Should you track your food (and drink)? As pretty much always, it depends! What is your goal, and will it help you get there?
Tracking isn’t essential, and it isn’t for everyone. It is however one tool that can be helpful. But if it doesn’t work for you then there are plenty of other options if you need help to either lose or gain weight.
One of the biggest benefits of tracking is how if you’ve never done it before it can be quite eye-opening to what you are actually eating. Even if you don’t do it long term trying it for a week or two can be very educational.
Another benefit is you can immediately see the values of what you’re eating, and can be flexible in managing your ‘budget’ across a day or week.
On the flip side tracking can be time consuming. If you mostly cook from scratch weighing each ingredient takes a while. Although if you eat similar recipes regularly you can add them into tracking apps quite easily so it’s only the first time that takes longer.
Some people do become overly reliant on tracking. It can make certain individuals obsessive over hitting exact numbers. Others worry about social occasions when they won’t be able to track to the point they avoid them. In those cases obviously tracking is not a good option!
These are just a few examples of why you may, or may not, find tracking to be useful. Always take into consideration how well these tools work for you and fit into your lifestyle.
(Reposted from Instagram)
