Question: I recently read Bill Phillip's book, "Body For Life," and he says that you don't need to count calories and that instead, you should count "portions." I read your article on calculating calories and you seem to advocate strictly keeping track of calories. Do you really think it's necessary to count calories every day? Isn't that unrealistic?

Answer: Bill Phillips makes a very good point about counting portions instead of calories. Trying to count every single calorie you take in each day can drive you bonkers! Phillips wrote,

I agree with Phillips for the most part. However, I feel that it is very important for you develop an understanding of the law of calorie balance. It is also important to learn how many calories are in the foods that you eat on a regular basis. It's advantageous to know at least a ballpark figure of how many calories you eat every single day.

The law of calorie balance states that to maintain your weight, you must consume the same number of calories you burn up. To gain weight (muscle), you must consume more (nutritious) calories than you burn up. To lose body weight/fat, you must burn more calories than you consume every day. Calories do count! This is a simple law of mathematics and bio-energetics: if you eat more calories than your body can utilize, you will gain fat, period. Now, if you only count portions and haven't the slightest clue how many calories you're taking in, you're just taking a shot in the dark. Do you really want to take that chance?

It's true that most people can't keep track of calories for a prolonged period of time. That takes a lot of discipline. Personally, I eat the same thing almost every day. I write up my menus on an Excel spreadsheet and post them on my refrigerator. I don't like to guess, but then again, I'm a competitive bodybuilder so for me it's worthwhile to pay fanatical attention to detail.

Here's a solution that is a happy medium for someone who might not be quite the fanatic that I am. Count your calories meticulously in the beginning to gain a familiarity with all of the staple foods that you eat on a regular basis. Then, once you get a knack for calories, you can estimate and "ballpark" it in the future.

Whenever I work with a new nutrition client, one of the first things I have them do is a three day diet recall. They write down all of the foods that they ate and then together we tally them up. This way, they know where they started from (sometimes this exercise is a real eye opener!) Then, I draft up a new menu plan for them and total the calories for each meal and for the entire day. With a menu spreadsheet like this, they know exactly, right down to the last calorie, how much they are eating each day. Then, I teach them a system of food exchanges set up into portions. They can swap one food for a portion of a different food in the same category. For example, by substituting a portion of protein such as a five ounce chicken breast for another portion of a protein, such as six ounces of fish or four ounces or red meat, the calories come out approximately the same.

How strictly you decide to count calories really depends on how serious you are about reaching your goals. If you can swing it, then yes, definitely count your calories. If that doesn't seem realistic for you, then just count portions. Simply counting portions is fine, as long as you're getting the results you want. If you're not, then maybe you should take a closer look at the caloric contents of what you're eating - you might be surprised at what you discover (all those "little things" can really add up!)

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