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Counting Calories
Health | January 30, 2015
Counting calories is unnecessary in my opinion and rather pay attention to my portion sizes which gives me an easier way to measure the right amount of food I eat on a daily basis. Counting calories can still be a great tool for someone who seems to have a problem reaching their goals. For example, a 30 year old woman that has always been skinny, who’s trying to put on some muscle, but can’t put on any weight even tho she says she “eats a lot”. I have friends like that and they all have two things in common:
1. They all feel like they eat a lot.
2. They actually don’t eat enough.
You could be also one of the very rare cases with some type of rare condition that is preventing you from any weight gain, but before you jump into any conclusions, it would be wise to check the numbers.
First you have to find out what “Activity Level” you’re at. There are 3 levels:
1. Sedentary – minimal exercise, maybe yoga or aerobic exercise, mostly sitting at work.
2. Moderately active – sedentary job, but following ZGYM’s workout schedule daily.
3. Very active – Doing 2 ZGYM workouts daily, or following ZGYM daily plus doing a lot of sports and activities, having an active job, basically moving all day long and doing high intensity workouts regularly.
Once you figure out what is your activity level, we can calculate how many calories a day you should be eating based on your goal. Here’s an easy to use calorie estimator:
To demonstrate how this works in practice, let’s have a look at a couple of examples.
Example #1:
A 150lb, moderately active ZGYM member interested in fat loss would begin by taking in between 1800 (150lb x 12) and 2100 (150lbs x 14) calories a day.
Example #2:
A 120lb very active ZGYM member interested in muscle gain would start by taking in between 2400 (120lb x 20) and 2640 (120lbs x 22) calories a day.
**please note that these guidelines are really only helpful if you’re eating clean, nutrient-rich foods – for example #1 if you eat 2100 calories a day of fast food or junk snacks then it’s doubtful you’ll lose much, if any, weight at all
Zuzka’s tip:
If you look at your grocery list, I can guarantee you that most of us stick to about 20 basic ingredients (it better be super foods) that we buy on a weekly basis. If you get familiar with your favorite foods, and learn the amount of calories that they contain, you’ll always be able to tell how many calories are approximately in the meals that you make out of these ingredients.
Private Member |
Hey Zuzka, how would you figure out your body fat percentage?
Private Member |
switzerland/, france
the American Council on Exercise (ACE) rates women in fitness level a 21-24%, athletic is 14-20%.
I use a scale that has the fat % too, and I really like it as I want to decrease my fat (not just overall weight). Currently I am at 21.2% and for the “look” I want to achieve, I guess I should lean (ha, ha) towards 18-19% (on the higher scale of athletic). FYI I am 166cm tall for 56.9kg, rather fit, but not shredded (feel like I have a buoy around the waist…muffin top).
Private Member |
lake tahoe, nv, usa
Im the same size and weight as you are. I’m 54.5kg same height. The muffin top might me a result of high cortisol levels which links to stress. My body stores fat in thighs, which is shows I might have high levels of estrogen. Hormones can play quite an important role in our body composition.
Private Member |
switzerland/, france
yes, I read and heard several times about the cortisol. As I get hairloss too I asked my doctor if I can be tested on cortisol. Unfortunately , it is kind of a “volatile” hormone that varies so quickly that you can’t really tell and analyzing it is not worth. Well, it is in my genes (and my jean’s ha,ha), but by the time I drop down to 54.5kg and have your fitness level…we’ll see.
A big factor for me is also age and pregnancies, my skin got very stretched and is not so elastic, so I have plenty of stretch-marks and my tummy looks like a prune. Therefore as the skin is not firm it doesn’t “hold” the fat in the same way. I just have to get over it, and/or train like a beast. My goal is to give a go on 3 months of working out like I mean it + cleaner eating (portion control is my biggest issue)..and we’ll see;)
Private Member |
Hi Zuzka,
I also weigh the same as you and im the same height too(29 years old). Im very fit, do your workouts religiously 5 days a week , sometimes twice a day. I can see my abs beautifully but find that i still have a little bit of fat to lose around my lower tummy(if i pull it with my fingers, its about an inch). So would you recommend i eat for fatloss or maintanance coz i still would like to build a little muscle too. I follow a high fat diet with around 90g protein a day, and only carbs after a workout. Im currently eating around 1800 calories a day , is that too much or too little?
Private Member |
jensen beach, fl, usa
Hi Zuzka,
Every how many hours do you eat? Do you snack in between and what are these snacks?I have been doing your workouts for a long time and my body has changed a lot but i have trouble getting a definition on abs and arms like yours. What am I doing wrong? do I need 2-3 maybe workouts a day? I am rather active mom of 2 small ones. Will be very grateful for some answers.
Private Member |
lake tahoe, nv, usa
No! If I thought that multiple workouts a day will be better for you, the weekly workout schedule would reflect on it. Just stay consistent, don’t miss a day and follow my nutrition guide.
Private Member |
Zuzka, you mention weight loss, maintenance or weight gain. But I’m wondering what should we do in order to transform our body? HIIT is a great workout type but how about eating? Many bodybuilders to whom I asked, told me that they eat 6 times a day. You eat 4 times at the most. Me too but now I see that my progress is slow so maybe eating 6 times a day is not a bad choice. What do you think about it? How should we eat for transformation?
Thanks.
Private Member |
That’s a good question please Zuzka how we should eat for transformation , i also have like 3 kg left to loose and the belley fat ? i eat very healthy following your workout and i do Crossfit and i teach Arabic belly dance but still suffering to loose the last few kg ,
Thank you
Private Member |
According to the calories I need just to confirm I’m doing it correctly Im 5’4 weight is 147 according to the calories I need is is 2058 ? is that right ? That seems ALOT ? PLease HELP !!
Private Member |
Hey….
In my opinion I would suggest you download Myfitnesspal app on your phone, and track everything you eat for about 1 or 2 weeks – like literally write down all the things you eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks. The app has crazy database of foods, so there is no way you wont find things you consume. After a week or 2 you will figure out how many calories you eat on daily basis and then you can make a cut based on those things.
From my experience – my goal is to loose some 10 – 12 pounds and after tracking my food with the app I figured out that I eat mostly 1600 kcal a day while weighting 68kg / 150lb and using this formula Z mentioned I would gain weight since I got like 1639 kcal (149 x 11) – because to loose weight you have to make a certain cut in kcals – at least 300 kcal.
Its all about your metabolism – I messed mine and slowed it down while trying different types of diets in past which ended up me binging on food that I truly love (sweets, pastries and all that)… LOL
Hope I helped….
xx
Private Member |
Hi Zuzka
Just wondering whether are you following the ketogenic low carb diet? If yes, I would be really interested to see some complete daily menu ideas from breakfast to dinner. I am still new to this high fat, moderate protein and low carb diet and sometimes really struggle how to plan my nutrition keeping food interesting and keeping the right macros at the same time. I find it hard to eat high fat food and not to trigger too high carbs or protein intake with it. Any ideas or guideline, mealplan appreciated. Thanks a lot in advance!
Private Member |
tempe, az
Hi Zuzana, I have been researching and reading in a lot places on how to fight out correct calories, carbs, proteins and fat intake. I have come across totally different information. I recently started to really pay attention and track everything I eat. The first 4 days I lost 4 pounds, then I started using a calorie counter application which told me I have to eat around 1300 calorie daily to be blue to lose 2 lbs. per week. I was very consistent and a week later I found out I gain 1 lbs. This was very depressing as I was hoping at least I have lost 1 lb more but this was not the case. So I started reading more websites, some say I should 2000 calories, other 1500 calories, etc. I don’t know who to believe. I actually fall in your example 1, I am 152 lbs right now. If I am not doing your workouts, I am doing insanity max, running for 20 min. and lifting weights at least 3 times per week. I consider myself very active for this matter. I also came across to some information that says that if I am undertaking calories, my metabolism could slow down and therefore don’t loose weight. My current goal is to lose fat (especially mid section) and gain more muscle. I hope you can help me or lead me to the right direction. Also, I was looking for some article regarding carbohydrates tolerance (according to your Body Type article). Thank you Zuzana!
Private Member |
montebello, ca, usa
HI, Zuzka this is exactly what I need it. I’m one of those rare cases that wants to gain weight to built some muscle. I have been following your exercises since almost 4 years ago and I have to say that I love your energy and routines. I started doing your exercises because I have was diagnosed with scoliosis and your routines have been helping me to strength my back. Now, I don’t feel pain in my lower back 🙂 Thanks for that!! My high is 1.60 mt. and my weight is 100 pounds. My body is toned but I wish I could have more muscle on my legs and butt. Everybody tells me that I have to stop doing cardio and lifting more weight. I exercise with a 25 pounds kettle-bell and 5 and 10 pounds dumbbells and I exercises 4 times per week and do some yoga after each routine. I think that my problem is like you said, I’m not eating enough. I usually eat between 1400 and 1600 calories and even that is sometime difficult for me. Do you have any advice that can help me to reach my goal? Or any book that you can recommend me to star eating more protein? Again thanks for all your work. I always look forward to exercise with you. You should have a boot camp in Los Angeles so we can train with you in person. I would be the first in sing in.
Private Member |
I know this is mostly women here, but man this info is good. I am working on becoming fit again, I just don’t find that many men want to be honest like this, communicate and discuss nutrition. I don’t care how much I can bench, etc, I just want to be fit, trim.. This site and Zuzka rocks!
Private Member |
Hey Zuzka,
I found you about a year ago, and I use to train with you to get myself ready for boot camp. Its a year since then, and im on my first deployment, and its in Europe! Lets just say the food has finally taken a toll on me, I have six weeks left till I go home. I was wondering what advice you could give me to do some serious trimming before going home. Including a strict diet and workout regiment.
Thank you do much,
Jess <3
Private Member |
lake tahoe, nv, usa
Hi Jess,
I checked your profile photo, and you seem like you’re in a badass shape, so I assume you could totally do some of my most intense workouts for the next 6 weeks to get you back to awesome shape. I think you could do two workouts a day – I would do always a kettlebell workout or cardio shred + JRC on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays and a bodyweight workouts such as 15 Minute Fat Burn or Body crush on Wednesdays and Fridays and I would leave Sundays to Power Yoga but do like 3 or 4 of those because mine are short. What works for me in terms of diet is to stick to small portion sizes and foods low in carbs and sugar. If you can, try to add veggies as much as possible instead of starchy carbs and you’ll also need good source of protein. Natural sources from meat and dairy are the best in my opinion, but if you’re vegan I’m sure you know what to substitute with. If you want to have a cheat meal, plan for it no more than once a week on one of those days when you do the most intense training. Your body will burn it more easily. Last but not least, drink at least two and half liters of water a day. It helps a lot. Oh, and let me know how you’re doing. Sometimes I miss comments (we need a better system here in the ZGYM like a forum or something) but the best way is to always comment on the latest post on the website. Good luck!!