These days we track so many things to make sure we don’t go too far over or under in certain situations. Some examples are we all have fuel gauges in our car so we know when we are low on fuel to make sure we don’t run out of fuel or we have a service sticker on our window so we know when our next service is. You might have a data usage limit on your phone so you track it so you don’t run out so you can still get on social media with your phone. These are just some of the things a lot of us gauge in life. So if you could track your food intake to help you lose weight and improve your health and fitness why do lots of people find it challenging it do this when it has to do with their health and avoiding health concerns or adding in improving their health.
When it comes time to losing weight ,one thing that helps is making sure that your portion size is on par with your goals. People find different ways to do this like serving food in a small plate or going off how much of vegetable or meat you should have on your plate for example the meat should be a fist size.
It is a lifestyle change that does help you to lose weight but teaches you how much to eat. I have found the best way is to calorie count your food. This allows you to have a bit more freedom with your food. I am not a fan of meal plans. Not saying they don’t work but in my experience of 15 years personal training and especially now I how see it challenging for clients to stick to. For example you could google a 1200, 1500 or 2000 calories meal plan but what happens if you are gluten intolerant, or you don’t like seafood. Maybe you are lactose intolerant or there are certain foods you just don’t like. All of a sudden the meal plan gets more challenging and things start to get add which might not help you with your weight loss journey.
I have had the challenges as well as a wellness coach when I suggest calorie counting. People give me feedback at the beginning saying “I don’t want to do this for the rest of my life” “Do I have to track everyday” or lastly “I cook for my family and I don’t have time to weight everything” Now I can understand all of these reasons I have just shared and there could me many more other reason.
But what l like about calorie counting is it starts to educate you on what you are putting in your mouth now and giving you feedback on your current nutritional intake. You might think you are eating healthy but if you record and all of a sudden the numbers show that you are not then things might need to change. When I talk about clients about starting to track firstly ask them if it something that would be open to. But I let them know that it is a great tool to show what you currently doing. Now there might be things that you are doing that you find you might not need to change or things you do need to change. Remember small hinges open big doors. I have a video called this and it is about making small changes for big results. So I highly recommend watching this for my insights and how powerful this can be.
But let's get back to the blocks people can have when it comes time to calorie counting. I have clients who calorie count and find they might need to increase protein intake or their fibre might be low or sugar intake is getting a little high. So like anything when you track there has to be a reason. I have a client by the name of Michael who has lost over 30kgs and he tracked his calories at the start and still does it today. There has a been a few occasions where he had let it go but when his weight started to creep up he started tracking again to put him on track.
That is the POWER of tracking your calories. You can pull yourself back if things start to get out of control with you weight. But like I have said previous in my videos. Its all about feedback when you get off track and to lower your chances of it happening again. Like anything when you see value in doing something you will stick to it. Also people have come to me and said “Johnny I am in a calorie deficit but no losing weight” This could be a few factors with sleep or water intake. But let’s just stay focus on the calorie counting. It might be that their sugar intake is a bite gain life is about balance but if you are constantly in the high range for both it doesn’t matter if you are under you are going to put on weight as you are excessively feeding your body with simple carbohydrates and sugars. One tip I can give you is if you are reaching you protein intake for the day and keeping within your calories the stress of tracking your sugar and carbohydrates would be less.
This is where I like to work with clients and when I do start to work with them it is about giving them the tools to reach their weight loss goal and improving their health. So if you are struggling with your weight or health to either kick start your journey or restart it then please contact me and together we can find some short term wins and please don’t think you have to eat lettuces leaves for the rest of your life to lose weight. We can have the balance of enjoying the foods we like while being on a weight loss or health and fitness journey.
John Musumeci
Wellness Coach
Aspire Boxing Health & Fitness
0409928175
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