Tracking my food intake, body measurements, exercise, weight loss etc. is a useful way of keeping my short- and long-term goals in mind while I’m losing weight and helps me to:
- Hold myself accountable
- Stick to an eating window
- Adjust my plan depending on how I’m doing
- Spot patterns of behaviour, both good and bad
- Stay in control during mid-afternoons when cravings tend to hit
- Make sure I drink enough water
- Remember to take supplements at certain times
- Make sure I’m eating enough
- Pinpoint food intolerances
- Keep my motivation, for example if the weight hasn’t gone down but the inches have
- Make sure I take regular exercise
- Connect the dots between what I eat and how I feel emotionally
- Make my daily goals the point of focus first thing in the morning
- Want to keep momentum going the next day
- Identify triggers that lead to binge eating
- Balance my diet with a variety of nutrient-dense animal products
It may all sound a bit time-consuming but keeping detailed logs and trackers is helping me to stay mindful about how I’m treating myself, after decades of self-sabotage.
Focusing on what I’m doing in the present, rather than drifting into the past or dreaming about the future, means that I’m more connected with my weight loss journey.
Hour by hour, day by day my trackers are helping me to build healthy new habits that I don’t want to drop. Seeing even the smallest amount of progress really helps with motivation and it’s easier to get back on track when I can just repeat what I did when I was getting great results.
