The most common conclusion we come to when trying to lose weight is determining the amount of calories to consume.

If you factor in gender, age, weight, body composition, activity level, and goal you can essentially determine the number of calories you need to consume daily. So if your goal is to lose weight, you can put yourself in a calorie deficit causing your body to tap into stored fat as energy.

This “calorie in, calorie out” method is effective but perhaps not the most when considering long-term health.

Being in a mindset of restriction or deprivation is negative reinforcement and creates a negative relationship to food. Having an understanding of calories is really important.

Consider this, a pizza contains approximately 280 calories per slice (we’re likely not gonna stop at one). That meal could turn into over a thousand calories quickly. Whereas a chicken breast is around 280 and with a side of vegetables that could be a full meal, keeping calories much lower.

Don’t stop reading, I’m not trying to take your pizza away, I love it too. This takes me to my next point.

Instead of ordering a pizza, you can make your own. Potentially with cauliflower crust which alone will significantly decrease the calories while allowing you to add plenty of healthy toppings to make it a nutrient-dense meal. Making sure to eat a good variety of fruits, veggies, nuts, high-quality oils, and healthy animal products can ensure that you’re getting all of your macros and micros.

Here are some tips to achieve your body composition goals:

Get an idea of how many calories your body needs a day and start tracking the calories you consume to get an idea of the nutrition content you’re getting. You can find a calculator online to determine your calories.
Begin by eating your normal diet and tracking calories and nutrients.
Consider upgrading ingredients and/or replacing ingredients to lower calorie consumption and increasing nutrient density
If calories are too high and you’re looking to decrease them you can look at healthier meals to eat. Stay away from processed foods that are calorically dense and nutrient deficient. Fill your cart with a variety of vegetables and fruits can ensure you’re getting your micronutrients as well as keep calories low.
Once you’ve been tracking for a couple of months you pretty much know how many calories you are consuming at a time. So you will have a better understanding of the requirements your body needs more intuitively.

Eventually, your food pallet will change and healthy foods will be what you naturally go for.

Focus on eating real foods that your body responds well to; you can really just give up the focus on calories most likely. If you’re living an active lifestyle as well your metabolism will likely be much higher.

Ultimately, the most empowering relationship in your body is a strong mind-gut connection. Being able to recognize if food is giving you nutrients that make you feel great or cause inflammation allows freedom in knowing. You can test your blood or stool to get an idea of deficiencies and foods you may be sensitive to.

I write this because my body doesn’t respond well to certain foods. I have lived most of my life with an inhaler and respiratory issues and if only I understood at the time, I could have lived a much higher quality of life.

We all respond differently to foods and maybe it’s causing other issues with you like skin issues, digestive issues, memory issues, energy issues, stored fat, etc.

I believe that if we focused on eating foods that our body responded well to - foods that our digestive system broke down and utilized efficiently - there would be a lot less disease and medications.

If we develop a relationship with food where the sole purpose is to provide clean running fuel, we could really optimize our health and live a higher quality life. If you want a more comprehensive nutrition program to optimize your health and become the healthiest version of yourself, check out The Holistic Method.

To a more functional life!

Brandon Brown