Starting the year right in the kitchen means tracking your food so you know exactly how many calories you eat and how they break down into protein, carbs, and fat — because for losing weight or building muscle, what you put in your body matters as much as how you train.
On this Physical Friday I share how tracking my food helped me lose 20 pounds and keep it off. I use the Carbon Diet Coach app, which is not a sponsor — I pay for it like you would, but any method works: an app, a barcode scanner, or a notebook. Think of your intake like a fuel tank or a bank account.
Listen now: press play in the player above and follow along.
Track your food. Most people, myself included, are all over the place when they are not tracking — not enough protein, too many carbs, too much fat, and far more calories than they need. Tracking shows you exactly how much you are eating and how it breaks down into protein, carbohydrates, and fat. Whether you lose weight or build muscle largely comes down to what you do in the kitchen. Exercise helps, but knowing your intake is, in my opinion, the key to actually reaching a weight-loss goal.
It is a macro-tracking app I have paid for and used since March — it is not a sponsor of the show. You take some measurements, tell it how much you work out, your goals, and which diet you want, and it sets your macronutrients: your daily calories and how much should come from carbs, fat, and protein. There are several plans — balanced, keto, low-carb, vegetarian — and it does not push one on you. I chose balanced. It is simple once you start, and most of what I eat is already in it.
Save your common meals. If you eat steak, mashed potatoes, and broccoli often, enter it once and reuse it. I order prepackaged training meals from a place called Vibrant Meals — fresh food with the same macros every time — so I just tap a button to log them. Most of what I eat is already in the app, and there is a barcode scanner for packaged foods. It sounds boring and meticulous, but the way it is set up, logging everything takes seconds once your staples are in there.
Your calories and macros are like the fuel in your boat's tank — if you do not know how much you are putting in and how fast you are burning it, you either run out of gas or, the way our bodies work, just store and store and get heavier. It is also like a bank account: spend too much and you get in trouble, but here it works in reverse — you want a caloric deficit to lose weight. Picturing intake that way made the whole thing click for me and kept me honest about what I was eating.
I lost 20 pounds and have kept it off since I started tracking in March. People kept asking whether I stuck with it, and yes, I really like it. Once I reached a weight I was comfortable with, I set the app to maintenance — say I want to be 175, it holds me between 173 and 177, telling me to eat a little less if I go over or a little more if I drop under. Beyond the weight, my gym performance is better, I sleep better, and I just feel better overall.
No. There are many apps that let you track food, but you can just as easily track on a piece of paper or in a notebook — track it any way that works for your life. You can also work with a dietitian or nutritionist. I like the Carbon Diet Coach, but the tool is not the point. The point is that if you are just eating whatever and hoping for the best, it is tough, because so many high-calorie, high-carb foods taste great and wear health claims on the front. Knowing your numbers is what gets you to your goal.
A lot of you set a goal of losing weight, putting on muscle, or getting stronger, and in my opinion that really boils down to what you are doing in the kitchen. Last year I started paying more and more attention to it, got on the Carbon app, and the change in how I look, perform, and feel convinced me this is where the year is won. I share exactly how I made tracking fit my life in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Here is the approach that helped me lose 20 pounds and keep it off. I share the details in the episode.
I unpack each of these in the episode. Press play in the player above.
Here is the trap I kept running into. The grocery store is full of high-calorie, high-carb, high-fat foods that taste unbelievable and wear great health claims on the front — keto this, good-for-you that. Then you step on the scale and you are not where you want to be. Tracking cut through all of it, because the numbers do not care what the package says. I get into how tracking changed what I reach for in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Losing the 20 pounds was only half of it — keeping it off is where maintenance mode earned its keep. I tell the app I want to sit at 175, and it holds me between 173 and 177, telling me to eat a little less if I climb over or a little more if I drop under. That guardrail means I do not have to white-knuckle it. I explain how I use maintenance day to day in the episode, so press play in the player above.
If your goal this year is weight loss, tracking your food might be the answer — it was for me. An app, a scanner, or a notebook all work.
Picture your intake like the fuel tank in your boat or a bank account, and it starts to make a lot of sense. Good luck with your goals — and text me yours if you want to share. Press play in the player above.
Physical Friday is my weekly fitness series for fishing guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen — the training, nutrition, and mindset to stay in the game for life. Watch and listen to every Physical Friday episode from Tom Rowland.
food tracking · macronutrients · Carbon Diet Coach · calories · protein · caloric deficit · weight loss · Vibrant Meals · nutrition · maintenance · Physical Friday · Tom Rowland Podcast
I'm Tom Rowland, a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, and the longtime host of the Saltwater Experience television show. On the podcast's Physical Friday series I share the training, nutrition, and mindset that keep fishing guides, anglers, hunters, and outdoorsmen strong enough to do the things they love — hunting, fishing, hiking, and more — for life.
Subscribe to get the latest episodes, show notes, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.