So I did it again, downloaded myfitnesspal and I’m back to tracking/journaling my food. I have a love/hate relationship with food journaling, but I think I just fell back in love. This time I learned a new lesson: food journaling does not have to be controlling, consuming, or mean you are on a diet.
This is one of those habits that fitness pros encourage. I’ve told clients over and over again that they should be doing it. It is a fantastic tool to watch what you eat, how much you eat, and how it all adds up at the end of the day. Too many people however think of it as a way to diet. I have a strong opinion about dieting and you can expect to read more about that in my upcoming ebook!
I’ve been tracking again, this again for a different reason. I do not “diet” anymore, I REFUSE to play that game. I am happy with the way I look and feel. Except, I have been getting headaches almost every single day! Talk about slowing down momentum, I’ve had afternoons with the lights off, curled up under a blanket, head throbbing and unable to get rid of it. Ugh! I know for me the first thing to take a look at is my water and nutrition. So back to food journaling I go! (This way when I head into my Dr, or Naturopath I can tell them EXACTLY what I have been eating/drinking for the past few weeks)
I don’t count calories normally, but what I have learned from going back to my tracking/journaling is that I have gotten really good at knowing exactly how much food to eat. I haven’t logged on to myfitnesspal in a year, yet my weight/measurements/bf% is the same. I have tracked my food for a little over a week and I am always right there at my goal level, without a second thought, every single day. (I don’t enter my food till the end of the day all at once, because I hate thinking about it every time I eat) This means I have dialed in my eating, and that makes me a bit proud of all the effort that went into making eating effortless!
So I’m going to go back to loving and recommending myfitness pal or food journaling as a fantastic tool. Not to diet, but to learn and grow from. You can use it as a tool, it’s the little effort now that will make eating effortless later! This can help you identify that satisfied and not stuffed feeling and how much food it takes to get there. You can watch the days that you had great energy, and felt your best and know exactly what food fueled you that day. (Great note feature on the app to keep track of how you’re feeling) So if you’re like me and hate dieting, but want to find a way to make eating effortless, maybe it’s time to give it a shot. You don’t have to be obsessive and enter each meal as you eat it, I would actually recommend you refrain from that. Take a moment at the end of your day to enter in the food you had (you could even go old school and just have pen and paper journal) Look at tracking/journaling your food as a way to get you to that effortless eating habit. It’s a journey remember =)
PS there are tons of different apps to use, and I have tried plenty. I just think myfitnesspal does it best. You can use whatever you would like