Tracking your food intake can be a useful part of fat loss – but what happens when it’s time to leave food tracking behind?
What is food tracking?
Have you lost weight through dieting in the past? You probably tracked your calorie intake one way or another. Points, “syns”, even portion control are all forms of food tracking. But the type of tracking I want to talk about is calorie tracking.
You can track calories with an old-school spreadsheet or an app (MyFitnessPal is a popular one). It’s pretty easy to do once you get the hang of it. Simply track all the calories you are taking in from food and drink by inputting what you’re eating by food and weight.
Why does food tracking work?
When you have a weight loss or fat loss goal, calories are key. And the more accurate you can be with calorie numbers, the more you can control your results.
It’s a bit like budgeting. Let’s say you need to save £3,000 for a holiday. If you have the vague goal of saving a “reasonable amount” every week, plus any spare change in your purse, you’ll have no way of knowing when that savings goal will be reached. But if you work out how much you can save every week, and then track your outgoings and savings, it will happen! And it will be much less stressful.
The same is true with calorie tracking for a fat loss goal. Accurate numbers help everything happen.
Pros and cons of food tracking
However, calorie tracking isn’t for everyone and it certainly shouldn’t be forever. That’s why I want to talk about moving away from food tracking. Here are the pros and cons of tracking your calories:
Pros
- Gives honest reflection of calorie intake
- Accurate, black and white data
- Can also show macronutrient number if relevant
- Allows you to see the relationship between calories and weight loss, energy etc
- Can be very quick and easy once set up
- May appeal to the mathematically minded!
Cons
- May not be compatible with social eating or snacking
- Can bring a rigid element to eating
- Some people find it difficult to move away from
- Does not allow for intuition or learning about hunger cues
- May lead to unhealthy food relationship
- Can make flexible dieting more difficult
How to know it’s time to move away from tracking
Tracking can be a useful tool, but nobody should use it forever. There’s a tipping point, with diminishing returns in learning (and sometimes in emotional wellbeing).
Have you reached your goal?
If you’ve reached your weight loss or body composition goal, you need to move away from tracking to a more flexible approach. The next stage in your journey is maintenance, so you’ll need an appropriate way of managing things.
Are you feeling emotionally reliant on tracking?
Some people get attached to the routine of calorie tracking, and become slightly fearful that they’ll put on weight if they stop. If you reach this point, you need to be supported as you ease out of calorie tracking.
Have you tracked every day for 6 months or more?
Tracking can get in the way of your relationship with hunger cues, satiety, and sheer enjoyment of food. If you’ve been food tracking for a significant amount of time, move away from it so you can learn a more intuitive way to manage calorie balance.
4 alternatives to food tracking
When you’re ready to move away from food tracking, look for a sustainable method that supports healthy lifestyle habits. The ultimate goal is to develop a lifelong health journey that is malleable enough to cope with change.
Portion control – keeping an eye on portion sizes can keep your weight stable if all physical activity is also kept steady. Many people eat too much, especially if all adults in the household get the same serving size!
Habit audit – our habits underpin every outcome in life. Audit your eating habits to identify any that may lead to weight gain (late night snacking, compulsive food shopping, regular coffee shop visits, eating the kids’ leftovers etc).
Meal planning – having a regular breakfast/lunch and switching up evening meals can be a simple and sustainable way to eat for 80% of your life. It can work well for busy people who want to get away from choice paralysis!
Intuitive eating – intuitive eating is the holy grail of weight maintenance for life, and can take a while to get the hang of. But it’s worth it, because it tells your body and brain that you trust them to make the right food choices for you.
Need help getting started with your weight loss journey, or transitioning into maintenance? Get in touch to discuss my 121 coaching.
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