How To Stay On The Sunny Side of Calorie Counting & Food Tracking Apps
During two closely spaced pregnancies I was required to meticulously track carbs and calories as part of my gestational diabetes treatment. I am no stranger to the obsessive tendencies that can surface when you diligently enter food/fitness activity into an app to evaluate your day.
It took a long time postpartum to break the unhealthy food tracking habits I learned in pregnancy, but when I eventually loosened the reins, it allowed me to develop a more intuitive relationship with carbs (and eating in general).
However, as I reintroduced a healthy carb ratio, I continued to experience symptoms of erratic blood glucose and was eventually diagnosed with late-onset type I diabetes.
You can read about my self-advocated diagnosis here.
The above diagnosis is how I recently found myself being advised to track carbs again after having all but healed my obsessive attitude around food tracking.
Needless to say, I completely understand both the desire to collect data and the fear around it becoming an all-consuming nightmare.
Occasional food tracking can help you implement a change relative to your existing habits rather than forcing a dramatic calorie deficit that will inevitably dip you into the red.
A Different Approach
So this time, I want to do it differently. The truth is, most women will benefit from the occasional tracking exercise to get a better understanding of where they land on average. Still, I always encourage my clients to approach calorie tracking as an information gathering exercise, not as a measure of success or failure.
Here are a few ways that you can stay on the sunny side of food tracking…
Commit To A Week
Start by tracking up to a week of your normal eating habits to get a baseline of calories and macro ratios. This will involve either carefully measuring or weighing your food to keep an accurate record of everything you eat.You can use an app like My Plate or My Fitness Pal to make it easier or just enter calories, protein, fat, and carbs manually into a journal or spreadsheet.
Preferably, you’d track a week in your follicular phase, but it can be done any time throughout your cycle.
Ignore App-Generated Targets
If you’re using an app, try to ignore the calorie goal provided and use it only to collect data. For reference, I avoid entering weight loss targets when setting up the app, and typically choose “active” to get a generous calorie target. Anything else tends to generate insufficient calories, especially for muscle development and recovery.
Weight Loss & Body Composition Goals
If weight loss is one of your goals, use the baseline calories from your week of tracking as a starting point and reduce total caloric intake by no more than 10% and only in your follicular phase. Learn more about periodized weight loss here.
If you’re not looking to lose weight, you can simply use the macros above as a baseline for adjusting protein, carbs, and calories in your luteal phase. Learn how here.
Get An Accurate TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure)
If possible, use a step counter or other wearable (Fitbit, apple watch, etc.) to monitor your true total daily energy expenditure (TDEE).
I’ve found that no matter which activity level you select in tracking apps, they likely won’t reflect how much you’re actually moving (or not moving) during the day.
They also don’t account for the range of activity you might see from one day to the next. For example, some days I hit 14k steps and others I might only get to 7k. Some days, my TDEE is 2500 calories and others it’s 1900. If I’m eating the same calories every day, I will inevitably fall out of balance.
Evaluate Your Energy Equation
Track your TDEE for up to a week and compare it to your calorie consumption to get a better idea of where you are landing with regards to your energy equation on average.
Then you can fine tune your food intake little by little to match your energy demand while remembering to adjust that equation in your luteal and menstrual phases. Learn how here.
Sustainable Change
This approach works by implementing a change relative to your existing habits rather than forcing a dramatic calorie deficit that will inevitably dip you into the red. The goal is that your strategy feels sustainable, not unbearable. It doesn’t take a lot to make significant improvements in body comp. In fact, the little changes accumulate over time for longer lasting results because you’re more likely to stick to a diet and exercise strategy that doesn't stress you out!
