Tracking Calories Made Easy

As a personal trainer and health educator, I always see my clients meet their goals quicker when they track their food. Typically I find one of two things; my clients think reaching their goals is eating so few calories they are not feeding their muscles, or, they are eating too much of a few things. The problem with eating too few calories lies is in the sustainability aspect. No one in it for the long haul will feel like they have the energy to achieve the results they want. With eating too much of a few things, I find my clients have no idea they’ve met their calorie consumption for the day on “one bad” snack or meal. (disclosure: it’s okay to have one “cheat” snack or meal- but moderation!)

My favorite app to track and navigate is MyFitnessPal . My suggestion is to track your food for one whole day from breakfast to dinner and all the snacks in between. That’s it. Use measuring cups for portion sizes, and take a few seconds to find the specific brands you’re consuming. If you fail your first day, totally fine. Start again tomorrow. If you’re anything like me, and you start to get competitive with making each day better- you’ll soon be logging every day! 

For specific calorie goals, a great way to start is with your BodiTrax BMR number (Basal Metabolic Rate.) Typically this number ranges from 1200-2000. But remember, that caloric goal does not include physical activity. Let’s look at an example: Say my BMR is 1250 calories. Today I am logging I did a Sprint8 and have actively burned 200 calories. Now my intake for the day is 1450 calories.

MyFitnessPal offers so many great breakdowns of nutrition needs. If you want to learn more about those specifics we have a nutrition specialist on staff at eFitClub! Any of our trainers can help guide you in setting realistic goals and helping you stay on track. I will leave you with this last comment- when in doubt, track it out!

MyFitnessPal is available in the Apple App Store or Google Play.