10 things to do before counting calories

1. Stop drinking your calories

Drinking calories is the easiest way of getting a lot of calories in. If you’ve intentionally bulked up and needed to eat lots of food you will know what I mean. If not then just look at a Starbucks mocha frappuccino “coffee” those things can be easily a few hundred calories. 

Swap juice for real fruit

Drink your coffee black 

Swap sodas for water 

2. Eat more vegetables

I don’t think anyone can argue this point. Increasing the amount of vegetables you are eating will not only benefit you by getting more vitamins and minerals but it will also help you manage hunger by providing you with high-volume food that is low in calories, high in volume and nutritional value. 

Pro tip: Hide the good stuff under a bunch of vegetables this way you need to work through them to get to the good stuff. 

2. Eat more protein

The number one thing that almost any client I take on doesn’t eat enough. 

Protein builds pretty much everything in your body and if you are serious about packing on muscle or losing fat you will need to eat plenty of protein. It will keep you full longer and help you maintain muscle mass when dieting and help you build new muscle when bulking. 

3. Stop drinking alcohol

By drinking alcohol you are actively poisoning yourself. Not to mention the extra calories that come with it negating your hard work when dieting. 

Alcohol also has a negative effect on your sleep which leads to poor training response and recovery, poorer hunger control and less muscle building.  

4. Quit snacking

You don’t need to snack 2-3 meals per day are plenty to keep you full. 

Snacks are designed to be easily accessible, delicious and often times high in calories. A perfect combination to sabotage your dieting goals. 

5. Hunger is ok

You will be hungry and that is ok. Hunger is a normal part of dieting and that doesn’t mean your muscles will shrink in a raisn. 

6. Eat out less

Eating out is delicious most times because food is drenched in oil, butter sauces etc. All of that contributes to calories that we cant account for. Eating at home most of the time will give you better control over your food. 

7. Stop counting on willpower

Willpower is limited. How many times did you get home exhausted and just eat what was the most convenient? 

Wha it’s you would only have foods that will help you reach your goals surrounding you? You would probably eat that. 

Design an environment that works for your goals and not against them. 

8. One bad meal doesn’t ruin the progress

The dreaded all or nothing mentally has caused many people to give up just because they had one meal out or one meal that they couldn’t count perfectly. Nobody got fat from one meal you get fat because you have those meals all the time for a long time. 

9. Take your time eating

It takes about 20min for your brain to recognize that you re eating. 

Eat slowly and chew your food more. 

Put for down between your bites. 

Eat till 80% full.

Talk with your mouth full (I know mom won’t love that). 

 

10. Don’t quit

Change is hard and starting is the hardest thing to do. Quitting means you will need to start again at some point. 

It is better to do less, and adjust the diet or training plan to do a minimal amount of work needed to maintain your results. The amount of work needed to maintain is way less than the amount of work needed to make progress in the first place. 

Do yourself a favour don’t quit -adjust.