Tracking What You Eat (MyFitnessPal)
If a client is looking to lose weight, or gain weight I always recommend that my clients start to track what they are eating,
The clients who do agree to track their food and stick to it tend to do much better at losing or gaining weight compared to the ones that don't. Clients that don't track their food tend to just go back to eating the way that caused them to be overweight/underweight in the first place. It's easy for most people to mindlessly eat every day and go back to their old habits.
You probably won't have to track what you eat forever. Even if you only do it for a month, it will help develop good habits, teach you how much you actually should be eating, so you can make better, more informed choices in the future.
We all have a smartphone, so tracking using an app on your phone is incredibly easy. I recommend MyFitnessPal which is available on both iPhone and Android phones. It has a huge database containing almost any food you can buy from a supermarket, takeaway, or restaurant. You can even just scan the barcode of pre-made products. It makes it so easy to track food.
The clients who do agree to track their food and stick to it tend to do much better at losing or gaining weight compared to the ones that don't. Clients that don't track their food tend to just go back to eating the way that caused them to be overweight/underweight in the first place. It's easy for most people to mindlessly eat every day and go back to their old habits.
You probably won't have to track what you eat forever. Even if you only do it for a month, it will help develop good habits, teach you how much you actually should be eating, so you can make better, more informed choices in the future.
We all have a smartphone, so tracking using an app on your phone is incredibly easy. I recommend MyFitnessPal which is available on both iPhone and Android phones. It has a huge database containing almost any food you can buy from a supermarket, takeaway, or restaurant. You can even just scan the barcode of pre-made products. It makes it so easy to track food.
- Common Reasons People Don't Want to Track Their Calories
Time-Consuming
It's not time consuming to use MyFitnessPal. It takes only a minute after each meal to log what you've eaten, and the app calculates everything for you. It saves the foods you've eaten recently, so you don't have to keep searching for them in future. You can also scan the barcodes. It's very, very simple to use.
Too Obsessive/Annoying
If I'm honest, I don't really have much sympathy for this. If what you're trying to achieve is important to you, you should be prepared to spend five to ten minutes a day tracking your food. You won't necessarily have to do it forever, but it could be the difference to achieving your goal or not.
The Benefits of Tracking Your Food
Food Tracking Shows How Much you are Eating Compared to How Much you Need
A lot of people aren't aware of just much they're over/under-eating, or just how much junk they actually eat and drink. If I ask someone how many calories they eat, they very rarely will know. By tracking you'll learn how many calories a day you need to maintain, gain or lose weight instead of just guessing.
I've known people who were struggling to lose weight but would eat one or two packets of crisps and a beer every night and didn't think it was a problem, but that is 300-500 extra calories every night, which is 2100 to 3500 calories a week on top of her normal food. I've also had people tell me they are following the 80/20 rule where 80% of their meals were meant to be healthy and 20% weren't healthy. When tracking it showed it to be more like 50/50.
People can be very bad at being honest with themselves about what they have been eating.
I've known people who were struggling to lose weight but would eat one or two packets of crisps and a beer every night and didn't think it was a problem, but that is 300-500 extra calories every night, which is 2100 to 3500 calories a week on top of her normal food. I've also had people tell me they are following the 80/20 rule where 80% of their meals were meant to be healthy and 20% weren't healthy. When tracking it showed it to be more like 50/50.
People can be very bad at being honest with themselves about what they have been eating.
Makes you More Accountable
If you want to lose weight, and if you consistently keep track of everything, you might think twice next time before putting certain foods into your mouth, or about your portion sizes. This is especially true if your friends and personal trainer are able to see your food log.
It Lets you Plan Your Day in Advance, Especially When you Have a Social Event in the Evening
If I know I'm going out for a meal in the evening and will likely eat and drink more than I normally would, I will log what I plan to eat for that meal at the start of the day, and then can see how much I can eat for the rest of the day in order to meet my calorie target for the day.
Helps Detect Food Intolerances
Bloated? Gassy? Tummy always feeling a little off? Feel uncomfortable? Always feeling like you need to be close to a toilet? None of this is normal. If you are accustomed to tummy troubles but can’t seem to figure out why, tracking your food and noting how you feel each day is a great way to start to connect the dots. I had a lot of digestion problems in my early twenties. From logging my food I managed to work out exactly what foods were causing me problems.
Helps Identify Triggers and see Patterns
Reach for a treat when you are stressed? Eat junk when you skip breakfast? Grab a snack when bored at work? Tracking your food forces you to be mindful of your food choices and why you are making them, so it can help you work out the why behind what you are eating. Often our food cues have absolutely nothing to do with actual hunger and everything to do with cravings, our environment and how we are feeling.
Create a Support Network
Trying to lose weight can often feel lonely as everyone else seems to be eating and drinking a lot around you. With MyFitnessPal you can add other friends and your personal trainer as a friend so you can view each other's food diary. I've seen how this can brings people with the same goal together and they support each other through the process.
Common Problems When Using the App
Not Being Honest and not Including Everything
This is the biggest and most common problem. Not tracking something because you feel bad about eating it, or you think it's too small to make any difference doesn't help you, and it makes it impossible for a personal trainer to do their job. Your wasting time and money, and it makes tracking your food pointless.
I always know when clients aren't being honest with what they're tracking. It's always obvious when a client isn't tracking everything.
I always know when clients aren't being honest with what they're tracking. It's always obvious when a client isn't tracking everything.
Giving up on a Week Because of a Bad Meal, or Day
This is very common. Go out for a meal planning on having just a main course, but end up eating a day worth of calories over a three-course meal with the biggest dessert on offer and five drinks. Instead of learning from it and getting back on it straight away, they eat whatever they want without tracking and plan on starting again on Monday. Record everything, good or bad. I don't expect my client to be perfect, and it's a learning experience. You'll also soon realise that occasionally breaking your diet isn't the end of the world and you can still achieve your targets while not being perfect.
Sticking to the Calories the App Recommend
The calories MyFitnessPal recommends is just a general guideline. You might need a lower or higher amount of calories. Listen to your personal trainer, or use trial and error to work out how many you need.
Ignore the Calories Calculated on the App for Calories Burned During Exercise
The app isn't accurate when it comes to the calories used during exercise. Ignore it and just use it for tracking your food.
You don't have to track your food forever, but some people might find they're are better off doing it for the long term. Just doing it for a month will help you learn and develop the ability to eat better. It only takes a minute after each meal.
Commit to doing it for a month. You can then decide if you want to carry on with it. Even if you only do it for the month, it will help teach you how much you actually should be eating, so you can make better, help develop good habits and make more informed choices in the future.
You don't have to track your food forever, but some people might find they're are better off doing it for the long term. Just doing it for a month will help you learn and develop the ability to eat better. It only takes a minute after each meal.
Commit to doing it for a month. You can then decide if you want to carry on with it. Even if you only do it for the month, it will help teach you how much you actually should be eating, so you can make better, help develop good habits and make more informed choices in the future.