When it comes to dieting, there is the question of whether or not to count calories or whether you should just practice portion control. Can you lose weight by avoiding the process of calorie counting and just eat small amounts of what you want or should you take the time to count the number of calories that you take in each day? Is it realistic and necessary to take the time to keep a food journal? Can you get the answers from the Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle PDF? Will you have to count calories forever or can you get to a place where you just maintain your current weight? We will answer these questions and give you an easy option to keep track of what you eat without the hassle of counting each and every calorie.
Many diet books teach you that calorie counting is unrealistic and portion control is a more manageable way to control your daily intake. Bill Phillips himself admits that there are very few people who can keep an accurate count of their calories for an extended period of time. He recommends using portion control as an alternative way to maintain/lose weight. A portion is roughly equal to the size of your fist and you should only have 1 portion each of carbs or protein per meal. When you limit yourself to this size, you’re limiting the amount of calories you’re taking in. Instead of eating all the meat on your plate and consuming 500 calories, if you only eat an amount equal to the size of your fist, you could reduce your calorie intake to 150 -250 calories (obviously, different meats will yield different caloric levels).
What this method does is take all of the work out of calorie counting and gives you an easier way to regulate how much you take in.
With that being said, you still need to make sure you’re eating portions of good food. If you’re using portion control but all you’re eating is ice cream and bacon, well…..I don’t really need to tell you how badly you’ll fail at your diet.
Additionally, any diet that tells you that calories don’t matter is just blowing smoke up your a…..! Calories matter as much as exercise. The simple, undeniable fact is that to lose weight, you need to consume fewer calories than you burn each day.
Portion control can be a very effective way to lose weight but it must be done with an understanding of the amount of calories in certain types of foods. Portion control is especially important to practice at restaurants. Almost every restaurant in the US serves portions that are way too large. You can easily be satisfied by only eating half of what is served to you. Some tips to help you follow your portion control commitments are:
Again, if you’re protein portion consistently consists of ribeye and your carb portion consistently consists of french fries, you’re not going to achieve your goals. It is very important to understand that you’ve got to consume the proper types of proteins and carbs in the proper portions to actually lose weight.
So, what is the easy solution? Well, there aren’t any solutions that don’t require work but there is one that requires less work than some of the others.
What you do is this: Create a spreadsheet that includes all of the nutrition information from the foods that you like to eat. Include all of the important information: carbs, fat, protein and calories. Build a menu that you like based on the nutritional information you’ve just assembled and on your daily nutritional goals. Post that menu on your refrigerator and…this is the most important part….stick to it. You’ve done the work. You know what to do. Now do it.
You can follow this plan and tweak it as you get tired of foods to find the perfect balance of nutrition. Pretty soon, the diet will become a habit and a lifestyle. You won’t need to refer to the spreadsheet anymore and you’ll be well on your way to a leaner, healthier you!
To learn more get the Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle PDF here!