What Is A Calorie?

A calorie is a unit that measures energy. Calories are usually used to measure the energy content of foods and beverages. To lose weight, you need to eat fewer calories than your body burns each day. Simple right?

How many calories should you eat per day?

Daily calorie intake depends on current weight, as well as whether you want to maintain, lose or gain weight. Other factors such as your gender, age, height, activity levels and metabolic health will play a role as well. To keep it simple, for our program we will use the following Calorie chart to determine your daily calorie intake in order to lose weight:

 

So if you weigh 200lbs, you would need about 1500 calories per day with our current meal plan guidelines, putting you at a caloric deficit (consuming less calories than you are using) so that you can decrease your weight through a decrease in calorie consumption. This method alone is actually enough to shed pounds without even exercising, but our goal is not only to shed pounds, but to develop a lifestyle that will result in overall wellbeing and fitness.

 

Counting Calories

Now, we can tell you all day that reducing calorie intake and increasing activity works wonders for your health (and your waistline!), but that is easier said than done of course. These days, many establishments give us so much food that we have no idea where portions are based anymore! This is fine though, because we have our portions cheat sheet! You can use the bullet points below as a reference guide if a scale is not nearby and you need quick portion measurements:

 

•  1 serving of rice or pasta (1/2 a cup): a computer mouse or rounded handful.
• 1 serving of meat (3 oz): a deck of cards.
• 1 serving of fish (3 oz): a check book.
• 1 serving of cheese (1.5 oz): a lipstick or the size of your thumb.
• 1 serving of fresh fruit (1/2 cup): a tennis ball.
• 1 serving of green leafy vegetables (1 cup): a baseball.
• 1 serving of vegetables (1/2 a cup): a computer mouse.
• 1 teaspoon of olive oil: 1 fingertip.
• 2 tablespoons of peanut butter: a ping pong ball

 

Calorie counting isn’t expected to be exact, but getting as close as we can to scientific measurements while still being able to enjoy our meals will help transform your diet, transform your body and keep your sanity. With this being said, the source of the calories you’re consuming is just as important as the amount. Warriors! I’ve eaten 100 calories of cake and a 100 calories of kale, and I can personally tell you all that not all calories are created equal. It is best to base your diet on high quality, nutritious foods that have been minimally processed. High quality foods make it easier to consume fewer calories overall as well as provide numerous health benefits.

Our Meal Plan System

Once you find your weight, the next step is identifying the associated amount of daily calories that you will be alloted. For example, a 160 lb person would be allotted 1400 daily calories. If your breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks do not total up to your allotted amount of calories for that day, you can then use our 100 calorie snack list to fill in the gaps and get to your daily allotted amount of calories. *Please Note* These plans are set at caloric deficits, which are for individuals intending on losing weight, and not for individuals seeking to maintain or gain weight.

 

The meals given within our meal plan allow for a variety of healthy dishes meant to be prepared in advance and packaged for you to easily grab throughout your weekly routine. Using our supplied calendar, choose one or two days (a “rest day” is a good day for this) and allow those to be your shopping days. Looking through our meal list, you can then build your own personal shopping list using our curated list of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks. With the supplied calendar, total your daily target calories for each day to be sure that you will not go over your allotted amount of calories.

 

The Warrior meal plan is based on controlling caloric intake, which is the first step in rebuilding your body from the ground up. Please do not forget that controlling caloric intake is a mental process as much as it is physical, which means that there will be times when you wont want to follow the plan. This is completely normal when forming habits, but the key to it is to actually form good habits. Unless there is a medical or otherwise harmful issue, we urge you to continue on your path of total mind and body fitness. Long distance runner Steve Prefontaine said it best “to give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift”. We’ve got you though Warriors! Please know that we are here with you every step, helping you to use the keys to unlock the body and life you WANT.

 

 Below are a few tips for reducing calorie intake and still enjoying life.

 

• Eating more protein can reduce appetite, cut cravings and increase the number of calories you burn

• Avoid sugary soft drinks and fruit juices (drinks are sneaky calories)

• Drinking more water can aid weight loss

• Exercise and lift weights

• Reduce carbohydrate intake, especially refined carbs (pastas, white rice, cookies, muffins, pastries, buns, etc.) and sugars

• Be mindful of hidden calories contained in seasonings and dressings, your 100 calorie healthy salad can turn into a 400 calorie mess very quickly with certain dressings

 

Reducing calories does not have to mean starving yourself. A few simple diet and lifestyle changes like exercise, proper hydration and increased protein and reduced carb intake can help you lose weight and feel satisfied for much longer. The feeling of hungriness comes from a lack of nutrients contained in the foods you’re eating. Eating empty foods (foods that lack nutrients) are like filling your car with watered down gasoline. Sure it might fill up your tank and run for a while… But eventually you’re going to break down and have issues. From now on, pay close attention to how you feel before and AFTER you eat nutrient rich calories vs empty ones. Notice how some meals make you feel sluggish and tired after eating them vs how some meals leave you feeling energized and invigorated. Paying attention to things like this will be key to mastering the foods you eat.

Portion Control

Now we know... We know that It can be hard to put down the keys and not make that fast food trip, or hit that UberEats deliver button for your favorite pizza, but as we said before, home prepared meals will be instrumental in helping you hit the goals that you seek because you will always know and control exactly what’s in it. Remember your goals and why you’re in this process.

If you need some encouragement, send us a DM :) Check out these additional steps for controlling portions.

Don't Skip Meals

If you’re starving, you’re going to want to hit up the closest Chick-Fil-A because your body is screaming at you for quick, filling calories. So to stop that from happening, you’ll need to eat throughout the day to keep the feeling of emptiness away. Our system allows for three healthy meals a day, and you’ll be making your meals in advance, so you don’t need to worry about what to eat and when.

 

Measure and Weigh Food

 

Scales will make portioning simple and easy. A cheap scale will run you about $7-10, and will help you figure out the correct sizes so you don’t have to eyeball and wonder the size of that piece of baked chicken in front of you.

Serving Size VS Portion Size

Did you know that serving sizes and portion sizes are actually measured differently? A portion is the designated “per serving” amount on the label of the food and a portion is how much you actually take. Don’t forget the nutritional label on the side of all food items, as it will be KEY in keeping you informed about what you’re putting in your body. That bag of pretzels may say it’s 100 calories, but if the serving size is two per bag, you’d have to double that 100 to 200 calories if you ate the whole bag because you’re eating two servings, not one.

Serving Size!

So by now you understand that knowing about serving sizes is key in tracking your food intake. In addition to using serving sizes to maintain portions, serving sizes can be used to correctly track calories, similarly to the previous example. Check out this photo of a nutritional label (the left side of the photo contains a current label, the right side contains the updated nutritional label, due to roll out in 2020.) In this photo, the item has a serving size of ⅔ cup, rather than the 1 cup as many may assume.

Calories

You have to eat the correct amount of calories in order to either lose, maintain, or gain weight. Of course, where the calories come from matter, but we’ll be helping you with that as well. Calorie information is generally towards the top of the label, and separated to make it easy to view. Remember that the amount seen is per serving size, not for the whole item of food. The label below has a whopping eight servings per container, so if you ate the whole amount at once, you would have to multiply those 230 calories by EIGHT to see how many you consumed.

Fat & Cholesterol

Eating healthy fat is great for the human body, however fat is higher in calories than both proteins or carbohydrates and should be noted when shopping for items for your next meal. Saturated fat and trans fat have battled it out FOREVER in terms of which is WORSE, but to keep it simple, try to avoid both of these. The lower the numbers next to both saturated fats and trans fats, the better! As for cholesterol, while it can be okay to consume some amounts of this (eggs are good sources of cholesterol if your diet includes dairy), it is best to try and steer clear from large amounts as well.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates can be tricky, as there are good sources of carbohydrates and bad sources of carbs. However the dietary fiber and sugar sections directly under carbohydrates help tell the full story. Dietary fiber is great, and the higher the number, the easier it will be for food to fill you up and keep you full throughout the day. Sugar is altogether different. Generally with sugar, the smaller the number, the better for your body the food will be. Added sugars are especially bad and should be avoided if possible.

Proteins

Protein is very important for maintaining muscle mass. When you're checking your label, make sure your foods contain your label,  make sure your foods contain some amount of protein. This  will help your muscles rebuild during the Warrior Lifestyle Program. Lean meats and low-fat dairy products are great sources of protein and are usually simple to cook. However, make sure you ALSO go back and scan that saturated fat section as many protein rich foods are also high in saturated fat, which we want to east less frequently.

Vitamins & Minerals

Sodium (salt) has its own line for a reason. It’s in a lot of foods, and many of those foods are UNHEALTHY foods. Try to steer clear from foods with high sodium content. If you have a specific health condition, please consult with your doctor for sodium intake levels. Other micronutrients, like vitamins A, B, and C, can be found in the vitamins and minerals section as well. Choosing a balanced diet consisting of foods high in these vitamin and mineral amounts will help your body TRANSFORM the way you want it to transform.

Percent Daily Value

The column to the right of the nutritional label contains percentages. The Percent Daily Value of an item lets you know that if you ate 2000 calories per day (a standard daily calorie amount), that is the percent of your 2000 calories that would come from that nutrient. Generally, a percent daily value of below 5% means the food is low in that particular nutrient. A percent daily value of over 20% means the food is high in a particular nutrient.

TEST YOUR SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE