Random thoughts on calorie counting

I felt the need to share some of my thoughts with the world. The more athletes I work with (both elite and recreational), the more I realize that a quantitative number prescription (ie-daily calorie budget) is simply not needed in most cases. In fact, ALL of the athletes with whom I work with breathe a sigh of relief when they find out that I do not prescribe calories but rather focus on combining nutrients to maximize the satiety response.

I'm not trying to get on my soapbox but do want to share that teaching your body again to learn its hunger response and instinctual eating is the most crucial first step (which I call foundational eating) in your quest to manage your nutrition more effectively. Focusing on number crunching with calorie prescription in the early stages will not lead to continued, long-term success.

In fact, I see more athletes shy away from working with sport dietitians because of this numbers based approach. They want something simple and something that they do not have to methodically think about when training and competing.

It is my hope and goal throughout my career to teach both health professionals and athletes the proper first approach to nutrition. Don't feel that the only way to successfully navigate your nutrition is through calorie counting. If you are an athlete, it is almost always unnecessary until you learn your body, what foods to eat to control blood sugar and when to time your nutrition relative to training sessions and competitions with considering body weight and composition goals.

And there you have it...deep thoughts from Coach Bob...

:-)

Coach Bob

coachbob@fuel4mance.com

www.fuel4mance.com