Скачать или смотреть E11: Best Method to Track Food Intake

Slide 1:
Everyone has an opinion on this topic so I will give you mine. I do not believe you can only track 1 thing and be successful. You need to understand how everything works together.

Slide 2:
First let’s talk about calories. Calories are the easiest thing to track and most companies love to say it is the only thing that matters. Conversely strict keto dieters say only carb intake matters. The reality is they both matter, along with insulin response, when you eat, and total macros. So I will break down the most important things to think about when tracking your food intake.


Slide 3:
The absolute most important thing is when you eat. The longer you go between meals allows for the most fat burn and least amount of insulin response. If you eat 2000 calories spread through 6 meals, breakfast-snack-lunch-snack-dinner-snack, you will keep your insulin levels high all day and never get into fat burn. Your body will absorb all of the calories from those meals since they will be smaller portion sizes. You are also increasing Ghrelin all day so you will probably feel hungry all the time and feel very hungry if you skip a meal or snack. If you flip this and eat 2000 calories in 1 meal it could lead to stomach cramps or bloating. You might not absorb all the nutrients in the food either. Even though this is the best way to lower insulin levels, I suggest using the 16/8 method. This allows you to eat lunch and dinner while skipping breakfast and any other morning snacks. This method is the easiest to stick to long term for most people.


Slide 4:
But it doesn’t stop there. You should have a calorie and macro goal. I suggest trial and error here. Some people need more calories than others. The macro breakdown is very important as well. Lean towards less net carbs. The worst type of food has high carbs and fat with low protein. These foods don’t fill you up and give the largest insulin response, like foods with added sugar. Even if they are low calorie try to limit your intake. If you do eat carbs look for less refined carbs like whole wheat and vegetables. I also suggest testing your blood glucose response to foods with carbs to see how they affect you.


Slide 5:
Next is recording your weight every morning at the same time and take body measurements weekly. This gives you a reference point to judge your progress. Just remember as food and water enter and exit your body your weight will fluctuate. So stick to a plan for a few weeks before making any changes unless you have an obvious issue.

Slide 6:
One great thing I have noticed is my insulin response has completely changed from when I started my 16/8 TRF. When I started a standard American 800 cal meal would jump my blood sugar up to 180 and take at least 4 hours to come down. Now the same meal might only jump it to 120 or less. This means I get back in fat burn faster. I also suggest taking Berberine before every meal. This helps with digestion and reduces the insulin response especially if the meal has carbs. As for macros, you don’t have to be super strict on every percentage point. A good split of fat and protein with low carb is the best. The last thing I will say is don’t set a calorie goal and think you have to hit that number every day. If you have eaten your meals for the day and you are not hungry, don’t eat more just because you have calories left to consume. I look at my daily calorie number as a max with no minimum. I don’t want to go over but if I eat my 2 meals and still have 300 cals left I stop and know I just burned that much more fat. Also if you skip a meal don’t try to make up for it. If you get busy at work and miss lunch the hunger will go away. That is the way Ghrelin works. Just wait for dinner and eat then. If you have more than 5% body fat you can skip a meal and be just fine.