If you’re serious about achieving your fitness goals, I HIGHLY encourage tracking what you eat. Those who track their food are X% more likely to succeed. If you track what you eat, hit your macro goals and are not making progress, reconsider how accurately you’re tracking your food. Are you making one of these common mistakes?
1. Eating a “little bite” here and there throughout the day: This can mean swiping a Hershey’s kiss from the coffee table a few times throughout the day, or sampling an oversized bite of the delicious mac and cheese off someone else’s plate.
2. Inaccurate app tracking: Apps such as MyFitnessPal are fantastic because they have such a wide variety of foods, but anyone can add to their database. Even if you track diligently, you may be getting misinformation about serving size or calories.
What if you forget or don’t have time to track?
I’ve been on both extremes of obsessively checking and logging what I’ve eaten for the day to not being able to spare a minute (literally) to track my food. I realize that obsessively tracking isn’t healthy and I won’t achieve my goals if I don’t track. Instead, I now use the 1st Phorm app. The app lets me save or copy a meal (or entire day) from one day to the next. I log my meals at the beginning of the day so that I know what I’m eating, where I have room for flexibility (like a Hershey’s kiss) and so that I don’t forget.
What about when someone else is cooking or I’m eating out?
If you eat at the same restaurant chains: I created a saved meal for my orders at my favorite restaurant chains (I always order the same things) so that I can add it to my log quickly. You can Google the nutrition facts of most places.
You can’t always have every nutrition detail about your food. I know that can create anxiety about reaching your goals, (it certainly does for me), but as long as you’re diligently tracking 80% of the time, you’ll be okay.
The most important element in reaching any goal is NOT perfection. It’s consistency. If you go off track, forget to log, or enjoy a meal out a few times a week, you won’t ruin your progress. Life is meant to be enjoyed and we can’t change the past. Just get back on track. My goal is to stick to the plan 80% of the time--- Nobody is perfect and there’s no need to end up in a self-sabotage cycle. If you find yourself in a rut, need help picking a plan or just to keep you accountable—Please let me help you.
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