Hello, ladies. There has been a bit more talk on diet and workout schedules within our sub this last week and frankly the advice I've been seen given out either makes me sad or makes me smile that others actually have somewhat of an understanding. I would like to give an in depth explanation of what seems to be majorly lacking from many people's understandings. I am NASM certified with an FNS, I hold a CF Level 1, CF Powerlifting, and a USAW Sports Performance certification. I will not, however, give out my personal identification for security reasons so if you disregard that I really don't care considering this is some of the best free information laid out for you that you'll get in one spot.

Firstly, we will go over calorie counting.
Logging foods: I prefer the old school way of pen and paper, but there are two free applications/websites that are great to use. Those websites are [MyFitnessPal](www.myfitnesspal.com) and [FitDay](www.fitday.com). Whichever way you choose the principles will remain the same for counting calories, but please be aware that you should add in your own foods because MFP's search area is never 100% accurate for everything. You must log everything you consume in a day that contains calories.

Weighing Foods: You must weigh your foods, do not eyeball or use estimations like "I think..." Weigh everything on a kitchen scale, preferably a digital one that has GRAMS. Only liquids can be measured by volume. This becomes extra important with calorie dense foods such as peanut butter considering one tablespoon is usually around 100 cals, but you can easily fit 2-3 "tablespoons" on a normal kitchen spoon. Instead weigh the peanut butter in grams per serving. Same goes for supplements as one scoop of protein powder does NOT always equal one serving of protein powder. Here are some links for scales: EatSmart Scale, Ozeri Pronto Scale.

How do I handle food with no nutritional information? Sometimes fruits, veggies, and meats/seafood do not come with it. The USDA has a very well compiled list of fruits, vegetables, and meats in GRAMS! USDA Nutritional Information.
If using MFP you can search the fruit, vegetable, or meat and put USDA afterwards and it will allow you to obtain the same information from this website. When you weigh meat yourself, ALWAYS WEIGH IT RAW! Nutritional facts are stated in raw form UNLESS packaging specifically states differently and this is true for about any food. If you want to weigh liquids then this should be if use to you.

Dining Out: Attempt to find nutritional information on the establishment you're dining at. Many larger chains have this information available. Be aware that this is basically an estimate as they are not weighing things down to the gram in the actual kitchen. They also could be liberal with ingredients like butters/oils and those add up quickly, or they could not be. If the establishment doesn't offer some nutritional information then you try to break down the meal piece by piece and track it that way. If you're feeling really frisky, being a food scale with you. If you want to ensure 100% accuracy then don't eat out. So, please, when you comment back to my posts stating that MFP is accurate..don't bother.

Accuracy: Accept the fact you will never be 100000% accurate. The FDA allows for up to 20% margin of error with nutritional information. YOU must do the best you can do to not let that margin become ANY larger by estimating what you have eaten. You will also find products that claim to be zero calories! These include: mustard, ketchup, cooking spray, etc. They actually have anywhere between 0 and 5 calories PER SERVING so before you go and drench your eggs in mustard or hot sauce, rethink. They round the product so they can claim zero on the label, but if you want to be precise count these as 5 calories per serving. This is much more important if you use these frequently.

Last Thoughts: Counting calories is the main priority of weight loss. I wrote this to help users understand the importance of information that has been proved time and time again to be the most efficient way to lose weight. If you find you are NOT losing weight while following these methods while your caloric deficit is low enough for you to be losing steadily (slow and steady wins the race applies here), you need to take a step back and ask yourself if you are weighing everything correctly as well as weighing condiments etc because ONLY then will you know it is truly time to lower the calories.

If any of you would like me to post how to figure out your TDEE or if you would like to know more about macro counting, which makes your body composition much more in YOUR control, then feel free to let me know. Otherwise, please do not give diet advice that you can not provide endless information on just out of respect for our community. Please do not make it seem as if it's okay to pick a random too low caloric deficit and expect the best results that you're actually expecting. There is a reason competitors don't start out on random deficits and even if you're not competing that doesn't MAKE IT ANY DIFFERENT TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR WEIGHT LOSS WITH PRESERVING AS MUCH MUSCLE AND STRENGTH AS YOU CAN. Why would you want to risk losing more lean muscle mass then you should? Muscle is what supports our body fat to give us definition, curves, whatever you want to call it.