How to Start Tracking Calories: A Super Nifty Guide

Technically speaking, a calories is the amount of energy it takes to raise one gram of water by one degree Celsius.

Okay...uh, what does that have to do with me? There's not a literal fire in my belly heating water...is there?!

A simpler way to define a calorie is that it's energy from food. Calories in food provide energy so that we can function. Everything we do relies on this energy.

You might have heard phrases such as "calorie deficit" or "energy balance". What does it have to do with calories? If we think of calories as energy that we consume, and we consume too many of them (calorie surplus), we have extra energy left over. That energy is stored as fat. If we don't consume enough energy (calorie deficit), our bodies use that stored fat for energy. Find the right energy balance, and your weight will stay the same.

Should I be tracking calories?

....probably. Tracking calories isn't for everyone. If you are the type of person to get stressed out easily, have any kind of eating disorder, or some form of OCD, tracking might not be for you. More on how to track food without counting calories in a later post!

Tracking calories takes the guesswork out of losing or gaining weight. It allows you to have that ice cream and/or burrito without stressing out. That's a huge win, in my book.

Okay, okay, I want eat burritos guilt free! So how do I track?

Glad you're on board. Let's just backtrack a little bit, shall we? Because counting calories does fuck all if you don't know what number you should be aiming for.

It's super common to hear that females should be eating 1,200 a day and men closer to 2,000 a day. Heck no. If I ate only 1,200 calories a day I would be fucking starving. There'd be no room for burritos and ice cream!

Now it's time for the fun!! Math! Calculators!! Don't worry. It's gonna be pretty easy and I'm gonna (virtually) hold your hand along the way. I'm going to show you EXACTLY how to track your calories using myself as an example. Cool? Cool.

(we're gonna do this in feet/inches/pounds!)

Before we dive in to the math here are some definitions and abbreviations of some ~technical words~ LBM = Lean Body Mass. This is the sum total of everything your body is made of except for fat. BMR = Base Metabolic Rate. This is how many calories your body would burn if you were to literally just sit around and watch Parks and Rec all day. BF = Body Fat

My stats: Female, 5'5, 117 pounds, 30 years of age

Step 1 For men*: BMR = 66.47 + ( 6.24 × weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 × height in inches ) − ( 6.755 × age in years )

For women*: BMR = 655.1 + ( 4.35 × weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 × height in inches ) − ( 4.7 × age in years )

If you plug my numbers in for women: BMR = 655.1 + (4.35 x 117) + (4.7 x 66) - (4.7 x 30) = 1,333.25

So, 1,333.25 is my BMR, or my "Netflix and Chill" calories.

But the things is I move, a lot. And hopefully you're moving a little bit each day as well.

Based on how active you are, you're going to take your Netflix and Chill number multiply it accordingly:

1.1 = Very Inactive 1.2 = Mostly Sedentary 1.3 = Active 1.4 = Intense Training 1.5 = Extremely Active/Athlete

I lift 3-4 times a week and usually get anywhere from 12,000 - 17,000 steps, and do very little cardio, so I'll multiply my number by 1.3.

1,732 will be my daily maintenance calories, meaning that if I each that many calories every day, I'll maintain my weight.

If you're goal is fat loss, take 10% off of that number. If you're goal is to gain weight, add 10%. My goal right now is to gain weight (muscle), so I'm going to add to that number. Giving me roughly 1,904 calories to eat each day.

What's next?

Take your final number. Track as solidly as you can for at *least* two weeks. This number is only an estimate, got it? There's no perfectly magical formula out there. Don't stress over that. This number is based off of your average daily movement and exercise. When you get to nit picky about *exactly* how many calories you burn each day, it can lead to lots of unnecessary stress and can snowball out of control.

You can literally write down the calories you consume every day and keep track of it manually, or you can use an app like MyFitnessPal. Do whichever one is best for you!

Okay Ivy, tracking calories is cool and all that, but what about protein? Will eating too many carbs make me gain weight?

The short answer: one day at a time, my friend. Calories are king.

The long answer....next week!

I'll break down Macros, how much protein you should be eating, and why eating carbs won't make you fat.

For now, just focus on those calories!

Can I have some quick tips on hitting my numbers?

Of course!

• Don't worry about eating the number spot on, +/-100 is fine, especially in the beginning!

• Don't stress if you don't hit it in the first few days - it can take a few adjustments here and there!

• Try planning what you are going to eat ahead of time to ensure you have enough calories throughout the day!

• Read labels and look for lower calorie versions!

• Don't just focus on the scale - take photos as well to help track progress!

If you have any questions (or just wanna say hi!), drop 'em in the comments!

Until next week, my friends!

*I understand some of y'all might not identify as male or female, or as the sex you were born with. That's cool and you have options! If your goal is fat loss, I would go with the formula for women as it will give you fewer calories. And if you're trying to gain weight go with the formula for men as it will be higher. I've calculated myself for both and the men's gives me roughly 100 calories more, which isn't really a big difference at the end of the day. You could also average the two numbers out. You could pick the one you identify more closely with. Just about everyone will adjust their numbers here and there, the formulas are a rough guesstimate. Let me know if you have questions on this!