6 reasons why tracking your calories isn’t working for you

Shelly from Finance: Greg counting calories is obsessive for fat loss...

Greggles: So understanding how much energy you are consuming which will help you lose weight is a bad thing?

We have to be real here.

You eat too much, we all do.

The average Brit underestimates their calorie intake by 50%

For Shelly from finance who needs 1200 calories to lose weight that's an extra 600 calories a day!

Plenty of calories to make you GAIN weight.

There's a few tips to help you later on:

Not everyone needs to track calories but tracking calories for a lot of people is a real educational tool.

Of course if you already have a bad relationship with food then tracking your calories is not the way to forward for you.

There are other ways that I show my clients to get results.

Tracking your calories is a skill, like anything. You don't just learn to squat right the first time right.

It takes a bit of practice.

You have to learn the basics of tracking to get it right and when done consistently you will see the fruits of your labour.

But here's a few tips to help you get started.

1. You see it as a chore

Well it's your education and your goals, everyone wants the easy way out but putting in a little effort upfront will put you way ahead of shelly down the road who has been trying to lose weight.

It's educational and allows you to be free with your food choices while still hitting your goals.

2. You don't track added fats

If you are tracking then accuracy is key. So not adding in butter and cooking oils are massively important. Especially when a small amount of fats are so high in calories.

3. Not tracking "treats"

I hate the word treats, you don't need a reward. A lot of the time people feel guilty for eating chocolate. So they don't track it. Look at it another way. Eat chocolate use tracking to make your nutrition more inclusive. Just track the damn chocolate.

4. Did you forget Weekend drinks?

So Shelly from finance plans a big night out and sinks 5 shots of jaeger and 3 chardonnays. That's ok. If you at least pre plan some drink calories you know that you how to mitigate it.

5. Counting Exercise Calories

This is a big one. We love to see our "calories" burnt when exercising. Seeing 400 calories burnt after a "hardcore" exercise class where you went beast mode makes us feel good.

However most fitness trackers are not accurate and if you are using exercise calories to allow more food, then the chances are you are not in calorie deficit.

Tracking your calories is an investment in your nutrition education not a chore.

Look at it for what you can learn about your nutrition habits and help you hit your nutrition goals.