Counting Calories

For years I’ve been someone who has tested out how many calories I need to continue on throughout my daily activities. I never really counted calories, but went by the size of each meal. Slowly, I may have added or decreased the amount depending on how I feel daily, and how my weight changes.

I am 6’6" @ 232lbs (when eating a bit more, I reach around 238 when cutting isn’t much of a concern, but more of a clean bulk diet.), currently looking to drop down to 10% BF, at about 12% now. Abs are visible when relaxed, and fairly vascular.

For maximum results, should I consider counting my calories for better GAINZ and possibly reach my goal BF percentage?

You have to realize that for most people, the tiny details aren’t that important. I think it’s fair to say that people will eat more on some days, and less on others, and that it balances out by the end of the week.

Some people are very attuned to what they’re doing. You for instance can eyeball what you’re eating simply by portion sizes, consider how you’re looking, and adjust. My buddy Phil is like that. He’s a Pro in 2 different federations, and has never counted a macro a day in his life. At the other end of the spectrum, might be someone like myself. I need to see every variable so that I can assess results and then consider what is causing or not causing them. Sure I guess I could just eyeball everything like Phil does, but for me, I prefer to know, 100% what’s what. I also realize that the mirror isn’t always your friend, and that if you’re intending to push things well beyond the goals of the average gym rat, you need some type of objectivity.

If indeed you have been very happy with your results and the means you’ve obtained them so far, it is possible that you could continue such a route. My advice though, would be to take a serious stock of what you’re doing. Don’t change anything, but make a log of what your dietary approach is on a daily and weekly basis. That will give you a good baseline to work off of. Ideally, making small changes, seeing them, and continually reassessing and readjusting will loead you to where you ultimately want to be.

S

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
You have to realize that for most people, the tiny details aren’t that important. I think it’s fair to say that people will eat more on some days, and less on others, and that it balances out by the end of the week.

Some people are very attuned to what they’re doing. You for instance can eyeball what you’re eating simply by portion sizes, consider how you’re looking, and adjust. My buddy Phil is like that. He’s a Pro in 2 different federations, and has never counted a macro a day in his life. At the other end of the spectrum, might be someone like myself. I need to see every variable so that I can assess results and then consider what is causing or not causing them. Sure I guess I could just eyeball everything like Phil does, but for me, I prefer to know, 100% what’s what. I also realize that the mirror isn’t always your friend, and that if you’re intending to push things well beyond the goals of the average gym rat, you need some type of objectivity.

If indeed you have been very happy with your results and the means you’ve obtained them so far, it is possible that you could continue such a route. My advice though, would be to take a serious stock of what you’re doing. Don’t change anything, but make a log of what your dietary approach is on a daily and weekly basis. That will give you a good baseline to work off of. Ideally, making small changes, seeing them, and continually reassessing and readjusting will loead you to where you ultimately want to be.

S[/quote]

Awesome response, bro! Thank you!

I may decide to start counting macros just to make sure I’m hitting the right numbers. Like you said, I may have more or less on certain days, but it would be interesting to see. I think I’d be hitting somewhere between 2800-3200 calories daily at the moment, but that’s just a rough idea.