The Easiest Way To Ensure You’re Getting Your Calories & Macros How You Want Them
Post includes the best practical sources of plant-based protein, tips on tracking your calories, and some of the best food tracker apps for on-point nutrition.
Tracking your calories and activities for each and every day sounds pretty tedious doesn’t it? But if you’re serious about improving your lifestyle and physique, it’s definitely the bona-fide best way to kick out unhealthy habits and maintain consistent, productive progress towards your goals. But it’s not nearly as difficult as it sounds, and there’s tonnes of apps and websites out there to make tracking your calories remarkably easier, whatever your goals may be.
In all honesty, when I first got into the gym & keeping active, I had no clue about nutrition and it’s benefits. My idea of ‘enough protein’ was asking my mum to add a chicken breast to each dinner she made me!! Of course I learned over time that I needed quite a bit more fuel than that, and my diet gradually improved while I was omnivorous. Then 4 years ago I made the decision to go plant-based, and had to learn a hell of a lot about vegan nutrition quite quickly, so that I wouldn’t lose all my hard-earned muscle.
It was at about this time that I discovered food tracking apps. Through getting inspiration from some vegan youtubers, I started using some of these apps, and found it so, so easy to work out exactly what it was I was getting each day to keep my nutrition on track. Getting enough calories and protein is a big worry for a lot of people transitioning to a vegan diet, and it really shouldn’t be.
Some excellent practical protein sources, right off the bat:
- Tofu
- Tempeh
- Seitan
- Legumes (eg all types of beans, chickpeas, etc)
- Quinoa
- Oats
- Nuts
- Seeds (eg hemp & chia)
The app I currently use is Cronometer. Whatever you eat in a day, you can simply log it into the app, and it will tell you how many calories you’ve added, what nutrients & vitamins you’re getting, and you can then see if you’re getting close to your targets. What I like about these apps is that you can save whole meals into the app, and simply enter them into your day’s intake whenever you have that meal, to save you typing in every ingredient each time you eat that meal. Makes tracking your calories a lot easier when you’re busy!
Take a look below to see all the information these apps can give you:
Quick Tips on Tracking Your Food & Staying on Target
Hitting Your Macros: A macros split I usually aim for is a 60:20:20 split between carbs, protein and fat. However this may not suit everyone’s needs. By using a food tracker app to record everything you eat, and refining your diet by adjusting the nutrition you’re getting, you can quite quickly improve your intake to ensure you’re giving yourself the best chance to reach your goals.
Eating Enough Calories: The common argument against building muscle as a vegan is not getting enough calories to build decent muscle, so track what you eat, and if indeed you’re a bit short on the calorie front, pack some more food in! Upping the carbs on your plate is the easiest way to do it. Got 100 grams of rice in your meal? Up it to 150 grams. Use a larger potato for your bean chilli. Add a couple of extra bananas to your smoothie. You get the idea.
By adding a little bit more to every meal you have, it becomes far easier to reach your calorific needs without having to blitz up a massive late-night smoothie with 2 scoops of protein powder. If you’re anything like me, and your metabolism is through the roof, adding a bit to each meal makes it far easier to cram in daft amounts of calories to start growing your physique (like 4000kcal’s and beyond).
Targeting A Calorific Deficit: On the other side of the coin, you might be in need to go the opposite way and reduce the calorie intake. So put the above in reverse, and lower the carbs in each meal, like dropping the rice from 100g to 50g. Also, stop cooking with oils all the time, which are loaded with empty calories, and use water to sauté your food instead.
A clever way to stop the hunger pangs when cutting your calories is to fill your plate with big, low-calorie foods such as vegetables. Cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, celery, mushrooms, asparagus, and loads more can suddenly make a small, low-carb meal a lot more filling, without packing on the calories you don’t need.
Essential Amino Acids: Finally, a word on getting complete proteins. Yes, it’s true that not all plant-based protein sources offer complete proteins. But goodness me, it’s not like they’re miles away! For the most basic example, rice has 8 of the 9 essential amino acids and only lacks lysine. While beans are only low in methionine. Having a portion of rice & beans utilises our friend food synergy, and you’ve got all 9 essential amino acids, as easy as that. No need to ditch the plant-based diet just yet!
Most good food tracker apps allow you to see all the amino acids you’re getting with the food you’re eating, and you’ll soon be able to tell if you’re low on any of them. In all honesty though, make sure you’ve consumed a variety of plant-based proteins (the more whole foods the better), and you’ll be sure to have smashed your incomplete protein worries out the park!
Some Decent Calorie Tracking Apps to Boost Your Nutrition & Lifestyle
- Cronometer – the app I use all the time. Simple, effective & free for most features
- Lifesum – one of the most popular apps for tracking calories & healthy meal plans
- MyNetDiary – great app to support your specific dietary needs
- Lose It! – simplest app to use, focusing on calorie-counting primarily
- OptUp – cleverly swap each food buy at the shop for healthier options with this app
- HealthyOut – simplify dining experiences by filtering out less healthy choices on each menu
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Tracking your calories may seem a bit tedious at first, but if you want to make sure you’re priming yourself for gains, or at enough of a deficit to start losing those pounds, this is a solid way to work out exactly what numbers you’re sitting on, and what adjustments you need to make to see yourself transform. It’s the best way to quickly get on top of your nutritional needs. Tucking into these delicious meals will help, too.
More blog posts coming soon, take it easy.
