StrongerLeanerBetter

Rule 5. Track calories EVERY DAY using a free app like my fitness pal.

“What gets measured gets managed.”

I loved when I read in the Primal Blueprint that calories don’t matter as long as I eat Primal (a complete hijacking of paleo with a new name). Sounded awesome. I followed the Primal / Paleo lifestyle for a long time. I got high cholesterol and lost no weight whatsoever. It’s my own fault. I was eating too much. So that didn’t work for me. Plus, I got tired of feeling guilty if I wanted my sandwich on 2 pieces of bread instead of a fucking lettuce wrap.

The Whole 30 went a little better. Followed the rigid rules excluding lots of foods. Dropped about 8 pounds in 30 days. But after the restrictions were gone on day 31, the weight came back quickly. Why? Because when following their rules it’s hard to get a lot of calories.

I crapped out on Keto. I like carbs. Sue me, I don’t care.

The only thing that’s ever worked consistently for me in terms of managing my weight is tracking my calories. It’s like paying attention to your money. You simply must.

It’s really easy in the modern world of endless stress and extremely convenient, hyper-palatable foods to fall into a pattern of simply eating too much. Even if you’re eating “healthy”.

So I’m going to track my calories and protein to make sure I’m staying around calories (see Day 1), and staying around 146 grams of protein (see Day 1).

I’ll post the food logs on here out of myfitnesspal (the app / website). I’ve always struggled hitting a protein number above 100, so to get there I’ll start off relying more on protein powders than I know I should. I’ll work on transitioning away from over reliance on protein powders as I get into the habit of hitting my numbers. With my hectic work schedule it’s just a little easier to start establishing the habits this way.

On most days I will try to log my planned eating in advance, rather than doing it retroactively. Why? Because it’s a lot easier to stay on track by planning ahead and seeing what the numbers look like, as opposed to guessing and finding out that you ate too much that day. Just works for me. Remember, I’m just reporting what I’m doing, not telling you what to do.

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