Last week we discussed the very idea of Physical Freedom. Simply defining it and stressing that it’s something that must be felt more than it can be quantified. Which is hard for anyone with a numbers-oriented brain. But it’s the best we’ve got right now.
This week on Foundations of Physical Freedom, we will discuss the skill of Calorie Counting, and how to do it.
What is Calorie Counting?
Calorie counting is what it sounds like, simply tracking how many calories you eat in a day/week cycle. Important subtopics and notes to consider about counting calories is that not all calories are the same. And that protein is the most important thing for you to get in – up until a point. After that, from my experience and from the breadth of knowledge I have gathered, it should not often be a problem to consume more, it’s just a waste to. I am saying this because some avid news watchers (I’m sorry, Boomers. It’s Boomers. You know who I’m talking about.) really believes some old BS that too much protein is bad for you.
Yes too much can be bad for your kidneys, bowels and bone health. But that likely only applies to you if you’re an unhinged alcoholic with kidneys the size of peas, spent your entire life sitting in a chair getting fatter and fatter until you find out you have neck fat, or forgot that you can use your legs to move around. Targeting protein for being an issue is not paying attention to the unhealthiness and expediency desire of our culture at large.
Also the above hyperbole is meant to show that you are most likely fine. In fact, a good percentage of ALL of y’all are in a protein deficit.
But enough digression, the major goal of calorie counting is taking into account how many calories you have in a day/week. The second major goal of calorie counting is to see how much protein you are taking in as the most important macronutrient. The other two macronutrients are carbs and fats. While important, they are not as important as protein. And, though it often isn’t too well pushed as being important, I’m placing fiber as the third most important item to count. Since evolution has apparently decided that the most efficient design is to consume copious amounts of food to leave your body in an Event, it’s in your best interest to pay attention to fiber.
How to Calorie Count
Quite frankly, it is quite easy. If you’ve taken Chemistry and done your Chem lab correctly, you already have the most essential skill to do it properly – weighing! Essentially, you can weigh all your food using a scale to get a relatively weight-accurate amount of food you are consuming. I have been using a small bamboo scale like this one (this is an affiliate link) for years now to weigh my food.
If you are already dreading to have to weigh all your own food, I know. I hear you. Just try it for a bit to gather information. If you don’t like it, you do not have to do it. It simply helps collect data and allow you to judge yourself and make decisions better. I know it can be a drag, and at the moment I write this I haven’t actually weighed or tracked anything in weeks. This is due to being in a recovery phase and that I have a relatively good idea of what macronutrients the food I like gives me.
And some people are skinny and have always been skinny because they know how to stop and put the fork down. Some of us have little fat boys from an unhealthy family full of unhealthy food and unhealthy finances inside of us, so it is a bit more difficult. These people who have always been skinny aren’t so just because they “have a fast metabolism sksksk”. It is mathematically a combination of not eating everything and exercise, which may come natural for them. It doesn’t for everyone, so don’t think you’re crazy or that it’s impossible.
Also, the easiest way to count calories are with apps. Sure, you can do it on paper. But we all have our phones and there are apps designed for this already. My favorite is LoseIt!. I simply like the user interface more than other apps. And yes, input literally everything. Ketchup, cooking oil, eggs, the shredded cheese you munch at 3 AM. Anything with calories is worth tracking just so you know.
The perfect way this works is that you have food you want to cook or eat. You gather all the ingredients or what have you and weigh the amount of food on your handy-dandy scale. Then, you input the amount of food you are eating into your calorie tracking app so that the serving size scales with however much you eat. Also, plenty of wrappers and containers have information on serving size per package or weight, calories and their associated macro nutrients. But this post is getting longer than I’d like so let’s wrap up for now.
Challenge
For the next week do your best to count all your calories. Include alcohol since it also has calories. Include the drops of sugar you use in your coffee. Include the oil you use in your meal. Include the ketchup you put on your burger. Track everything you can. It may be tiring, but it shouldn’t be too time-consuming.
This is just so you can see how much you really eat. If you go out to eat somewhere, also track that. Most places, especially chain restaurants, will offer calories on their food. It is not as accurate as making everything yourself, but it’s good enough. Try to avoid places that do not provide any calorie information for now, as it can be difficult to ascertain the amount of each food that is placed into the meals you are eating. Even though I am pretty experienced, it is still difficult for me.
For example, how do I now what kind of meat is being used by my local burger joint? Is it 80% lean? Is it 90% lean? Do I want to be a stickler and ask them about it? Not really. What kind of bread are they using? Could it be hiding more calories than a regular hamburger bun? What about the sauces? Ketchup, even when splattered all over, is relatively calorie inexpensive. While ranch is extremely calorie expensive. Just something to keep in mind if you want to have food from something like a local Chinese food joint.
And just to reaffirm what I want you to learn. The following is the importance of what you are counting in your calorie counting ventures.
- Calories
- Protein
- Fats, Carbohydrates, Fiber
And that you must track EVERYTHING, that a small kitchen scale will be your best friend, and just for you to get some experience with it and to truly know what food contains what, I want you to do it for the next week or two.
But for next week on Foundations of Physical Freedom, we will discuss macronutrients. What they are, were they are found and the importance of each.
Godspeed,
Dennis