Chapter 8 – Making careful plans before you begin your program, and ensuring the meticulous counting of calories informs those plans
It was Plato who once said, “The beginning is the most important part of the work.” This observation seems particularly relevant when you’re trying to establish a new and healthy lifestyle.
In the beginning you should repeat your new-found healthy eating habits and exercise routines until they become deeply ingrained and second nature to you. Your new regime needs to become so well assimilated into your lifestyle that you’re able to follow it without too much conscious effort, and eventually, without feeling that you’re incurring any real inconvenience or discomfort.
In the early days of your new program it will be necessary for you to carry out a lot of planning and to be very meticulous about things like counting calories. Counting the calorie content of the foods you eat will be critical if you’re to apportion your meal sizes correctly. Eventually, you will be able to accurately estimate the weight and calorie content of your meals without the need to continue taking exact measurements.
It’s very important to calculate exactly how large a calorie deficit or surplus your daily meal plans should yield overall for the day. In Appendix IV on page 128, I show you how to accurately calculate your own personal Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) and thus determine your own Daily Calorie Requirement (DCR) depending on whether weight loss, maintenance or weight gain is your aim.
Once you’re happy with the surplus or deficit you have assigned yourself, the next step is to make adjustments to the types of foods you eat. You will need to apportion your meal sizes suitably in terms of the number of calories per meal. You will also need to seek to optimise the nutritional composition of your meals in terms of the carb-protein-fat percentage content. I will be discussing optimum macronutrient ratios in the next chapter.
Inspirational quote: Do not consider painful what is good for you….. Euripides
