore, I have never officially kept track of my calories.   I eat a healthy diet that is high in fruits and vegetables.  And I’m not perfect because I also eat chocolate and drink coffee daily, and I am aware that I probably don’t drink enough water.  But after telling many clients to track their calories, I thought I’d give it a whirl myself.  I downloaded the first free calorie counting app that came up on my iPhone, called “Calorie Counter & Diet Tracker” by MyFitnessPal.  You plug in some basic information about how active you are, your weight, your goal weight, height, etc.  I kept track of my daily intake and exercise for one week.  Here is an example of one of my days:
BREAKFAST:

• Banana
• ¼ C egg beaters and 2 egg whites
• 4 T salsa
• 4 T fat free sour cream
• Coffee with skim milk and Splenda

LUNCH:

• 2 C romaine lettuce
• 3 ounces grape tomatoes
• ¼ C low fat blue cheese crumbles
• 4 T Fat free poppy seed dressing
• 4 ounces baked chicken
• Coffee with skim milk and Splenda

SNACK:

• 16 reduced fat wheat thins
• 4 slices low sodium turkey breast
• 1/2 C grapes

DINNER:

• 6 Ounces of homemade low sodium salmon cakes
• ½ C Greek yogurt
• ½ C blueberries
• 1 C strawberries

SNACK:

• 5 Hershey kisses

WATER:

• 4 bottles

EXERCISE:

• Elliptical x 20 minutes
• High intensity interval training with TRX and Kettlebells x 10 minutes
• Running x 10 minutes
• Plyometric strength training x 10 minutes

I learned a few things from counting my calories and researching calorie counting:

1. It is often imprecise.  Unless you have a kitchen scale and tablespoons with you at all times, it is easy to over- or underestimate your calories, especially when you’re not home.
2. It’s easier to turn down snacks and mindless eating.  I wasn’t motivated enough to count out how many nuts I was going to grab on the way out the door, so I just didn’t have any.
3. It is easy to eat processed foods in packages so you can easily see the calories, whereas making a meal can be challenging to count every single ingredient.
4. There are different calories in raw chicken versus cooked chicken.  You have to check every single calorie option.
5. Restaurants do not make every single dish exactly the same with exactly the same amount of ingredients.  If a dish says it only has 550 calories on the menu, it could be as much as 18% off.  I would put down 650 calories consumed just to be safe.
6. Be prepared to wash more dishes – tablespoons, teaspoons, cups, etc.   (I hate doing dishes.)

There are 2 things I’d like you to take away from this.  The first thing is that you just need to eat to live your best life.  I know if I have a bad day (most likely a holiday or birthday celebration) and I eat a lot of sugar and high fat foods, I will be lethargic, have stomach problems and be just miserable later that day and even in to the following day.  We all know that fresh veggies and fruits are healthy, but eating them will also make you feel healthy.  The second thing is that if you are new to diet and exercise, not only will I ask you to track your calories, but I think everyone needs to read and learn the ingredients on everything.  If the list of ingredients is horribly long and appears to be in another language, PUT IT DOWN.  Eat real food and not fillers and preservatives.
If you are interested in counting your calories, here is a link on 10 apps for calorie counting: http://iphone.appstorm.net/roundups/lifestyle-roundups/10-iphone-apps-for-counting-calories/