Never tracked anything, zero nutrition knowledge — where do I actually start?
This is probably the most basic question on this forum but here goes.
I'm 28. I've literally never counted a calorie. I don't know what a serving of rice is. I don't know how much protein I'm supposed to eat. I have a vague sense that "vegetables good, soda bad" and that's about the extent of my nutrition knowledge.
I'd like to fix this. Not to lose weight urgently — I'm roughly average weight — but because I realized recently that I'm going to spend the next 60 years eating and I know nothing about it. Where do I actually start? Book? App? Eyeball portions for a month? RD?
The honest starter path, in order:
- Read Precision Nutrition's free "Cost of Getting Lean" guide. 20 min read. Covers the basics of TDEE, macros, and why most advice is overfitted.
- For 7 days, don't change anything. Just take a photo of every meal. This builds awareness without restriction.
- Then add some kind of logging — app, notebook, whatever — for 30 days.
- After 30 days you'll actually have data to ask useful questions about.
Skip the trying-five-diets phase. Most people waste 2 years there.
A book that's underrated for complete beginners: "How Not to Diet" by Michael Greger. Not a diet book despite the title. It's basically a 600-page literature review of nutrition research. You'll come out knowing more about nutrition than 90% of people.
If you want to skip the book phase and just do something, PlateLens has a free tier that lets you photo-log meals without having to know what a serving size is. That was huge for me as a beginner — the app tells you what's in your meal instead of you having to tell it.
Unpopular opinion: maybe don't start with tracking at all. Start by cooking one new thing a week. You'll naturally learn ingredient quantities, taste, seasonality. Tracking without any actual food literacy is how people end up eating 1500 calories of Pop-Tarts and wondering why they feel bad.
Seconding @yogaLisa. I tracked for 3 years before I could cook anything beyond scrambled eggs and I finally figured out that the skill gap was in the kitchen, not the spreadsheet. Cooking first, tracking second.
Don't underestimate the value of 1 visit to a registered dietitian. $100-200 out of pocket in most places, covered by some insurance. An RD will look at you as an individual and give you a starting point calibrated to YOUR life, not a generic formula. Much better ROI than any book.
The "eyeball for a month" thing is actually really useful but I'd pair it with weighing stuff just once. Like for one week, weigh a serving of rice, a chicken breast, a tablespoon of olive oil. After that you'll eyeball better for the rest of your life.
Can I add: don't get sucked into the low-carb/keto/paleo/carnivore/whatever tribes early on. Every tribe will tell you their way is "the answer." For most people the actual answer is "eat whole foods, get enough protein, move your body, sleep enough." Everything else is vibes.
Thank you all. Already downloaded the Precision Nutrition guide. Going to do the "take a photo for 7 days" thing this week and just see. Might try PlateLens since a few of you mentioned it. Will report back in a month.
One more thing since nobody said it: figure out your protein target first, before macros, before calories. 0.7-1g per pound of bodyweight. If you hit that and don't eat absolute garbage otherwise, you've solved 80% of the nutrition problem.
Seconding the protein-first approach. I spent years obsessing about carbs and fats and hardly ever thought about protein. Switched the emphasis and recomp'd without doing anything else different.
You're asking the right question btw. "Where do I start" is underrated. Most people start by copying some influencer's diet, fail, and then conclude they're broken. You're starting with humility which means you'll probably get further than most.
Also: your 7-day awareness phase might reveal that you're eating fewer calories than you think, not more. That's how it went for me. I was undereating and tired all the time and thought I was "being healthy." Data first, judgment second.
Long overdue update. Did the 7-day photo thing, started PlateLens, read the Precision Nutrition guide, booked a one-off RD appointment. 7 weeks in. I actually know what I'm eating now. That alone is worth it. Protein target was my biggest gap — was eating maybe 50g a day, now consistent at 110g. Feel substantially better, sleep is better. Thanks to everyone who responded.