How to Calorie Count:Step-by-Step
Calorie counting is not a guessing game, it's not starving yourself, or giving up your favorite foods.
It's balancing your intake to give your body the energy it needs.
It's managing and balancing your calorie intake like budgeting your money.
There are alternative methods and diets where you can see results...
But calorie counting helps you achieve more precise results.
And it can help you maintain your body composition while including your favorite treats or take out with family.
Mindset Check
Before we unfold this magic of counting calories, here's a mindset shift that can help..
Think of food as:
- energy your body needs to function
- nutrients your body needs to rebuild itself
- fuel for your brain to help you reach your goals
Do you want to use good or bad fuel on your journey to get fitter and healthier?
Understanding how many calories (how much energy) your body needs...
Is like learning how to budget money for needs vs impulse purchases.
It can show you how much of your food consumption is actually hunger vs. habitual or emotional eating.
Most importantly...
Be patient with yourself because this is a learning process and don't give up.
Let's dive in!
Step 1: Find your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate/how many calories your body uses)
I like the formula used and calculator available at Barbend.
This is what pops up.
If you don't know your body fat percentage, you can refer to the images below for an estimate.
(*These photos are not 100% accurate. You can have more or less muscle while looking similar, and your protein goals will vary because of this)
(*photos from ultimateperformance . com)
Throughout this article, I'll share my numbers as an example.
After I input my info,
- 39 yrs, male, 6'0", 200lbs, 16% (In 2023)
..this is what popped up.
This means my body needed 2016 calories for basic bodily function at rest... to keep the lights on.
You can get a better estimate of your body fat percentage with a scale like Renpho.
It's not 100% accurate but it can give you consistent readings when you follow these guidelines before measuring:
- be well hydrated
- measure before you workout
- avoid sauna or hot/cold shower
- don't consume caffeine before measuring
- don't wear metal, electronics, excessive lotion, socks
- consider.. readings can altered when women are menstruating
Step 2: Adjust calories to your activity level
Beginners, start by underestimating your activity level.
You might exercise everyday, but your intensity isn't enough to add 1000 calories to your BMR.
I categorized myself as ' DAILY EXERCISE OR INTENSE EXERCISE 3-4 TIMES/WEEK ' 3125 calories
At this point, my workouts were intentionally less intense in consideration of stress, mental energy to business, some aches and pains, poor sleep, etc..
Important note
The calories burned during exercise is typically not over 100-300 calories unless you're:
- endurance training with significant distances
- lifting near maximal weight like powerlifting or olympic weightlifting
- doing high intensity training like intervals or CrossFit also using heavy weights
Sorry, the calorie tracking apps and watches are not accurate.
Step 3: Increase or decrease calories according to your goal
Scientifically, you need to burn 3500 calories to burn one pound of fat.
Spread that out throughout the week and you need a 500 calorie deficit daily.
Simple, but not easy.
However... I decided on a moderate 200-300 deficit.
2800-2900 calories daily average
Unless you have a lot of weight to lose, this deficit is easier to maintain.
Why not a bigger deficit, like 500 calories?
- I wake up earlier to get extra work done (appetite increases so I get snacky)
- Intense workout days require more calories (I get irritable and have brain fog when calories are too low)
- Maintain muscle and strength (muscles need protein and carbs to recover from workouts)
I was ok with gradual fat loss while having enough energy throughout the day.
Even though I considered my training "low intensity", 20+ years of weightlifting and playing sports meant my workouts would still use more calories than most.
*If your goal is to gain muscle/weight, you would increase calories by 200-300 daily on average...
But that's for another post, because most people are trying to lose weight!
Step 4: Protein needs (also carbs & fat)
Protein is the first macronutrient we look at because:
- every cell in your body needs protein
- it digests slower and helps you stay full, longer
- your body uses more energy to digest protein than carbs or fat
- you need enough protein to maintain lean body mass for a higher basal metabolic rate
The general guideline is to eat 0.7-1.0g per pound of body weight or per pound of LEAN body weight.
We prefer this guideline over the RDA's recommendation of 0.8g per kilogram of body weight.
We have it on good authority that the RDA's guideline is based on the minimum protein necessary to prevent disease and muscle loss.
But we're not trying to scrape by, we want to maximize our body's potential and health.
It's especially important for experienced lifters and older adults.
More experienced lifters can need more protein to help recover and rebuild because the workouts are more intense.
Older adult also need more protein because their bodies are less efficient at absorbing and using the protein.
If you don't eat a lot of protein to start with, build up to eating these amounts.
My goal was 200g of protein per day
How to Split Calories between Protein, Carbs and Fat
(*Disclaimer - some math ahead)
- 1 gram of protein has 4 calories
- 1 gram of carbs has 4 calories
- 1 gram of fat has 9 calories
My goal, 200g of protein = 800 calories
If my target is 2800 daily calories...
2800(My overall calorie goal) - 800(from protein) = 2000 calories (left over for carbs and fat)
Carbs around 250-300g per day (1000-1200 calories)
Fat 80-100g per day (720-900 calories)
This breaks down total calories to roughly:
30-35% Protein
25-30% Fat
35-40% Carbs
Step 5: Tracking, Measuring, Food Choices
You can start by either:
- planning the foods and calories you'll eat for the day or
- tracking your food throughout the day, so you don't go over your calorie limit by the end of the day
The long term goal is a balance of good quality and enough food.
But many people have lost weight and improved health markers while eating unhealthy food.
As long as they were in a calorie deficit.
No sane doctor, dietitian, coach or professional would recommend this longer term or even mid term..
But it's a way to start losing weight and improving health without completely changing your diet and lifestyle.
Now that you know how to find how many calories your body needs...
Here's how to measure and track your food so you know how many calories they contain.
Tracking
The first step is to start look up the foods you eat on MyFitnessPal or similar food tracking app with a database of foods and nutritional facts.
Or if you're eating packaged food, find the calories and protein content on the nutrition label.
Remember, you need enough protein to maintain lean body mass and muscle mass.
This is a temporary first step because while you can initially lose weight with highly processed / packaged foods...
They're not filling enough and have all the nutrients you need so you'll soon run into issues.
MyFitnessPal has almost all the dishes you'd eat at a restaurant, especially if they're a franchise or chain...
But you can see foods logged by other users, so there will be different calorie counts for similar foods.
I suggest overestimating the calories.
For example, if I eat a 4(patty) x 0(cheese) burger at In-n-out..
I'd choose the 640 calories option.
Why?
When they're pumping out thousands of burgers or dishes daily...
They'll likely use extra cooking oil or other ingredients compared to their nutritional facts.
How dare they... I know... but you want your burgers fast, right?
Measuring
Invest time and a few dollars into these 3 tools below.
- MyFitnessPal - huge database of foods/calories/macros (*free & paid options available)
- Food scale - $12 investment
- Measuring cups - $10 investment
When you're cooking from home, you can weight and measure your food using the scale and measuring cups.
You get more accurate calories while learning how many calories you need for the food you typically eat.
You can later use this skill to start eyeballing/hand portioning your food.
Start with tracking calories for takeout or unhealthier foods, but also start including more natural foods.
Natural food like animal proteins, potatoes, vegetables, and fruits will help you stay full longer while having lower calories for the same portion as processed foods
Food Choices
I like the simplicity in Stan Efferding's recommendations in The Vertical Diet
Screenshot
I also like the variety in the guidelines from Precision Nutrition
RECAP
1. Find your Basal Metabolic Rate
2. Adjust your calories to fit your daily/weekly activity level
3. Create a 200-300 calorie deficit to start losing weight (*start with a bigger deficit if you have more to lose)
4. Your protein need is 0.7-1.0g per pound of your target lean body weight
5. Track your food calories accurately so stay in a calorie deficit to reach your goal.
*Important notes:
Perfection
The first days, weeks, even months won't be perfect, and that's ok!
You're learning how to do this as you go.
If you go over your calorie goal, that's ok! Get back on track tomorrow.
"Cheat meals"
I don't like calling it cheat meals because it denotes negativity.
Best case scenario - schedule a meal where you moderately indulge in treats or not as healthy foods every 7-10 days.
Worst case scenario - You can still lose weight in the beginning with a calorie deficit but still follow these guidelines for eating takeout or unhealthier foods:
- find a meal with enough protein
- eat roughly half the portions for carbs and fat at a restaurant or takeout
- skip the fries, chips, condiments, drinks, dessert, or learn to be content with just a taste
Maintenance week
After 4-6 weeks of honest hard work of sticking to your calories, take a week to eat at maintenance calories
*Maintenance calories is in Step 2 above (your calories adjusted to activity level before creating a deficit)
Adjust your calories to your new body weight and body fat% and continue.
If you're embarking on this journey, good job!
It's hard work but you're taking your health into your hands.
Trust me, it gets easier as long as you don't quit!
If you feel hesitant to start on your own, you can benefit from the guidance of a coach.
And that’s exactly what we do at Dare Strength, check out our programs and contact us to get sustainable results.
If you’re not local to Dare Strength, I can help you remotely with online coaching.