Last Updated on 18th August 2021 by Charlie Walsh
No matter how good your intentions are, it’s possible you are setting yourself up for failure before you have even begun. Why? It can be a number of things but one of the most important parts to nutritional health and looking after your body is to understand calories.
For example a boxer training for a championship match may eat thousands more calories during the day than an average person, now this is totally fine as they need the energy to sustain their brutal fitness regime.
Let’s look at celebrity Terry Crews for instance, he is in great shape, his average diet is as follows
As Terry Crews says – he has his first meal at 2 p.m and he only eats between 2 p.m and 10 p.m. Terry has also been doing intermittent fasting. What is it? Intermittent fasting is an eating routine when you have to eat within an 8 hour period then fast for 16 hours. He starts his day with working out in the morning, but he does not eat. What happens during fasting time? He drinks amino acid based drinks, coffee or tea. If he feels hungry he sometimes has a little tea spoon of coconut oil to stop cravings. He eats his whole calorie intake during 8 hours and this is it.
Other people will eat thousands of calories more than the recommended amount for men or women, now this is totally fine, they burn off any excess calories through the day. Do you see why counting calories is so important now? It means that we may need a few more, or a few less depending on our lifestyle and fitness goals. Too many can mean we put on weight, too little can mean we store fat as our body goes into shock and tries to preserve itself.
That being said let’s look at the best ways to count the calories. We have a few options.
Keep a food diary
This is one of the best options for you. Just grab a notebook, write down the date and things you eat with the amount of calories intake. Of course it is good to also know how many calories you will need a day – so do a little research based on your exercise routine or fitness goals. Then sum it all up and you will see that maybe you did not eat enough during the day or alternatively, you ate too much. A food diary is good for you because it teaches you discipline, and precisely what is in your food – knowing how many calories are in a tiny cookie, slice of pizza or a can of a pop is powerful information when it comes to your health – you might be surprised!
Download an app
Nowadays, we use our mobile phones constantly, they are no longer just phones to call people in the event of an emergency – they are more like personal assistants. it is good to have a calorie app on your phone. There is a lot of different apps available that can help you with counting and understanding calories and basically, the app will add them all up for you giving you a constant update throughout the day so you can keep track. They work in almost the same way so it’s down to preference which you download. When you use a calorie app and check the amount of calories you eat on your smartphone, you are better equipped to make better food based choices. Having that kind of app helps you with controlling your diet and losing weight. The first couple of days you may be shocked by how much you can consume. Your app will show you – it won’t sugar coat the facts, so you won’t fool yourself about how much you actually eat. The app may also have handy advice and tips, like eating smaller portions on smaller plates and chewing the food properly.
Read the label’s
Reading food labels has many advantages. First of all, you’ll know what one portion is so you will not be tempted to eat the whole bar of chocolate, or that massive bag of crisps! Controlling portions and eating healthily is the key to getting nicer body and peace of mind. Secondly, reading labels shows you how much chemicals and preservatives are in the food you consume so you can avoid that kind of products in the future, things to avoid include processed sugars, the wrong type of fats and palm oil etc. It’s ok to crave fast food and treat yourself every once in a while, just remember to control your portions. Reading label’s helps you to eat the right amount of healthy foods. TIP: always check serving sizes on food labels, and do not lie to yourself – be fair and tell yourself what a normal portion looks like, try to stick with it. It is very easy to lose weight quickly – for instance, do not eat sugar, stop drinking fizzy pop, butter, condiments and alcohol, use smaller plates and do not go for grocery shopping when you are hungry.
Food Banks
Get rid of the unhealthy food in your house. It is easier to forget about the foods that are bad for you when you do not have it in your place. Take everything that’s in date (and accepted) to a local food bank. This includes everything that does not help you with being fit and healthy. Check your cupboards and get rid of sweet and cakes. Not only will you be helping yourself in the long run, you will be helping others who are in need short term too. In short you will look better and feel better.
