Are You a Compulsive Calorie Counter?

When one first embraces the magic of counting calories, it can be a huge sigh of relief when the revelation that sugar, fat, carbohydrates, etc., are not actually evil. You learn that you can eat the foods you enjoy, even if considered “unhealthy’”, and still lose body fat. Beyond weight loss, if you are interested in improving your body composition through building muscle mass and reducing body fat, counting calories takes away all the overthinking associated with the arbitrary goal of eating “clean”. Or at least it should make things simpler, but not always. Sometimes it can become an obsession.

The Problem

Calorie counting typically occurs on device apps such as MyFitnessPal. They are convenient and contain many other useful features for tracking your progress. However, apps are designed to retain your attention and to upsell you to premium versions. Therefore, these apps are also typically addictive.

This may not necessarily be a problem in and of itself during the typical Monday-Friday grind, eating food prepared previously. However, it can take away from the enjoyment of simply enjoying food.

Picture the scene. You’re on vacation, strolling down a pedestrian street at the seaside on the Mediterranean with your significant other, deciding where to eat. Instead of taking in the sights, the scenery, and the smells and letting your instincts guide you, you’re busy making diary entries. The decision of where to eat now depends on how many calories you have left, not what you want.

Herein lies the problem. Tracking your nutrition was originally meant to maximise the enjoyment you can squeeze out of life, not take away from it. The cure has become the poison.

Putting Things in Perspective

There is a saying that applies here, which I like. So good that I put it in my upcoming book, Hard Gains. It states that 80% of our returns will come from 20% of our efforts. In a way, this means working smart instead of working hard. However, I also believe that working smart will not be effective before investing time upfront in working hard.

In the same way, I periodise my training and have different dieting phases, I cycle on and off tracking calories. It just so happens that I spend approximately 20% of my time in a caloric deficit, with 80% of my time in a caloric surplus.

Therefore I use my deficits as a time to zone in on accurately tracking my intake, with 80% of my year spent eyeballing it.

The Solution

Some folks advocate for tracking calories, some advocate for ‘intuitive eating’, I advocate for the middle road. Initially, spend at least three months tracking your intake, with about 80% adherence. Then, switch to short durations of your training plan (approx. 20%), where you will go through the strict process of tracking everything you eat. Every time you do this, your intuition becomes better and better at guiding your decisions.

We all have logical, intuitive and emotional portions of our brains. None are superior to the other. Therefore, an approach which incorporates all three is essential.

If you want assistance with your intuitive eating journey, I offer personalised online training services here.