Do You Need to Track Calories to Lose Weight?

The short answer is no – you don’t need to track calories to lose weight.

However, if you want to finally make kick ass progress and get unstuck – than it may be a good idea to track calories to lose weight.

While some still believe calories to be a myth like dragons or the tooth fairy that you read in fairy tail books.

I’m going to show you why that isn’t the case.

It’s a real thing that works.

And if you don’t believe me that tracking your calories is sustainable and works for losing weight.

Some of my most successful clients tracked their calories and have made amazing progress!

In this ultimate guide to tracking your calories, I’m going to give you everything you need to learn in order to track calories and make kick ass progress.

Now, let’s dive in!

Actually, before we dive in, I have a whole YouTube video where I go more in depth on this below.

Is it Really Necessary to Track Calories To Lose Weight?

Even though you can get great results by not tracking your calories, most people royally fuck that up.

Which is why most people don’t ever get the results they’re looking for.

The next option? Tracking your calories.

Calorie tracking is simply keeping track of the calories and macros you eat via an app or on paper (if you’re old fashioned).

It’s not a diet.

It does require some practice.

It does take time.

But. It. Works.

It’s simply a tool that tracks what and how much you eat, regardless of what you eat.

That’s it.

Believe me when I say it’s not some torturing device that it’s made out to be.

Basically, you track calories at the beginning so that you don’t have to ever track calories again if you don’t want to.

Let me put it to you this way…

You wouldn’t drive across the country without a map or GPS, right?

So why would you try to lose weight without a guide to know you’re going in the right direction and making the right turns?

You wouldn’t! Which is why calorie tracking for most people leads to superior long term results.

Of course you still have to build sustainable healthy habits along the way as well, but tracking your calories helps tremendously with that.

Because even if you don’t count calories, they always count.

So, at the very least, calorie tracking is going to bring you awareness around what and how much you’re eating so you can be more accurate and make better food choices.

Which is very important for not only getting results, but having the tools and education needed for long term weight loss.

So should you track calories to lose weight? I believe you should.

At least for 30 days – especially at the beginning of a fat loss journey.

“But Tracking Your Calories is Too Obsessive”

Well my friend, it’s only obsessive if you make it obsessive.

Calorie tracking is just data.

Look at it this way…

You don’t call tracking your money that goes in and out of your bank account obsessive, right?

So why would you think of tracking your food, to make sure you’re in a calorie deficit obsessive?

Exactly… it’s because it’s not.

It’s not the calorie counting that’s causing the issue… it’s you that is making it unnecessarily obsessive and that’s something you have to change your mindset on.

Listen, you won’t be perfect. And you shouldn’t have those expectations of yourself.

You’re simply aiming to hit a range of numbers per day and that’s it – without the expectation of being perfect.

How relieving does that sound???

I’d say pretty freaking awesome.

Now, if you still refuse to track calories, that’s fine…. You just can’t be mad then if you’re not seeing the results you want.

How to Track Calories To Lose Weight

If you’re reading this section, I assume you’re ready to hope on the calorie counting band wagon!

Without further ado, let’s dive right in to the exact steps to take:

1. Download a Tracking App or Grab a Pen and Paper

Depending on your preference, you must have a way to track your calories to lose weight.

If you’re old fashioned and love using pen and paper, that’s cool.

Me personally? I’m too lazy for that shit which is why I typically have my clients use MyFitnessPal, Lose It, or Mikes Macros.

Keep in mind, the method or app doesn’t really matter… it’s only a tool to quickly and efficiently keep track of your macros.

So, don’t overthink it – just pick one and roll with it.

From there, start tracking the food you are eating right now.

But don’t change anything yet… I just want you to practice tracking the food you eat.

I don’t want to put too much on your plate (no pun intended).

The cool thing when you track calories to lose weight is that you become aware of what you’re eating and how much you’re eating.

Oftentimes this is very eye opening… because you may not have realized just how much you were eating on a day to day basis.

(Remember, we’re all reallllllllly bad at eyeballing portion sizes. More on this below.)

Therefore, now you may realize the reason you haven’t been losing weight is because of things like:

So, let me ask you a serious question then…

How would you know all of this if you didn’t track calories to lose weight?

You probably wouldn’t and would be constantly sitting there playing the victim and wondering why you can’t seem to lose weight when everyone else does.

Mhmmmm! You read that right!

I know that can be hard to hear but it’s all out of love because I want you to get results.

I’m here to tell you what you need to hear – not what you want to hear.

So when you become aware of what needs to be changed, you can then begin to work on making the change.

To Do: Track or write down everything you eat for 1 week.

2. Start Using a Food Scale

Losing weight while tracking calories is a two step equation:

Step one is tracking your calories to learn HOW much you’re eating. (Basically like seeing how much money is in your bank account)

Step two is measuring out your food to learn WHAT a proper portion size looks like. (Almost like seeing all of your transactions and where you could be saving money)

I’m a big food scale guy.

It’s the secret weapon to accurately track calories to lose weight.

The goal is to minimize the human error element of eyeballing portions as much as possible.

That way, you’re being as accurate as possible to finally make some kick ass progress.

For example, let’s say every meal that you don’t measure the portion size, you’re 50 calories off.

Which is being generous, but we’ll stick with it.

You may be thinking, “It’s 50 calories. So what?”

Well, imagine being off by 50-100 calories 5 times a day. That’ll add up quickly at the end of the day.

You’d be eating 250-500 calories more than you thought… which would surely take you out of a calorie deficit.

So make sure you weigh EVERYTHING – at least for the first 30 days.

This includes drinks that have calories, sauces, nut butters, pre-packaged foods, etc..

To Do: Practice using a food scale to accurately measure your food and learn what proper portion sizes look like.

3. Add in More Whole Foods

Once you get the hang of tracking and measuring your food, you may now be able to pinpoint where you can potentially add healthier food into your diet.

I have a whole article that goes in more depth on building healthy habits HERE.

In the meantime, I want you to pick 5 of your favorite sources of protein, carbs, and fats, from the list down below.

Protein: Focus on lean meats for the majority of the time. Try to have 1 serving of protein at most meals.

Lean Sources of Protein

Eggs and egg whites Lean Beef and Steak Fish Chicken Turkey and turkey bacon Bison Lean Pork Plain Greek Yogurt Game Meat Low Fat/Fat Free Cheese Ham Protein Powders Protein Bars

Carbohydrate: Focus on whole, minimally processed sources that contain fiber and nutrition, including starches and fruits.

Healthy Carb Sources

Potatoes (Red, Sweet, White) Rice (white, jasmine, basmati, brown) Fresh and frozen fruit (especially berries) Steel cut, rolled, and old fashioned oats Whole or sprouted grain bagels, breads, english muffins, pastas, and wraps. High Fiber Low Calorie Wraps

Fats: Fats are very high in calories in small amounts and are very easy to overeat. The calories can add up quickly so it’s important to track.

Healthy Fats

Extra virgin olive oil Avocado Oil Walnut Oil Coconut Oil Marinades and Dressings made from the above oils Cheese Egg yolks Avocados Seeds: chia, flax, hemp, pumpkin, and sesame Nuts Nut butters without added sugar Fresh unprocessed coconut Trace fats from protein sources

Vegetables: Focus on eating the rainbow. Eating different colors have different nutrients and health benefits.
Green	Purple	Red	Yellow	White
Green Beans Celery Spinach Kale Arugula Brussel Sprouts Snap Peas Cabbage Asparagus Broccoli Green Peppers Romaine Lettuce Collards Cucumbers Spinach Iceberg Lettuce	Purple asparagus Egg plant Purple Cauliflower Purple cabbage	Tomatoes Beets Red leafed lettuce Red peppers Red cabbage Red onions	Pumpkin Orange Peppers Butternut Squash Carrots Yellow Peppers Summer Squash Lemon/lime	Cauliflower Mushrooms Garlic Onions

To Do: Create a list of your favorite sources of protein, carbs, fats, and veggies.

4. Decide the Meal Frequency and Meal Times

When you have set meals and meal times, you’re more likely to stay on track than if you go out and wing it.

Because structure leads to more consistency and consistency leads to better results.

So, make 3-5 possible meals for each of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, based off of the list of foods you created above.

Try to structure each meal something like this:

1 serving of protein

1 fruit or vegetable

A carb or fat source

I’m going to drop a few examples of meals below in case you need an idea of how to get started:

Breakfast example:

• Eggs/egg whites (Protein)
• Banana (fruit)
• Oats w/protein powder (carbs/protein)

Lunch example:

• Chicken (protein)
• Salad (vegetable)
• Dressing

Snack Example:

• Greek Yogurt (protein)
• Berries (fruit)
• Protein Powder (protein)

Dinner example:

• Steak (protein)
• Asparagus (vegetable)
• Sweet Potato (carb)

Once you have your meal examples laid out, choose specific meal times that you’re going to eat.

This step is important – especially if you work during the day or have to take care of kids.

Because it can be easy to forget to eat during the day and then overeat later when you finally have time to eat.

So try your best to stick to the same meal times consistently.

For example:

• Breakfast: 8:00-9:00 am
• Lunch: 12:00-1:00 pm
• Snack: 3:00-4:00 pm
• Dinner: 6:00-7:00 pm

To Do: Decide how many meals you want to eat per day and set meal times for those meals for both during the week and on the weekends.

5. Calculate Your Macros

Now it’s the fun part.

It’s time to calcualte how much you should be eating to track calories and lose weight.

I have a whole guide on how to do this that you can read HERE.

However, since I’m feeling generous, I’ll give you a quick breakdown below.

Specifically for fat loss, I only have my clients track calories and protein to keep it simple.

Now, if you want to track your carbs and fats then by all means go for it.

But you don’t have to if you don’t want to start off.

First, calories determine whether or not you’re going to lose weight. So, they’re your big rock.

• If you eat less than you burn (calorie deficit), you’re going to lose weight.
• If you eat more than you burn (calorie surplus), you’re going to gain weight.
• And if you eat around the same amount that you burn (maintenance), you’re going to stay the same weight.

Second, protein is going to be another amazing tool for you.

It helps you stay full, build/retain muscle, and boost your metabolism – all of which are important for health and that long term dream body you want.

Quick Guide to Calculating Your Macros

Calories: Goal BW x10-12 (10 is quicker but not as sustainable. 12 is a bit slower and more sustainable) +/- 100

Protein: 1g per lb of goal body weight +/- 10g

Fats (optional): .3 -.5g x Bodyweight

Carbs (optional): What’s left after protein and fat are calculated.

Again, I have a whole example laid out in my Ultimate Guide to Macros HERE

Quick note: you may notice you feel better eating more carbs or fats.

So, it may help to keep track of how you feel after eating certain fats/carbs.

Over time, this will help determine the best foods for you so that you don’t have that mid day crash, shitty night of sleep, or all day brain fog.

To Do: Calculate your calorie and protein goals. Carbs and fats are optional and based on personal preference.

6. Keep Track of Your Progress and Consistency

We’re going to tie everything together here because if you’re not being consistent, you’re not going to be making any progress.

Regardless if you track calories to lose weight or not.

So keep track of your progress with a calendar or in a notebook by writing down your actions to complete that day.

If you complete all of the actions for that day, cross it off and mark it up as a win.

If you don’t, mark it up as a loss and get right back on the grind the next day.

The goal is to be 80% consistent by the end of the month (24/30 days should be wins).

Now you can objectively see if you’re being consistent enough.

So next time you’re stuck, check your consistency and ask:

Are you putting in the work necessary to get the results you want?

If yes and you’ve been at least 80% for 30 days, then it may be time to make some adjustments.

If no, then you gotta have an honest conversation with yourself.

To get more detail on this, I wrote a whole article on this HERE.

And this is the name of the game dude. It’s really as simple as that.

Beware of the Calorie Deficit Mindset

Now that you know what calorie counting is, let me continue to beat it into your brain why calorie counting becomes important…

One reason is called the “calorie deficit mindset”.

“What in the hell is that, Bob?”

Well, I’m glad you asked!

This is a term that I learned from Jordan Syatt.

It’s when you think you’ve been in a calorie deficit without actually being in one. (ahem…. The consistency section from above)

As a result, you think something must be wrong with you because a “calorie deficit doesn’t work for you” and you’re “made to be overweight”.

So you become frustrated and ultimately give up because what’s the point, right?

Listen very closely because I’m about to tell you the truth:

Nothing is wrong with you. You 100% CAN do this if you give it a chance.

There was a study that showed your metabolism doesn’t start decreasing until the age of 60. And even then, it’s only around 1% each year after that which is not much.

So all of those metabolism excuses can go out the window.

Because it comes down to one simple fact…

If you’re not losing weight, you’re simply not in a calorie deficit.

Which means, at some point throughout the week, you’re eating/drinking more than you’re burning which is why you’re not losing weight. (More on this HERE)

Which is where calorie tracking plays a huge role to get you back on the right track.

Common Calorie Tracking Mistakes

Let’s dive into some common calorie counting mistakes that I have personally made so that you don’t have to make them yourself.

Which leads to better results and less frustration.

1. Eating Back Calories Burned

For whatever reason, tracking apps have a function that allows you to eat back the calories you “burned” through exercise.

The problem with this is that it’s highly inaccurate and grossly overestimated.

Research has shown that some calorie trackers can be off up to 90%! Can you imagine thinking you burned 500 calories when in reality you only burned 50 calories.

That’s an extreme example though and some trackers are more accurate than others.

Let’s say for simplicity sake that the trackers are around 50% off.

That would still be 250 calories burned less than you think.

So you may be thinking you’re eating in a calorie deficit when in reality, you’re eating closer to or at maintenance.

Which leaves you frustrated and wanting to smash your phone on the ground.

(Advice: Don’t smash your phone on the ground. Not only will you be frustrated with your weight loss, but you’ll also need a new phone)

To Do: Go by calories eaten. Tell calories burned to fuck off.

2. Not Weighing or Measuring Their Food

We already touched on this above, but it’s worth mentioning twice because of its importance.

Can you just track your food without weighing it out and make good progress? Yes, you can.

Just like you can make good progress without tracking your calories.

However, in my experience, weighing your food leads to better results.

Research has shown that we greatly underestimate how much we eat (Sometimes by up to 1,000 calories per day).

Which is why you always hear people saying they barely eat anything but can’t lose weight – which deep down we roll our eyes and know is not true.

Therefore, you may think you’re eating 2,000 calories a day, when in reality, you’re eating 3,000-4,000 calories a day.

However, when you weigh your food, you’re making sure you’re eating proper portions, so you’re being more accurate.

It also helps teach you what a proper portion size looks like – something that we could all use a lesson on. (even me who’s a coach and has been tracking food for almost 10 years)

I have a little challenge for you…

Go in your pantry and scoop out a tablespoon of peanut butter.

Now, place the jar on a food scale or use a measuring spoon to scoop out 1 tablespoon and compare the two.

Most likely you were way off.

If you were, you’re not alone. It happens to almost everyone.

Which is why weighing your food is very important – at least at the very beginning.

Otherwise, you can be eating hundreds of more calories than you think and not seeing any progress.

So this simple step only takes an extra 10 seconds and can lead to better results.

To Do: Stop complaining and use a food scale already

3. Not Pre-Tracking/Planning

In my experience, the clients who are the most consistent are the ones who plan and pre track their food.

The ones who struggle are the ones who go through the motions, meal by meal, and then go off track because they don’t have anything planned.

To that I say: Plan out your day and/or week beforehand.

That way you know exactly what and how much you’re eating.

That way, you’re setting yourself up for staying on track vs getting frustrated in the moment and going for the bag of chips.

To Do: Just like you plan your weekend out, plan your meals!

4. Not Counting Bites, Tastes, Licks, Drinks

A calorie is a calorie – regardless of what you think.

So, whatever you put in your mouth and swallow (that’s what she said), counts towards your calorie goal.

That means all of those little bites of your kids food, tastes of the dinner you’re making, or glass of wine at night all count towards your calorie intake for the day.

So, if you’re not seeing progress, pay attention to what you’re putting in your mouth throughout the day and not tracking.

Not to mention, this is also a good time to practice being more present and mindful.

To Do: Don’t mindlessly eat. Practice being present.

5. Not Counting The Weekends

A lot of people think that when weekend comes, your body automatically thinks calories stop counting.

That’s almost like saying, when the weekend comes, everything in the world is free!

See how crazy that sounds?

So track and plan out your damn weekends!

You’d think that all of the hard work that you put in during the week would make you want to crush the weekend.

However, I still see people to this day go into fuck it mode once Friday night comes.

Then they get pissed when that scale spikes up on Monday morning.

It’s like dude, the weekend accounts for 40% of your week so what did you expect?

Of course you’re not going to see any results that way.

To Do: Plan and track your weekends if you want to get results.

6. Not Being Consistent

Again, consistency is the name of the game.

As the great and powerful Dwayne “The Rock” Johnsons says:

“Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come.”

Wow, if that doesn’t give you goosebumps than you need to get your pulse checked.

It’s not about being perfect.

You just have to get the shit done you’re supposed to do most of the time to get the results you want.

So while you don’t have to be perfect, you better still be putting in the work most of the time if you want to see results.

To Do: Get the shit done you’re suppose to and the results will come.

Facts and Fallacies Regarding Calorie Tracking

Before I send you on your way to making bad ass progress, I want to go over some common myths surrounding calories and nutrition.

1. All Calories Are Created Equal

A calorie is simply a unit of measurement to determine how much energy a food has.

Which means, you could technically eat all cookies all day and as long as you’re in a calorie deficit, you’re going to lose weight.

So while 100 calories of an apple and 100 calories from a cookie are the same in terms of energy, their composition is different.

The apple has more nutrients and takes up more room, therefore it will leave you feeling satisfied with less cravings.

A cookie on the other hand, while tasting amazing, takes up less room, has less nutrients, and is likely going to make you wanting more.

It’s much harder to eat 500 calories from apples than it is 500 calories from cookies.

Don’t believe me? Try eating 5 apples… you’ll find out it doesn’t compare to eating 5 cookies lol.

Now, that’s not to say that you shouldn’t include some cookies in your diet (I do), but certain foods are better for fat loss and health than others.

2. “As Long as I Eat Whole Foods I’ll Lose Weight”

Ehh, not so fast.

Some healthier foods contain a lot of calories.

That means, if you eat too many calories – even if it’s all from whole foods – you’re still not going to lose weight.

Yes, it’s a lot harder to do, and that doesn’t mean you should avoid these foods, but it is still possible.

If this was the case, all people would have to do is follow a diet like Paleo where it’s centered around only whole foods and they’d lose weight.

Which we know doesn’t happen.

Not to mention the psychological ramifications behind that thinking.

If all you eat is whole “clean” foods, you may interpret certain non-whole foods as being “bad”.

Now you’re tying your self worth to food which is a big no-no.

As a result, if you have one of these “bad” foods, you think you royally fucked up and all hell breaks loose.

So you stay off track for a little longer because why not, you’re already off track? Then you over restrict again, which leads to more binging.

And this vicious cycle continues.

This is why a flexible dieting approach is super important for adherence and long term sustainable fat loss success.

Because it allows you to fit the diet into your lifestyle and not the other way around.

Flexible dieting is going to mean different things for different people because there is no one diet that is “best” – no matter how many people try to sell you online.

But that’s a different topic for another day.

My point is, you should track calories even when eating whole foods because it will lead to you being the most accurate and getting the best results.

And that there are NO good and bad foods. Food is food – that’s it.

Whole foods are essential for making up a healthy diet. But, if you don’t track them, you can very easily over eat them too.

3. Weekly Calories Matter More Than Daily Calories.

No one ever got in shape from eating in a calorie deficit one day, so you won’t get out of shape from eating in a calorie surplus one day.

This is something that took me a while to figure out myself.

I used to think one day of overeating would result in all my progress being lost.

Luckily, I learned that this isn’t the case.

Just like the scale doesn’t matter day to day, neither do the calories.

What matters is the weekly/monthly calories which is why you have some wiggle room.

Your body is in a constant fluctuation of fat burning and fat storage.

After you eat, it’s storing fat. When you don’t eat, it’s burning fat.

At the end of the week, as long as your body is burning more fat than it’s storing, you’re going to be good.

Which means, regardless if you go over or under your calories one or two days…

As long as you’re in a calorie deficit at the end of the week and month, you’re GOLDEN.

4. Staying on Track When Eating Out/On Vacation

If you’re going to eat out at a restaurant for some weekend fun, you can use something called google and look up the menu beforehand.

Most restaurants nowadays will have their nutrition on their menu – at the very least the calories.

If that’s not the case, you can look up something similar. Yes, that means you won’t be perfect but who cares.

A 80% guess is better than no guess at all.

You’re not trying to get extremely shredded where every macro and gram counts… you just need to be as accurate as you can be most of the time.

So choose an option that fits your goals and track it.

What about vacations?

Honestly, I’m a big fan of enjoying your vacations.

Take that time to enjoy yourself and get right back on track when you get back.

Just like you didn’t get in shape one week, you won’t lose all of your progress from one week off track either.

If staying on track during vacation will make you happier, you can do that too.

But if I’m going on vacation, I’m enjoying that shit.

Final Thoughts:

And that’s a wrap on how and why to track your calories to lose weight!

Quick reminder: These are not forever things.

These are important to, at the very least, practice in the beginning so that you can build the skills and habits necessary to eat a healthy diet, get great results, and eventually never have to track again if you don’t want to.

I hope you enjoyed this article and are ready to put this into practice!

And whether you decide to track your calories or not, as long as you’re consistently in a calorie deficit, you will lose weight!

-Bob

Ps. If you want a free guide on how to lose fat, build muscle, boost your metabolism, and finally get results, download my free fat loss guide HERE

Pps. If you want all of the guesswork taken out for you and are ready to take your fitness to the next level, apply for my 1:1 Online Strong and Fit Coaching Program HERE so we can hop on a free call.