You Are Not Losing Weight Because…You Are Not Tracking Your Nutrition
It has been said that weight loss is 80 percent nutrition and 20 percent fitness. Whether that comparison is precisely accurate or not, the reality is you cannot out train a bad diet. So obviously one of the first things you need to do if your goal is weight loss is to work on your nutrition.
That’s a no brainer, right? Since you’ve probably already taken the steps you deemed necessary to clean up your eating, including regular food prep, you are probably now at a loss as to why you still haven’t been able to break through your weight loss plateau.
The number one reason you aren’t losing weight? You aren’t tracking your nutrition. That’s right. Something as simple as tracking your meals and snacks in an online journal or tracking system can make all the difference when it comes to weight loss, and here are five reasons why.
1. You’ll eat the right amount.
When you first started trying to lose weight, you probably automatically started eating fewer calorie-dense and nutrient-deficient foods and more nutrient-dense and calorie-balanced foods, as most people do. However, if you’re not tracking your intake it’s likely that you may be over (or even under) consuming some foods. Tracking your intake will hold you to proper portion sizes and typically help you eat the right balance of foods to reach the weight loss you want.
2. You’ll move more.
In addition to tracking your nutrition with a system like the STARTplanner, you can also log your exercise and daily movement. Much like tracking your food keeps you on track with your eating, tracking your fitness will push you to move more as well.
3. You’ll get immediate feedback.
One of the hardest parts of sticking with a health and fitness plan is that the results aren’t immediate. Everyone wants to see immediate progress and that just doesn’t happen. However, if you are tracking your nutrition, you’ll get immediate feedback on your progress and be able to really pinpoint how your daily choices contribute to your progress toward your goals.
4. You’ll better understand your tendencies.
You likely have already identified a few of your tendencies when it comes to your nutrition, but you may not have pinpointed what causes those tendencies. For example, if you periodically inhale large quantities of food and just can’t seem to stop yourself, there is likely a reason behind it. Maybe you didn’t eat enough for breakfast, your lunch was too light, or you had too much alcohol with dinner. At any rate, tracking your food will help you understand your tendencies and identify your triggers so you can plan ahead for them.
5. You’ll learn to balance portions.
In addition to learning about calories and your daily tendencies, tracking will also help you learn more about portion control and the types of foods you can eat in larger portions, such as lean meats, veggies, certain fruits. Tracking will also help you be more aware of the foods you need to eat sparingly. This strategy in general will help you become more aware of portions and keeping everything in check.
If you have already implemented regular food prep into your nutrition routine but still aren’t seeing progress in your weight loss effort, it is because you are not tracking your nutrition. Tracking will not only help you develop better habits but will also help you break through the plateau you’ve settled on to start making progress again.
That’s a no brainer, right? Since you’ve probably already taken the steps you deemed necessary to clean up your eating, including regular food prep, you are probably now at a loss as to why you still haven’t been able to break through your weight loss plateau.
The number one reason you aren’t losing weight? You aren’t tracking your nutrition. That’s right. Something as simple as tracking your meals and snacks in an online journal or tracking system can make all the difference when it comes to weight loss, and here are five reasons why.
1. You’ll eat the right amount.
When you first started trying to lose weight, you probably automatically started eating fewer calorie-dense and nutrient-deficient foods and more nutrient-dense and calorie-balanced foods, as most people do. However, if you’re not tracking your intake it’s likely that you may be over (or even under) consuming some foods. Tracking your intake will hold you to proper portion sizes and typically help you eat the right balance of foods to reach the weight loss you want.
2. You’ll move more.
In addition to tracking your nutrition with a system like the STARTplanner, you can also log your exercise and daily movement. Much like tracking your food keeps you on track with your eating, tracking your fitness will push you to move more as well.
3. You’ll get immediate feedback.
One of the hardest parts of sticking with a health and fitness plan is that the results aren’t immediate. Everyone wants to see immediate progress and that just doesn’t happen. However, if you are tracking your nutrition, you’ll get immediate feedback on your progress and be able to really pinpoint how your daily choices contribute to your progress toward your goals.
4. You’ll better understand your tendencies.
You likely have already identified a few of your tendencies when it comes to your nutrition, but you may not have pinpointed what causes those tendencies. For example, if you periodically inhale large quantities of food and just can’t seem to stop yourself, there is likely a reason behind it. Maybe you didn’t eat enough for breakfast, your lunch was too light, or you had too much alcohol with dinner. At any rate, tracking your food will help you understand your tendencies and identify your triggers so you can plan ahead for them.
5. You’ll learn to balance portions.
In addition to learning about calories and your daily tendencies, tracking will also help you learn more about portion control and the types of foods you can eat in larger portions, such as lean meats, veggies, certain fruits. Tracking will also help you be more aware of the foods you need to eat sparingly. This strategy in general will help you become more aware of portions and keeping everything in check.
If you have already implemented regular food prep into your nutrition routine but still aren’t seeing progress in your weight loss effort, it is because you are not tracking your nutrition. Tracking will not only help you develop better habits but will also help you break through the plateau you’ve settled on to start making progress again.
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