For peopel who've been BB a while, do you actually calculate everything every day?

[SteelWeaver]

Here's what I would like to know: do you ever get to the point where you can eat a relatively varied diet every day without having to frigging well count all the P/C/F grams the night before, or the week before. OK, when cutting, fine, whatever, I eat the same thing every day, but now I'm trying to gain some mass, and have more choices, so I'm thinking I should just plan out a bunch of different daily meal plans (using my trusty software), then rotate them.

What do you guys do? I can't count as I go along each day - that would freak me out too much. I have to take all my food with me to work, so I know what I'm getting, and don't eat my whole allowance in my first 4 meals.

Even when bulking do you just eat the same stuff every day?

 

[Aaron02]

*bump*

I would like to hear what others have to say about this as well.

In my opinion, it is only absolutely necessary to track calories when cutting or CLEAN bulking. If you're trying to bulk and not worried about fat gain, I don't see why tracking your calories would be necessary if you know you're eating big.

Just my opinion, but again, I would like to hear from others, too...

 

[nclifter6feet6]

i only track calories when cutting. but i ALWAYS keep track of protien, cutting or bulking.

 

[blood_drinker]

If bulking , unless youre an endmorph that has great ability to gain muscle and gain fat, no need to count cals, simply protein- always good to keep track of that so you dont fall short.

 

[IJ26]

I only count calories when cutting but after a while I get into a groove of rotating the same foods and I basically know where I stand each day.

 

[bpdaddy]

In the beginning of something new, but after that....you just calc it in your head. I break in down into meals.

 

[Tigersfire]

Mr. Meticulus

I personally count everything, every day, as I go along. Why? Well I'm a very picky personality, I pride myself in attending to each and every little detail. Then again I was also diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder when I was a kid and they wanted to throw meds down my throat..... Wasn't very big on that idea and my Martial Arts instructor at the time told me to tell them to fuck off for the most part..... I was an impressionable child and I looked up to my instructor, needless to say I took his advice.... Anyhoo..

My advice is to just keep a general idea in your head. Learn the caloric values of foods, once you get them down then figuring an accurate aproximate calorie total for your meals should be no problem. Then just keep a total going in your head of what you've consumed thus far. That is of course if your not looking to cut. If you are however looking to get cut I suggest accurate counting of calories as you consume them. Fats, Proteins, and Carbs can all be figured out later, be the cals must be recorded upon consumption. I see all too ofen people pre-plan meals and believe the are creating calorie deficits only to forget about the mints the ate after lunch and the chunk of hamburger helper they ate thoughtlessly at the supermarket sample area. When cutting every cal counts. If your looking to gain lean mass while not increasing fat then cal counting is equally if not more important I would say.

 

[bignate73]

cutting, definitely.

if bulking and have difficulty gaining, you best count as well. chances are you are eating so clean that your volume of food is high but your calorie values are low. just counting the protein will make no difference if you are still eating at maintenance calorie levels or below and not knowing it.

there should be no guesswork when growing or cutting, if you meet the calorie demands and your training is good you will grow. pure and simple.

i have been counting my calories for 3 months now. off and on before that for the past year.