There are a many ways to achieve your goals when it comes to nutrition. Low carb works, low fat works, fasting works, carb cycling works, ketogenic diets work, hell, even most fad diets work. The "magic" happens when your chosen nutrition strategy can be sustained for a long period of time and does not interfere with your performance. That's why I believe learning how to count calories and macronutrients is an essential part of hitting your desired goals. Is it THE only way? Of course not. However, the knowledge you gain will carry over to other aspects of your training and life.Whether you count calories for the rest of your life or not, the experience of learning to will only impact you positively. Here are some lessons I have learned while counting calories and macros that have had the biggest impact on me.
Knowledge
When I first started trying to better my body, I had no idea where to start, what to eat, or how to exercise. I feel most people are in the same boat and spin their wheels for years and seeing little no progress save for the first few months. Understanding what you put in your body is huge! Knowing how many calories are in a gram of fat, protein, and carbohydrate was eye opening to me. I know it sounds trivial, but ask people at your gym if they know. Most won't.
By understanding something so simple, you can really fine tune your nutritional goals by having this piece of the puzzle. "Clean eating" is great and all, but you can still over/under eat by not understanding what you're putting into your body. Labeling foods "good" or "bad" isn't optimal. Knowing why particular foods are a good or a bad choice for your goals is! Comprehending energy balance, calories in vs calories out and how those macro nutrients affect your health and performance is a significantly better approach. It's a whole easier to build a house if you understand how the tools you're using work and what are the best ones to choose for a particular job. Building your best body is no different. Having the knowledge of how calories and macro nutrients work will make hitting your goals much easier. Plus you actually learn something along the way!
Self Control
It's one thing to just try and "stay away" from foods you think are bad. Sure, that takes some self control. But eating a specific calorie, protein, fat, and carbohydrate amount ever single day for months or years takes a bit more accountability. Once you've completed a nutrition plan that calls for you to hit certain macro goals, making the right choices just seems so much easier. On top of that, you understand why you can't eat that slice of pizza. Here's an example of what I mean. You need to stay under 90 grams of fat for the day and you had some bacon, eggs with cheese for breakfast, some tuna with mayo for lunch, and you snaked on a handful of almonds. That slice of pizza isn't "bad". It will just put you over your fat limit for that day and maybe even your total calories.
Counting calories and macros is a lot like putting together a puzzle. Your foods are the pieces and the finished product can only be done correctly if you use the specific pieces given to you. If you over eat, you end up with a completed puzzle and some extra stuff that doesn't help at all. If you under eat, your puzzle never gets finished. Now I'm not saying you have to hit every single macro, to the exact gram every single day. If you can, that's awesome! The goal is to get a close as possible. You have to remember that all calories and macro "formulas" are just guesses based on generalities and your body. So taking the time to fine tune it is an essential part of the process. This leads to a huge boost in how you think of self control.
I used to have a slight drinking problem in my late 20s. I had zero self control. I would drink and drink until I was sick multiple times a week. So I quit drinking for over 5 years all together. I wasn't an alcoholic, I just had a self control issue. After years of counting calories I decided I had taught myself how to control what I put in my body. Now I can have a drink here and there without any issues. I told myself if I can hit very specific macronutrient goals for years on end, why can't I stop at two drinks? And it worked!
Sustainability
Like I said before, all "diets" work. The question is how sustainable is your plan? Is a zero carb diet really something you can do everyday for the rest of your life? Can you really eat "clean" 100% of the time? What do you do when you want to stop ordering shakes from your friend on Facebook? The first few months of any diet will likely have you seeing results, but what happens after? What's the game plan for continued success? It's simple. If you understand how what you're putting into your body works, it's much easier to set yourself up for long term success.
If it's your birthday and you want to eat some cake, it's no big deal because you know you saved up some calories earlier that day or even that week for this occasion. The knowledge you gained from understanding how macronutrients work and the self control you've taught yourself opens the door for you to enjoy foods other diet programs shake the naughty finger at. All of this freedom of choice will lead to a nutrition strategy that will last as long as you want it to. There's no fixed end point because calories and macronutrients are a constant.
Eye Balling Foods
I use a scale, measuring cups and spoons to weigh out and measure my own meals. But what happens if I eat out or if I didn't prepare a meal I'm about to eat? Well, after having months of practice under your belt you will start to be able to make an educated guess as to what you're eating. I can look at a piece of chicken and say "That's roughly 6oz", or a bowl of rice and say "Thats about a cup of rice". Is it exact? No, but it's a hell of a lot better than not knowing and just saying screw it because you couldn't find it on a calorie counting app.
This helps me out tremendously when I go on vacation. If I am in the middle of a program, I don't want to throw it out of the door for a week. So I make educated guesses as to what I'm eating, track it and move on. It's ok that's it not perfect, but it gives me a good idea what I'm consuming.
Tracking Progress
For me, putting on weight is a struggle. For others it might be losing fat that is more difficult. If you've been tracking your foods, it can make getting over plateaus so much easier because you have a record of what you've been doing. Tracking weekly averages of calories, macros, and my weight has been the best reference for me to see if my plan is working. Some weeks I'll feel like I really hit the nail on the head, only to look back and see I was under my calorie goal for the week by 250 calories. That might not seem like a big deal, but compound that week over week, month over month and it's going to be hard to add size over time. Same thing goes for losing fat. If you hit your targets 3 out of 7 days, chances are, you won't see the progress you want. How else would you know for sure unless you're tracking?
Immunity to BS "Diets" and Advice
After you understand how calories and macros work, all these "magic diets" seems like complete BS. There is nothing special about eating six times a day, no evil demons that make you fat for eating after 7pm, or special foods that "burns fat". Some people in the fitness industry make tons of money by making nutrition so much more complicated than it actually is. Once you see for yourself how calories and certain macros affect your body, you'll be immune to "Fitness Snake Oil". There is no magic bullet, and you'll get that. Hard work and proper nutrition will lead to results, not some Pseudoscience or fad diet.
Giving Yourself a Mental Break is Ok
I'm a geek at my core, so tracking and documenting all this stuff is fun for me. I'm collecting all this data and basically running a series of "experiments" on my self to see how my body responds. Not everyone will feel the same and even I need a mental break from all this tracking. So if I have a day here and these I don't track, I don't worry about it. As long as you can jump right back on the horse the next day or week (like from a vacation), your long term success won't be hindered. You just have to make sure you're not going absolutely crazy on those days. In fact, I find tracking my cheat days/meals is even more important than my day to day stuff.
I really feel that counting calories and macros are a necessary part of taking your fitness goals into your own hands. The freedom, knowledge, and self control you gain while counting is priceless. It definitely takes some work and practice, but I swear by this method and it has done wonders for my body and performance. Knowing what you put in your body and how it affects you is such an empowering thing that makes hitting your goals and breaking through plateaus so much easier!
Comments
Post a Comment