Frustrated that your weight loss progress has stalled? Start tracking your food intake for the next 7-days and watch what happens! If I lost 50 pounds tracking my calories so can you! Here are 5 awesome reasons to start tracking your food intake now!
1. You make better choices When you keep a journal or track your meals on your smartphone, you make better choices. You become accountable to yourself, and you can track your progress better. Within the first couple days of tracking your meals and their calories, you will be shocked. There is no more fooling yourself about how much you are or are not consuming when you write it down. Journaling and logging your food choices leads to making better choices. It is better to eat a healthy and filling chicken salad than to waste your calories first thing in the morning on a Casey’s breakfast pizza.
2. You learn how many you can actually consume Have you wondered how many calories you can actually eat? Here’s a hint: it’s not what everyone thinks. Your ideal calorie intake depends on a number of factors: activity level, age, weight, body type, and macronutrient percentages. We will get to that in our next section! Once you see how much you can actually consume, you will begin to reassess and budget what goes in and what should be left out. If you are counting calories, count them correctly for your needs.
3. You eat smaller portions Calorie control is not so much about restricting your diet as it is about eating the right amount of good foods. It’s not easy to eat healthy all the time, but portion control is possible when good eating is not. Counting calories helps you eat the right amount of better foods. Pay attention to serving sizes on food labels, carry a portion chart with you in your wallet or purse, and learn how to visualize what a healthy portion looks like. Healthy portions and calories are easier when you limit processed foods and take-out. Again, when you log your food and calories, you will be inspired to limit your portion sizes, and you will eat different foods on the menus at your favorite restaurants.
4. Visualizing is energizing Most of the benefits lists come down to one key factor for success – visualizing. When you see, you really see it. You see your goals, you see your food, you see the calories, and you begin to consciously make better decisions. When your calorie intake is in your face, reality sets in. There is no running from it. If you are honest with yourself and your food journal, success will follow if you take the cues to make healthier decisions about your calories.
5. It’s Free & Simple It’s free to count calories. All you need is an app like Myfitnesspal, you need nutrition labels, and you need to count everything that goes in.
Remember, your body counts calories, so you need to as well.
Learn more about Tanya and her company The Diet Doc Sedalia here.
Have a great Tuesday!
-Coach T
