Do you watch your weight, but wonder why you’re not seeing the results you want?
The answer may be in what and how much you’re eating. You may actually be eating more than you think or maybe you aren’t getting a good balance of the macronutrients your body needs. Not sure what macronutrients are, no worries. I’ll explain further below.
Here are the top 10 reasons to start tracking the food you eat. Top reason – you want to see RESULTS!!
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Start tracking the food you eat - Reason #1 - You want results!
Guessing doesn’t work!
If you’re struggling to lose weight or you’re tired of the weight-loss roller coaster, tracking the foods you eat is the missing ingredient to your weight loss success.
Are you afraid that tracking will be too time-consuming and painful? Well, I used to think that too.
I can tell you – it isn’t as painful as you think and the knowledge you gain from it is well worth the extra time spent tracking. AND, you don’t have to do it forever.
If what you have been doing isn’t working, I highly encourage you to start tracking the foods you eat.
Start tracking the food you eat - Reason #2 - Encourages mindful eating
When you’re tracking the food you eat, it makes you stop and think before you eat. Instead of eating from the bag, you portion out one serving.
If you only have 100 calories left in your meal plan, then you’re more likely to make a conscious decision to spend those 100 calories on 1/2 a cookie or the apple.
Start tracking the food you eat - Reason #3 - Creates ah ha moments
Do you think you’re eating healthy foods? If you think you are, you probably are; however, what about your portion sizes? Most of us are eating serving sizes that are significantly larger than a true single portion.
Are you getting the right mix of foods? How much sodium are you eating? What about sugar – you know it’s hidden in everything?
I can almost promise you that once you start tracking the food you eat, you will have an aha moment. I know I did. For me, sodium, fiber and, sugar were the biggest.
If you had asked me to rate my nutrition, I would have probably given it a 9 out of 10. After tracking, it was really more like a 5 or 6.
Start tracking the food you eat - Reason #4 - Leads to more accountability
Nothing makes me more accountable than looking at my day’s nutrition. If you’re not tracking, it’s easy to overlook or just ignore the facts.
That doesn’t mean you can never have a treat. It just means consciously chose to have a treat and know how it impacts your day’s nutrition.
Start tracking the food you eat - Reason #5 - Puts you in control
There are no good or bad foods. Tracking is about making you feel bad. It’s all about empowering you with knowledge.
Knowledge is the first step. Using that knowledge puts you in control so you can make the changes you need to hit the goals you want.
Start tracking the food you eat - Reason #6 - Know what you eat BEFORE you eat it
Tracking the foods you eat throughout the day is good. Tracking before you eat something is even better!
You can’t undo it once you’ve eaten it; however, if you track it before you eat and you see how it plays into your nutrition, you may decide you don’t want it that bad or you make a different choice.
Start tracking the food you eat - Reason #7 - Gauge your progress
Once you have a record of what you’ve been eating, you have a great way to gauge what is working and what isn’t.
You may notice on days you eat a lot of sodium that the scale goes up the following day or when you eat too many processed carbs your weight goes up. Or maybe you notice when you bump your calorie intake up 200 per day, you actually start to lose weight.
Tracking the foods you eat seriously gives you so much insight to make changes and see what works for your body. What works for your neighbor won’t necessarily work for you.
Start tracking the food you eat - Reason #8 - Understand what foods give you energy and which one's drain it
In general, carbs are the primary fuel for energy. However, not all carbs are created equal and what works for me may or may not work for you. By tracking the foods you eat, you start to learn what foods leave you with lots of energy and which ones send you straight for naptime.
Start tracking the food you eat - Reason #9 - Keep your macros in balance
Let me start by giving a quick overview of macros. In short, macronutrients, or macros for short, consist of proteins, carbs, and fats. All three have specific functions within our bodies.
For now, just know that you need all three and by avoiding a complete category of food you are hindering your body’s ability to function at its max.
The USDA guideline suggests that our diets consist of 45 – 65% carbohydrates, 20 – 25% protein (although athletes and those following a strength training program need more) and 20 – 30% Fats (10% or less coming from saturated fats).
Without tracking it is nearly impossible to know whether you are getting the right mix of macros.
Start tracking the food you eat - Reason #10 - Slowly change your lifestyle
Tracking the foods you eat, understanding which foods leave you feeling energetic, knowing which foods cause you to feel bloated, etc makes it possible for you to slowing make changes to your lifestyle.
While making these small changes, you start to create habits, you feel amazing and you didn’t have to do a complete overhaul all at once which could leave you feeling overwhelmed and ready to throw in the towel.
Whether you’re wanting more info on tracking your foods, or you’re ready to jump in, build muscle and get insane results, a good place to start is by joining our FREE Facebook community.
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