TRACKING YOUR FOOD FOR A PERIOD OF TIME MAY HELP YOU GET BETTER RESULTS…
HERE’S WHY
Sure, tracking everything you eat and drink in a day can be quite tedious and annoying, especially when you’re running around with a busy schedule. BUT If you have specific weight loss goals, or are in a period where you want to make big changes to your health, then it might be worthwhile tracking your intake for a period of time to see how you can improve. After all, what is measured can be managed!.
Think of it as just like tracking your expenses for a week or month. Without knowing what you are spending on, how are you going to know what you have to cut down on in order to save more?
Here are my top benefits for tracking your food:
1. Allows for more awareness around portion sizes
If you are tracking and measuring what you eat then you are able to see exactly how much you are eating and reflect on whether that is too much or too little in relation to your goal.
2. Allows for reflection on the types of foods consumed
If you are writing down the foods you are consuming throughout the day then you can be more reflective and see what you need to have less or more for the next day. You can see that maybe you’ve had a chocolate bar too many times throughout the day!
3. Allows for awareness of calorie consumption in relation to requirements
Our bodies need a certain amount of energy (calories) to maintain normal functioning and to maintain our weight. Anything below that number Is considered being in a deficit i.e. you are burning more energy than your are consuming = weight loss. Tracking what you eat can ensure that you are in a deficit consistently and not eating above or in maintenance.
4. Can improve adherence to the diet at hand
Naturally, if you are more reflective and can see what you are eating throughout the day then you are more inclined to make improvements throughout the day and the next day which equals better adherence to your diet overall.
5. Allows for reflection on nutrient intakes
Tracking what you eat also allows you to be more reflective on including the important stuff in your diet, such as vegetables, fruit, protein, healthy fats and fibre. These groups all contain important nutrients that can affect our energy levels, gut health, bowel habits, stress levels and a lot more!
As you can see REFLECTION can stimulate IMPROVEMENT and therefore CHANGE. Tracking is a valuable tool in the toolbox for this.
There are some online tools which can assist with the tracking of daily food intake such as:
https://apps.apple.com/au/app/easy-diet-diary/id436104108
My clients have seen great results just by tracking what they are eating and reflecting on their intake. It’s honestly an eye-opening experience, try it!
For further individualised dietary advice on how you can effectively track your eating AND GET BETTER RESULTS, you can book an appointment with me. Call us on 02 9267 3775 or BOOK ONLINE.
– Lara, Dietitian @ PhysiCo Physiotherapy