Lose Fat Without Counting Calories + Positive Rewards

Health Hack - Lose Fat Without Counting Calories

Counting calories is seen as the evil villain of dieting by many coaches.

I could go on about how I don’t think it’s fair to demonize it, but I won’t today.

I completely get not wanting to log everything you eat into an app, so today, I’ll be going into how you can lose fat and get lean without tracking what you eat.

The secret is…

To track what you eat temporarily.

Not the sexiest answer.

But it’s the truth.

The fitness coaches who go on about how they don’t track what they eat have a secret they’re not telling you:

Someone with an understanding of energy balance and nutrition can intuitively eat according to their goals, but the same isn’t true for someone just getting started.

The best way to develop solid nutritional knowledge is to track what you eat for two weeks to a month.

You might hate it, but it’ll be worth it.

Create an album on your phone called “food references” and take photos of the amounts of common things you eat (150g of rice, 200g of potatoes, 250g of chicken, 15 ml of Peanut Butter).

I get my clients to track for at least two weeks, and I typically hear the same response:

Or,

People underestimate calories by close to 500 on average, and it’s impossible to get lean if you’re off by that margin.

One of my clients started out tracking his calories, and when he expressed that he found it tedious, I told him to stop.

He’s been able to continue his weight loss (even through a wedding, bachelor party, and vacation) because he can intuitively hit his protein and calorie goals.

He’s been going out to restaurants and enjoying some beers with friends while making progress and getting leaner.

But he can only do this because he tracked closely for nearly two months.

In that time, he learned about what foods had calories that added up too quickly.

He learned how to order to support his goals when eating out and what foods allowed him to eat a high volume while keeping calories low.

He learned how to get enough protein.

He built nutritional knowledge that will last forever.

So if you like the idea of intuitively navigating life while staying lean without tracking what you eat, you’ll need a solid nutritional knowledge.

And the best way to get that is to track what you eat.

You can do it for two weeks — it’s worth it.

A Helpful Idea - Positive Rewards

One of the things I missed when I first got into getting healthier was coming up with positive rewards.

We’re not robots, and we all need activities to relax and unwind.

The problem is when the only model you have for a reward is something that takes you 1 or 2 steps back.

People who stay fit forever haven’t neglected to reward themselves — they have rewards that don’t involve putting back a bottle of wine and the entire bag of Chicago mix popcorn.

My first few years trying to get healthier looked like this:

Monday to Friday, I’d be dialed in: getting up early, working on projects, running, lifting well, everything on point.

But then, because I’m human, I’d need a break. So then I’d turn to my traditional ways of taking a “break,” which usually involved eating something like a whole pizza or drinking too many beers.

Of course, you can be healthy while drinking beer on occasion and having pizza.

But if this behavior happens too much, you fall into the “two steps forward, one step backward” style of progress that is insanely frustrating.

The solution isn’t trying to be a robot and be in Spartan Mode 100% of the time; the solution is positive rewards: things that charge you up and don’t take you a step back. Bonus points if they contribute to momentum.

In his book “Flow,” Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has a concept called “escaping forward.”

Escaping is typically seen as a lazy thing: you might be escaping by vegging out on the couch watching bad TV. You’re unengaged and disinterested.

Escaping forward is when you’re doing something enjoyable but are fully engaged and present.

An arsenal of “escaping forward” activities is crucial for lifelong health.

What things can you do for a break that don’t involve taking a hit on your health and performance?

Everyone needs ways to reward themselves and relax.

But if you can rely on rewards that build you up, keep you engaged, and aren’t detrimental to your health, you’ll double your momentum.

What positive rewards do you have when you need a break?

When you’re ready, here’s how you can work with me.

I’m looking for 2 people who want to lose fat, build muscle, and perform at their best.

No 2-hour workouts.

No restrictive dieting.

If you’re ready, reply to this email with the subject “Let’s go” and give me a short description of your fitness goals.