- Weight: 132.6 lbs.
- Workout B: 16 minutes, 47 seconds; next: new workout plan, Dec. 3
- Total inches: 122.0
- Protein: 129 g (4 g over target)
- Calories: 2,102
Numbers are everything, and yet, don’t always matter.
This dueling set of principles has been the heart of my calorie counting for the past 3 months.
I count the calories every day, weighing every morsel of food. I’m currently shooting for 2,100 calories a day, but will probably go up to 2,200 in December, since my weight has been flat all month.
But I can’t weigh everything. When I dine outside the home, I have to guess. I’m pretty bad at guessing weights and sizes. But I try anyway.
And unless the calories per portion are printed on the packaging, I have to guess there, too. The Internet helps, but any number of sites will give different estimates.
I learned working at Southern Living about how trying to present nutritional information in recipes was a tricky proposition. Readers look for good data, but it’s hard to calculate perfectly. Burning food in a lab isn’t the same as burning calories in cells.
So even that recipe data can be flawed. What’s a numbers guy to do?
Be consistent.
My calorie count for my protein shake won’t be right every day. The size of the banana and the amount of peanut butter varies. But in the long run, it’s mostly right.
My portion sizes of pizza, chicken or taco salad are measured, but again, not perfect. As long as I measure the overall trend (more muscles, more pounds, more total inches), I’m OK.
The fun part about calories is making it a game. I can easily hit 125 or more grams of protein each day. Getting calories to the right number is more complicated.
I have any number of foods I can use at night to zero in on 2,100. And I don’t mind varying portion sizes. I am not cursed with hunger, so eating less on any given day isn’t a problem. I’ve even balanced out high-calorie days with low-calorie days.
It’s mildly annoying to have to weigh food several times a day. It’s mildly rewarding to hit the target number over and over.
I still pretty much eat what I want. Right up until about 10 p.m., when all accounts are settled.
The numbers are my friend, pushing me to keep going and keep tabs on progress.
I’ve done the numbers in calorie counting, except it was for losing weight. At the time, it was both annoying and challenging at the same time, and I so much longed for precision and hated to guess at so many parts of it. I always wanted to know really how far off I was with each thing I ate, even when probably no one can tell me that.
But what I learned from all this counting is that down the road, it teaches you well. I learned and internalized portions, and most importantly, to trust my gut–literally. I knew how much to eat and when to stop without crunching numbers in my head. I accepted the practice of “eyeballing” amounts and types of foods. And for me, that’s big!
You’re doing a great job with this project, Wade! You see the results in the numbers and in the photos. One day, I hope the numbers will remain your friend but in a more abstract way once you’re happy with your progress and weight gain!
And your lovely bedhead always brings a smile to my face. 🙂
Those of the Asian persuasion might instinctively get what Sandra and I have suffered.
The bedhead is hilarious, at least, to me. I need to just make a collage of all my “hairstyles.”
Thanks for checking in!