What's the point in logging my meals/drinks in MyFitnessPal?
- Otis Hill
- Oct 26, 2020
- 2 min read
Updated: Oct 29, 2020
Before I go into why logging meals/drinks are vital to your weight loss/gain's success, allow me to explain what the heck are calories?
According to Dictionary.com, "A unit of heat equal to the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1,000 grams of water by one degree Celsius. This unit is used as a measure of the energy released by food as it is digested by the human body"(Dictionary.com,Web.2020).
Now I know that sounds like a bunch of complicated BS, but calories is just a measurement of the process how our bodies process food into energy. Eating too many calories of anything throughout the week can take you over the limit to gaining a pound or two in a week. Now keep in mind, our bodies need at least 1200 calories in order to maintain bodily functions. Anything lower that can result in serious fatigue and inability to maintain consistent levels of energy during workouts.
Based on your height, weight, age, & activity level, these all factor in to determine the how many calories you need to eat/drink per day, per week. Using myself as an example, below I factored in my Basal Metabolic Rate, "aka", Calories Burned At Rest (Doing Absolutely Nothing).
Gender: Male
Height: 5"11
Weight: 195lbs
Age: 28 yrs old
BMR: 1,993 Calories Burned At Rest
(Calculate your BMR by clicking the link below)
Needless to say that, if I exert more effort into becoming more active in my lifestyle, such as cardio & strength training exercises, then my Calories Burned At Rest "aka" body's metabolism will increase to a higher amount of calories needed to maintain my bodily functions.
When I assign my clients a nutrition goal, I use this template below:
Lose .5 lb per week: 250 Calories-Calories Burned Daily
Lose 1 lb per week: 500 Calories-Calories Burned Daily
Lose 1.5 lbs per week: 750 Calories-Calories Burned Daily
Lose 2 lbs per week: 1000 Calories-Calories Burned Daily
To find out how many calories you burn daily, people typically use a fitness watch, such as an Apple Watch, Fitbit HR tracker, etc. Knowing your calories in/calories out (burned) number is essential for losing fat/gaining lean muscles mass.
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