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Why Keeping Track of your Food Intake IS Worth It

By Amber Ellis Johnson


Friends, I get it when people don't want to keep track of everything they eat. It's a pain in the ass. It's a time suck. It's "obsessive" say some, it's "unhealthy" say others; it is "unnatural" and takes the fun out of eating. All those things are valid opinions, they are, even if not true, I acknowledge why people feel those things.


But those opinions don't account for what PAYING ATTENTION and keeping track provide you with! Which is freedom:


  • Keeping tabs on what you eat is not obsessive, it's responsible. It is just like keeping close track of how much money you have to spend, and budgeting out that money to be sure you are not spending more than you need or have to spend.


  • Keeping track of how much and what you eat is an investment in your health, long term, and is the best way to ensure you will achieve your health goals. It is the gold standard for health and fitness to monitor and manage food intake. Otherwise you are really just guessing, and flying blind, taking shots in the dark...


  • Keeping track of your energy intake is empowering! If you never know how much you are eating, you have no structured means to alter anything significant. Having specific data to work with gives you power through knowledge and choices.


  • Over-eating, and under-eating, are NOT healthy modes of living long term, and both contribute to poor health outcomes, diseases, and imbalances. Learning exactly how much food you are eating, and making healthy shifts, is Enlightened Self-Care.


I used to be the type of person that thought I didn't have the time to spend tediously logging my meals, measuring my food, or giving it thought; and I didn't know what to do with that information anyway. So I'd try for a while and then get frustrated or discouraged and give up. That is likely because I was not focused on the right things, and didn't have a plan or a strategy in place.


After 4 years of tracking my macronutrients in the free version of My Fitness Pal, I can tell you it is FREEDOM for me now. I don't have to worry or guess or wonder why I am fatigued or not sleeping well, gaining or losing weight, or if I am over or under eating. I have all the data, I know exactly hwy I am feeling the ways I am feeling! I can see, clear as day, the trends in my food logs over time. I can make necessary adjustments based on my goals, and can control those outcomes through a structured plan.


I am weight stable, long term, but unrestricted in my dietary choices. I can eat whatever I want, whenever I want, and still maintain my healthful body composition. That is freedom to me. I am no longer at the mercy of "fate", "whim", emotional binging or otherwise. I don't have to go all in on extreme diets, do intensive fasts, convince myself I"m not starving and that it's natural to be lightheaded or have energy crashes at 2 pm. I don't gain 10 # over the holidays, any more, but I sure do enjoy all they have to offer at feast time!


FEED YOUR BODY what it needs to thrive, move, and feel stable.


Your body will thank you,


Amber

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