Do you track your foods?
Or have you ever tracked your foods?
It can be time consuming and monotonous.
But there are also some huge benefits to doing it from time to time.
I was diligent about tracking when I was doing Keto, but it got to be such a pain in the butt doing it daily, that I quit for almost a year.
And recently my weight started to go up.
I knew I was doing everything possible to get my hormones balanced, so it wasn’t that.
I was working out at least 4-5x per week, so I knew it wasn’t that.
But I was slacking a bit in the cardio area. So, I upped that to daily by doing a challenge with my FCE girls.
I was eating low carb and 85-90% clean, so it was not the foods I was putting in my body.
Still, nothing budged.
And even though I am not fixated on that number on the scale, when that number continues to climb and you feel you are doing everything else right, it’s time to DOUBLE CHECK on what you are ACTUALLY consuming.
Yeah, I have been snacking more lately, but on healthy foods. But I have been not been as aware as to how I am eating.
You know… checking in to see if I am ACTUALLY hungry or I am just eating to eat.
And lately it’s been more just eating because it’s available or I walked by the pantry and opened it, so might as well eat something. LOL
So this past week I went back to tracking all my foods. I wanted to eat how many calories I was consuming and what my macros looked like. I tried to just eat as I had been so that I could get an accurate picture of what I was doing.
Of course, by tracking, I was a bit more aware and stopped snacking as much. But I found that my carbs were higher than I thought, and my fats were low. Which was why I was probably feeling hungry more often.
I was also eating too much. Even with all the activities, I was doing, I was overconsuming. Which is why my weight continued to climb.
After 1 week of tracking, doing all my workouts, being more aware of what I was eating and taking time to slow down and actually enjoy my foods, I lost 4 lbs.
Lesson learned and now I was more mindful of what I was actually consuming.
I have always had my clients do a “check-in” of sorts by tracking from time to time. I don’t suggest waiting until you see numbers you don’t like (as in weight or body fat), but rather doing a few days here and there every 3-4 weeks to help keep you on track.
So, my point is…
If you feel as if you are doing al the “right” things, maybe it’s time to do a quick check in of your calories and macros. Start with one week and see what it looks like. Then decide if you want to continue for another week. After 2 weeks, you should have a good idea of what you WERE doing and what changes you need to make.
I do suggest that first week, just eating as you normally would and track it ALL! That will give you the best picture of what you are doing. Then from there, tweak a few things to see if anything happens.
Pay attention to how you feel. How your body feels. How your energy is. How your sleep is.
Those are all key factors that will help you to determine if you are doing what is right for your body.
And if you need some help or would like some direction on what you should be doing, reach out to myself or Bobbie (our nutritionist)! We are always here to help!
