Quit Counting Calories Forever. Track This Instead.

Counting calories is overrated.

Yes, it’s true that calories in and calories out determine our weight loss. But if you obsessively count calories every day to lose weight you will start to look at food as data.

Food is not meant to be calculated. It’s meant to be eaten and enjoyed. In return, the food is supposed to nourish you with its nutrients.

Now, I don’t mean to say that calorie counting is all evil. Counting calories for some days can be a great if you want to be aware of your food intake. It can make you more informed and educated about foods. So, if you’ve never counted calories before, feel free to go ahead and give it a try for a few days or week to know your food.

If you’ve counted calories in the past, I don’t want you to continue doing that unless you’re in bodybuilding or taking part in a competitive sport where it’s a discipline to count calories.

We’ll focus on a different approach for tracking our eating behavior. You see, counting calories doesn’t tell us anything about out eating pattern or behavior. It only gives us data that is processed differently by our bodies which depend on the body type, hormones, genes, food source and many more factors.

So what’s the solution? We’re going to track our eating behavior for a few days to understand our eating patterns. It will give us a much bigger picture of how we eat. Let’s do it the Food Gym’s style. For the next few times track the following:

1. What are you eating?
2. What’s the time?
3. Who are you eating with?
4. What’s the environmental situation? (e.g. watching TV, using mobile, etc.)
5. What’s your mood just before and after eating?
6. What’s your hunger state before and after eating?
7. How much are you eating? (Doesn’t have to be precise. 1 cup, 1 bowl, 1 plate, 1 fist — anything will do)
8. How fast are you eating?
9. How much satisfied are you with the meal?
10. What’s your mood and hunger state few hours after eating?

Remember not to judge yourself. The goal here is to be aware of your eating patterns and behavior. The first step to any change is awareness.

The best way to track all this is a simple notebook or note taking app. Once you’ve done it a few times, you’ll recognize when and why you overeat or indulge in cravings.

From here, you can start to make small changes one by one to prepare in advance and overcome the obstacles.

Let me know in the comments how the tracking of eating behavior goes for you. I’d love to see your results and takeaways from this process.

Are you tired of following diet plans?

Transformation starts with small steps and right education. Click here to take FREE lessons on Facebook messenger and take charge of your health, starting today.