Should You Be Health Tracking?

Hey friends!

Are you considering logging your food intake? Have you done it before but since fell off? Don't even know what the heck I'm talking about?

If you answered yes to any of the above, then great! This post is for you.

I think that Health Tracking is a super popular topic of conversation especially around the New Year when a lot of us are setting big goals for ourselves. How can we truly hold ourselves accountable for what we are putting in our bodies and what we are putting out? What we think is "healthy" versus what actually may be can often be two very different things.

Take for example #MeatlessMonday. It's all the rage these days. If you're unfamiliar, people are taking one day out of the week to cut meat out of their diets. It's a great strategy for expanding our palettes while also limiting our carbon footprint and reducing our risk of chronic diseases. However, going meatless in moderation may be just what the doctor ordered for some (like my dad who tends to eat a lot of red meat). BUT...I recently had some lab results come back and tell me that I am currently undernourished in the protein department. BOO! Never thought I would hear that. For the next few months, I need to work MORE meat into my diet. Yep, that's right. So what may seem healthy in general might not make perfect sense for you individually.

Cue in: Health Tracking. A way to monitor not just calories or minutes of exercise, but tracking our overall health which is so important and I cannot stress enough.

Here are a few of the many reasons we should be tracking:

• Food Tracking: Monitors our calorie intake as well as protein, carbs, sodium, and sugar, and more. Ever heard someone say they are tracking their "Macros"? Well it means they are keeping track of their Macro-nutrient Intake (carbs, fats, proteins). Depending on your individual needs, you may need more or less than the general standards in each these categories.

• Exercise Tracking: Monitors our calorie output during periods of exercise as well as heart rate, pace, distance, elevation, and more. How we are exercising, what parts of the body, and for how long may not be true to your needs compared to your food intake and your overall health standing.

• Heart Rate Tracking: Monitors our Heart Rate throughout the day, through times of rest and times of high exertion. This lets us know if our hearts get too far out of our individual ranges, and can often monitor our rhythms to avoid the risk of heart attacks going unnoticed.

Do not be discouraged if you're like me and you know you should be tracking but have done it before and know how much work it takes. I am the first one to say, it's NOT the MOST FUN part about eating well and living well. But let me tell you, it usually works one way or another.

Personally, my 2020 meal plans allow me to eat and drink whatever I want on Saturdays only. I'm in my 20s, living in a big city, and often have fun plans on the weekend. I still want to LIVE. But I also want to LIVE WELL. Everything in moderation, right? We've heard it before. Well, now that I am tracking my food intake everyday, I realized just how much I am and was putting into my body on the weekends. Until now, I considered the whole weekend to be a binge fest and allowed any and all things to go. BAD. Woah baby. Even if I was being super strict during the week, I would give it all up because my weekend numbers were outweighing the strong week.

If you know me, you know that I have hovered around the same weight for years. And I work out...hard. It frustrates me. Thanks to my Food Tracking, my eyes have been opened.

If you have a FitBit, track your food in the app. It's amazing to have all your inputs and outputs in one place. I am a firm believer in FitBits and was a loyal customer for 5 years and three watches. This year, I got an Apple Watch. If you're on the fence about it, trust me, it's worth the investment. The only annoying part is that unlike the FitBit, you cannot currently log your food intake alongside your Activity outputs. I have been logging using MyFitnessPal (linked here). I love that you can save meals for easy upload if you're like me and tend to meal prep or have the same things multiple times a week. Below is an example of what a log day looks like for me:

For someone with an undiagnosed form of OCD (whatever I have, it's in my DNA) ((thanks Mom and Grandma)), logging my food has been really good for both my physical and mental health. I highly encourage you to give it a try. See where you're lacking, see where you're overdoing it. Compare it to your outputs and get on the right track.

Also, if you are like me and avoid going to the doctor at all costs, I recommend you GET OVER IT. It's time consuming and scary, I get it. Get the blood drawn and understand what your body needs from you. It might just give you the motivation you need to start forming your own version of healthy habits.

I was recently listening to an episode of Food In Session on the Apple Podcast App, and the hosts were discussing the difference between Goals and Objectives. It is 100% important to set long term Goals, but what is even more important is setting your smaller Objectives to help you reach those goals. When we achieve those small step Objectives, our bodies react accordingly. We release all the feel-good endorphins that come along with success and victory. In turn, you will crave that feeling again and again and have the right mindset to attack the next set of Objectives, ultimately leading you to achieving a Goal.

Example:

My 2020 Goal:

• Lose 5-8 pounds

My January-March 2020 Objective:

• Make a meal calendar for the first three months of the year leading up to trips to Costa Rica and Miami.

• Stick to meal calendar for as many days in a row as possible. X out days on calendar as completed.

• Take note of meals I like best and which I can skip for future months to come.

• Track Food Intake and Exercise Outputs each day.

So far, I am crushing my Objectives! Forming these solid habits will hopefully lead me to my ultimate Goal by the end of the year. Think about what you've deemed a Resolution or Goal for the year ahead. What kinds of Objectives can you create to help you get there?

My hope for you is that you have big plans the year ahead and the right tools in place to help you get there. If you give Health Tracking a try, let me know how it goes! Share your grievances and successes and we'll take this journey to wellness together!

xo--

LP