Food logging is an incredibly useful tool for losing weight and changing your body. Although it’s not for everyone and you shouldn’t do it forever, tracking your food can teach you a lot.

In Part 1 of this series, I explained why food logging is a keystone habit for improving your health. I also looked at the three different kinds of food logs I use with clients.

Part 2 took a closer look at logging your food using a calorie counting app such as MyFitnessPal. I gave some best practices for logging accurately and using the app as effortlessly as possible.

In this third and final edition of “All About Food Logging,” I show you how to determine the appropriate calorie and macronutrient targets to consume for your goals.

Calories

Calories are a measure of how much energy is contained in what we eat and drink. Our bodies convert energy from food into energy that can be used immediately or stored for later. Throughout the course of the day, our bodies use tons of energy for conscious and unconscious processes.

If you consume more energy through food than you use in a day, your body stores it for later and you gain weight. The reverse is also true; if you consume fewer calories than you burn, your body is forced to tap into its energy stores and you lose weight. Although there are many steps in this process, the bottom line is caloric balance determines whether you gain, lose, or maintain your weight.

If you are tracking your food using an app, you need to know how many calories you should consume to achieve your goals. It takes a certain number of calories to maintain your weight. If you want to gain or lose weight, you need to eat more or less than your maintenance calorie number.

The simplest way to determine how many calories you need is to multiply your bodyweight by a number determined by your goals and activity level:

Maintain weight

• Sedentary: bodyweight x 12-14
• Moderately active: bodyweight x 14-16
• Very active: bodyweight x 16-18

Lose weight

• Sedentary: bw x 10-12
• Moderately active: bw x 12-14
• Very active: bw x 14-16

Gain weight

• Sedentary: bw x 16-18
• Moderately active: bw x 18-20
• Very active: bw x 20-22

These numbers taken from Precision Nutrition Essentials of Sport and Exercise Nutrition, Second Ed.

Although these numbers aren’t perfect, they will help you get started right away.

If you want more precise information, use any one of the numerous calorie calculators found on the web. (Here is one I like) These calculators use different formulas to estimate the maintenance calories your body needs every day.

Each calculator first asks you to input your sex, height, weight, and age. Next, you are asked to select an activity multiplier. If you sit at a desk all day, pick the lowest multiplier. Those of you who already train frequently may consider bumping up the activity level. Read the descriptions on the calculator and pick which feels most appropriate for you.

Once you have your maintenance calories, simply subtract 250-500 calories per day to find how many calories you need to lose weight. Do the reverse if your goal is to gain weight.

None of these numbers are set in stone. As much as it helps, calorie counting is far from an exact science. Calculate your calories and track diligently for 2-4 weeks. If you aren’t seeing any progress, adjust your numbers accordingly.

Aggressive vs Modest Deficit

Everyone wants dramatic results, yesterday. However, weight loss doesn’t usually happen on the schedule we want. Patience is one of the most valuable skills you can practice when trying to change your body. For some people, it can take a very long time to see real progress.

Cutting your calories more aggressively (more than 500-750 calories per day) can lead to faster results. However, this kind of diet doesn’t work well for many people. You will feel much hungrier and more deprived when you slash your calories. This can lead to low adherence and may even push you toward binge eating.

When you lose weight rapidly, you also risk losing your hard-earned muscle. This is bad because muscle mass keeps your metabolism revving and gives the lean, defined look most people desire after they lose weight. It also takes much less effort and time to lose fat than it does to build muscle, so rapid weight loss can be counterproductive.

For these reasons, I recommend most people take a more conservative approach to weight loss. Cutting fewer calories initially means less hunger and better adherence to your diet. You won’t feel as fatigued, which means you will be able to continue to get decent sleep and push yourself in the gym. All of these factors will add up in the long run and contribute to your ultimate success.

Calorie Cycling

Weekly caloric balance is much more important than nailing your calories every day. You can alternate between higher and lower calorie days throughout the week, as long as at the end of the week you have consumed the appropriate number of calories for your goals. Feel free to borrow up to 20% of a day’s calories from the day just before or after.

Many people feel better eating slightly more calories on training days and fewer calories on rest days. Others have more success sticking with their diets when they eat pretty much the same exact thing every day. Experiment to figure out which approach works best for you.

Macros

Macronutrients are smaller building blocks that make up the food we eat. Whereas calories tell you how much energy a food contains, macronutrients tell you what kinds of molecules make up a food. These different molecules are broken down, used, and stored by the body for different purposes. The three main macronutrients are proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Alcohol is also technically a macronutrient, but we won’t consider it here because it doesn’t really serve a useful purpose in the body.

Protein

If your goal is to look and feel better, protein consumption should be a high priority. Protein is essential to help your body recover from your workouts. Consuming more protein will also help you feel fuller, longer. Aim to consume protein from a wide range of sources to ensure you are eating all of the essential amino acids your body needs.

A great goal is to consume 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight. There are a few exceptions to this rule:

• If you have a lot of weight to lose, consuming this protein is impractical and may be unnecessary. Aim for 1g/lb of lean body mass. To find your lean body mass, find your body fat percentage (using a handheld machine is just fine.) Plug in that number (expressed as a decimal) to this equation:

Lean body mass = bodyweight – (body fat % x bodyweight)

If you don’t have a way to test your bodyfat, simply multiply your body weight by 0.7 or 0.8.

• Vegetarians and vegans may struggle to consume this much protein. Aim for a minimum consumption of 100 g protein per day, working toward 0.8g/lb bodyweight or lean body mass.

As you diet, keep your protein consumption high. Always try to cut calories from carbs and fat before cutting them from protein.

Fat

The next macronutrient to determine is fat. Your body needs a certain amount of fat to perform essential tasks. If you cut your fat consumption too low for too long, you risk damaging your hormonal health. Aim to consume a balanced profile of fats from meat, fish, avocados, oils, and nuts.

Set fat to at least 15-25% of total calories. If you prefer a higher fat diet, you may choose to consume up to 40% of your calories from fat.

Carbohydrates

The final macronutrient we will calculate is carbohydrates. Although your body can technically survive without carbs, most people look, feel, and perform their best consuming a healthy amount of carbohydrates. Carbs are the body’s preferred energy source and the most efficient fuel for your brain. If you are trying to gain weight or improve athletic performance, you should consider eating a higher carb diet. Cutting carbs too low for too long can have a negative impact on thyroid health in some people.

Carbs should make up the remainder of your calories after setting protein and fat targets. You can also set your target carbs by multiplying your bodyweight by 1-3 (closer to 1 if trying to lose weight, closer to 3 if trying to gain weight or improve athletic performance.) Unless you are an endurance athlete, it’s best to keep carb consumption beneath 45% of total calories.

Low carb or low fat?

There is always lots of buzz in the nutrition world about whether it’s better to eat a low carb or a low fat diet. A few years ago, everyone avoided fat like the plague. These days, low carb diets are all the rage. It’s difficult for the average person to sift through this sea of information and determine what is true and what is not.

The reality is after you account for caloric intake, it makes very little difference whether you eat more fats or more carbs. There is nothing inherently fattening about either of these macronutrients. The real value in eating higher or lower amounts of carbs or fats is in the way your diet affects the way you feel and perform.

I encourage everyone to experiment with both types of eating and find what works best for them. The best diet is one you can stick to and that leaves you feeling strong and focused throughout the day. Remember calories are king when it comes to losing or gaining weight; everything else is of secondary importance.

I’ve determined my calories and macros. Now what?

After you’ve decided how much you should eat and where those foods should come from, it’s time to enter these numbers in MyFitnessPal.

To enter custom calorie and macronutrient targets in MyFitnessPal, go to “Goals” (located under the “More” tab in the app), then select “Calorie & Macronutrient Goals.” You can now set a daily caloric goal. If you are using a free version of the app, you can only enter macronutrient goals based on percentage of total calories. Simply adjust these percentages to get as close as you can to your ideal marcos.

The free version of MyFitnessPal does not allow you to set different calorie goals on different days. If you want to cycle your calories, you can adjust the calorie goal every morning. You can also keep track of the over/under math yourself, or use your weekly digest to ensure you hit your target over the course of the week.

You can also track your calories and macros using good old pen and paper. I did this myself for a long time before MyFitnessPal was around. It does take more work since you need to look up everything you eat in a database such as Calorie King or the USDA food composition database. If you are at all technically inclined, I definitely recommend digital tracking. Check out Part 2 for detailed instructions on how to use an app like MyFitnessPal.

There’s a ton of information included in this post. If you want some guidance figuring out how to structure the appropriate calories and macros for your goals, or if you just need help building healthier eating habits, please fill out an application for my online coaching program here.  

If you are serious about losing weight, tracking your food is one of the best things you can do to get the ball rolling. Food logging teaches you about appropriate serving sizes and educates you about the caloric content of your favorite foods. It also keeps you accountable and provides some guidelines to help you structure an effective diet.

In Part 1, I explained these and other benefits to logging your food. This week I want to dive into one particular method of logging: using a calorie-counting app. I primarily focus on MyFitnessPal as it is the most comprehensive and use-friendly tracking app I have used. However, you can also use another app such as Lose It! and follow the same basic practices outlined below.

How to Log

There are a few simple steps to follow each time you eat to properly log your food in MyFitnessPal:

1. • Pull up the MyFitnessPal app on your phone or open up the website on your computer. Go to your Food Diary.

1. • Go to the appropriate meal or snack and select “Add Food.”

1. • If you are eating something that came from a package, use the barcode feature on the top right hand corner of the app to scan the barcode and add the food that way. If not, use the search function to find the food. Scan the results for the option that seems most relevant. Good choices for produce and meats will often have a green check mark next to their names.

1. • • Select the best choice from the search results and enter in the most accurate serving size. I recommend weighing your food using a digital scale and entering the serving size in grams or ounces whenever possible. You can also use cup and spoon measures to approximate the amount of food. The more precise you are, the better.
   • Repeat this process for everything you eat. By the end of the day, everything you ate or drank that contained calories should be recorded in your diary.

The Importance of Accuracy

As I mentioned in Part 1, the main benefit to logging your food using MyFitnessPal or another app is to get the most accurate information about the calorie and macronutrient content of your food. The food databases on these apps contain a vast amount of largely correct information about thousands of different foods. This provides a level of detail you simply can’t get from a written or photo food log. It can also enable you to easily tweak certain aspects of your diet if you hit a plateau or aren’t seeing the desired results 

However, accuracy can be compromised depending on how you log your food. If you select a serving size that doesn’t reflect what you ate, your logging can be way off. This can lead to lack of progress and unnecessary frustration.

This short video demonstrates just how inaccurate standard measuring cups can be for food logging:

Here a few tips to help you log your food as accurately as possible:

• • Weigh all of your food using a digital food scale. The more food you weigh, the more accurate your log will be.

• • Whenever possible, use grams or ounces as your serving size of choice. This will allow you to be as precise as possible. You may need to try a few options in the database before you find one that allows you to select grams or ounces as your serving size.

• • Enter all components of a meal as individual foods. For example, I eat a salad every day for lunch. Instead of searching “chicken salad” in the database and choosing the first thing that pops up, I enter the chicken, tomatoes, peppers, avocado oil, red onion, and cucumbers each as separate food entries.

• • It’s especially important to accurately log calorically-dense foods like fats, as these are very easy to overeat and a proper serving size is often quite small. Fats include foods like oils, nut butters, nuts, and avocado.

• • • If you are unsure whether an entry in the database is accurate, you can cross reference the calories and macronutrients with the USDA food composition database. This is the most accurate database of its kind on the internet. I’ve used it a few times to figure out which option in the MyFitnessPal database was the best choice when I noticed a lot of discrepancies between different choices.
  • If you can’t find the food you want in the database and you happen to have accurate information (such as a meal from a restaurant which provides nutrition information on its website,) you can create a custom food and enter this information yourself.

An example of my daily logging. Notice that each food is entered individually and that most serving sizes are in ounces or grams.

If you can’t commit to logging in this way, you may be better off tracking your food intake using another method such as the Precision Nutrition hand size guidelines or using a written or photo food log.

The more you log, the easier it gets

One of the biggest barriers to entry when using a food tracking app is the time investment required. It takes time and effort to weigh, measure, and log all your meals, especially if you have never done it before.

Fortunately, MyFitnessPal has built-in features that make logging easier the more you use the app. Each time you make a food selection from the database, MyFitnessPal adds it to your recent foods list. The next time you search for a food, it will pop up right away. Most of us only eat a few dozen regular foods throughout the week, so after a few weeks of logging, you will quickly find the appropriate entry.

You can also can save your most common meals for rapid logging. For example, I make the same chicken salad every day of the week for lunch. By now, the amount of each food I include is more or less the same every day. Instead of weighing each ingredient every single day, I can simply save the meal in MyFitnessPal and know that the calorie and macronutrient content of this meal varies very little from day to day. Save all of your most common meals in the app so you can quickly and easily enter them.

You can save meals by clicking “…” on the bottom right hand corner of each meal using the app, or by selecting “Quick tools” under each meal on the website. To enter saved meals, click “Add Food”, then go to “Meals” and select the appropriate meal. Adjust serving sizes or add foods as necessary.

Some of my saved meals

A note about obsessive behavior

Food logging using an app is not for everyone. If logging stresses you out or leads you down a path to obsessive or otherwise disordered eating habits, you should take a different approach to losing weight. Focus on building healthy habits rather than simply counting calories.

Also keep in mind that the calorie and macronutrient information in these databases is subject to a potentially wide margin of error (up to +/-25%.) I never recommend playing food tetris and trying to squeeze in exact amounts of certain foods to fit below a certain calorie limit.

That being said, logging using an app may be the missing ingredient you need to finally see weight loss success. Try it for a month and see if you gain a better awareness of your food intake.

Part 3 explains how to set custom calorie and macronutrient goals for your body and your goals. If you want help finding the eating and training approaches that work best for you, please reach out to me here.

In his book The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg writes about the power of “keystone habits.” According to Duhigg, a keystone habit is a good habit that can create a chain reaction of other good habits. One of the most powerful keystone habits for health and wellness is tracking your food. As Duhigg explains, when you start writing down what you eat, you are more likely to make healthier food choices, manage calories, exercise more, and pay more attention to your health. Adding in this one small habit can lead to enormous positive changes.

If you want to improve your health this year, I recommend starting to log everything you eat and drink. Tracking your intake is tremendously helpful when trying to lose weight or change your body. This week’s post explains why food logging is so useful and provides a few options for getting started. In Part 2, I will give detailed instructions on how to use a food tracking app to get the most accurate picture of your daily intake.

Why log your food?

Tracking your food creates more awareness around what you eat and drink. Most people are woefully ignorant of how much they consume every day. It can be a truly eye-opening experience to see everything you eat and drink written down. I’ve had clients come back to me in shock after completing their first food log because they simply had no idea they were eating so much.

When you record everything you eat, you may also notice much of your eating and drinking happens subconsciously. This may take the form of mindless snacking in the breakroom, tasting meals as you cook, or clearing off the last bits of food on kids’ or partners’ plates. Although it doesn’t seem like much, repeating these behaviors day after day can lead to hundreds or thousands of unwanted calories each week.

Logging your food teaches you about the calorie and macronutrient content of your favorite foods and meals. Unfortunately, many of our favorite foods are deceptively high in calories. This is especially true of foods high in fat like peanut butter, nuts, and oils, as fat has over twice as many calories per gram as protein or carbs. It’s totally possible to sabotage a seemingly healthy diet by over consuming calorically dense foods. Logging helps you keep limit items to a reasonable amount.

Most Americans don’t know what a healthy portion size looks like. When you log your food, you can compare the visual of a proper serving size with the actual data. In time, this can also help you reconnect with your natural hunger cues. In my experience, the feeling of being satisfied is much more subtle than the feeling of being totally stuffed. If you have been eating poorly for so long that you can no longer recognize these cues, limiting yourself to a well-measured portion and then paying close attention to how you feel after the meal is an eye-opening experience.

Finally, logging your food keeps you accountable. Tracking helps you understand your current eating habits and provides the accountability and framework necessary to make positive changes. Additionally, logging your food can help you communicate with a coach or support group and allow you to troubleshoot when you hit the inevitable weight loss plateau.

How to log your food

There are three main options for food logging, each with pros and cons. Choose the option that fits best with your personality and lifestyle. You can always try another option if one isn’t working or is driving you crazy.

Written log

A written log is the simplest possible food log. With this method, you write down everything you eat and drink over the course of a day. This can be kept digitally or in a physical journal.

Be as precise and detailed as you can. Group items into meals and include exact serving sizes whenever possible. If you eat a meal with many different foods, such as a salad or sandwich, write down all the individual components separately.

Write down everything you eat and drink that has calories. This includes sugar or cream in your coffee, condiments, pop, small snacks, low-calorie foods like vegetables, etc.

I also like to track other metrics in my written food log. I always write down how hungry I was when I started eating and how full I was when I finished (I use a 1-10 scale where 1 = totally stuffed and 10 = totally famished). Additionally, I write down where I was and what I was doing when I ate. Tracking these metrics has helped me understand why I’m eating, which allows me to make better food choices.

Pros: This is the simplest and easiest way to track your food. If you use a note on your phone, you will be able to log your food no matter where you are.

Cons: Although writing down your food will still keep you accountable, it does not provide the most accurate picture of how many calories or macronutrients you are consuming. If you have been diligently using a written food log and aren’t seeing any changes to your body, you may need to spend some time using a tracking app (see below and Part 2) to figure out where you are consuming extra calories.

Photo log

A photo log consists of pictures of everything you eat or drink. Just before you enjoy a meal or snack, take a quick snapshot of what you’re eating with your phone. Upload these photos to the cloud or your computer to keep them organized. It’s easy to combine a photo log with a written log for a more detailed picture of your intake.

Pros: It’s quick and easy to snap a photo of your food. It takes much less time than any of the other tracking methods. Most of us carry our phones with us everywhere we go, so you won’t have to worry about not being able to track your intake.

Cons: Unfortunately, it’s also easy to forget to take a photo before you start chowing down. You can always remember to write down your meals later with a written log, but a photo log requires you to remember to track in the moment. This method of tracking becomes a lot less effective if you forget to photograph some of your meals.

In addition, just like a written log, a photo log doesn’t provide accurate information about the calorie or macronutrient content of your meals. If you have been diligently using a photo log and aren’t seeing any changes to your body, you may need to spend some time using a tracking app (see below) to figure out where you are consuming extra calories.

Note – MyFitnessPal does have a feature that allows you to upload photos of meals and receive calorie counts. However, these are approximations at best and won’t help if you need very accurate data about your intake.

Food Tracking Apps

The third method of food tracking uses apps such as MyFitnessPal or Lose It! to log your daily intake. These apps can be accessed on the internet or downloaded directly to your cell phone.

In Part 2, I provide a detailed explanation of exactly how to weigh, measure, and track your food to get the most accurate food log.

To summarize this approach here, be as precise and detailed as you can. Weigh your food or include exact serving sizes whenever possible. If you eat a meal with many different foods, such as a salad or sandwich, log all the individual components separately.

Again, log everything that has calories including sugar or cream in your coffee, condiments, pop, small snacks, low-calorie foods like vegetables, etc.

Pros: Tracking using an app provides the most detailed information about exactly how many calories and macronutrients you consume each day. This information can help you make targeted tweaks to your nutrition. For example, you will know whether or not you are consuming enough protein each day and you may be able to experiment and see if you look and feel better using a higher carb or higher fat diet.

Apps are also very helpful when eating out at chain restaurants, as many of them post fairly accurate nutrition information about their menus.

Cons: Logging your food with an app can be time consuming and difficult to keep at first. If you are totally new to apps or measuring your food, there is a learning curve required to figure everything out.

Relying on an app indefinitely can lead to problems with food down the road. Use tracking to learn about what you are eating and help guide you through a diet. Then, when the diet is over, wean yourself off the app and reconnect with your natural hunger and fullness cues.

Here is an example of a MyFitnessPal entry. This shows most of what I ate on this day.

Tracking your food and drink can be exceptionally helpful when trying to build better nutrition habits, lose weight, or improve your overall health. If you have one or more of these goals, the first thing you should do is record your daily intake using one of the methods mentioned here. Check out Part 2 to learn about the best way to use apps like MyFitnessPal to make the fastest progress toward your goals.

If you want to stop spinning your wheels and make 2018 your fittest and healthiest year yet, please fill out an application for my online coaching program.