While tracking one’s intake, on occasion, can be a useful tool in terms of troubleshooting the diet as it relates to hormonal balance, fat loss results, performance and also, accountability, I am generally NOT a fan.
If you are team IIFYM, flexible dieting, whatever. No judgement, whatsoever. In fact, I’d love to hear from you! #doyou
But for me, I have neither the time nor energy (or care, if we’re being honest) to track every last morsel of food that I CHOOSE to put in my mouth. I’m not someone who craves much variety nutritionally, and prefer to fuel with real, whole foods most of the time. And I know that if I can keep it tight 80-90% tight always, I’m good. The remaining 10-20%? My zero stress wiggle room. It’s built right in!
In my work with clients, who’ve come to me with a desire to learn about this more moderate approach, a way of living, eating, exercise that they can do… forever, I encourage the practice not of counting cals/macros, rather MINDFULNESS. That is, listening to the body’s biofeedback signals. When these things are balanced, hormones are balanced and when hormones are balanced, the calories take care of themselves. This is because the hormones dictate how calories are partitioned (i.e. whether calories go toward fat storage, or muscle repair/growth). And yes, this means you could be under (or over) what an app/calculator tells you you need, but so long as HEC is balanced and you’re getting fat loss results (either attain or maintain), you’re good. Mindfulness also includes things like eyeballing portions instead of measuring them (once you’ve learned what a serving looks like, of course, and especially with trigger foods e.g. nut butters - it’s so easy to grab a spoonful, without even realizing you have a half cup on there ha *been there*).
Don’t forget: In terms of our nutrition, it’s not about eating less and exercising more; rather, eating more of the right things more often (i.e. protein, veggies, healthy fats in moderation, and carbs, with special attention to your carb tipping point).
This approach is different than what I’m sure a lot of you are used to, but different is not bad; it’s just different.
Here’s the thing with tracking: whether we realize it or not, tracking will, over time, drain us of the mental energy that could be directed toward arguably more productive things i.e. that which is required to make the choices and take the actions we know we should be making/taking.
> Bottom line: Track if you want, but be careful to not *let it* consume you. Remember, the goal here is to offload the cortisol, not create additional stress. If tracking becomes a source of stress, you’ll begin to resent it and eventually, be less likely to do it. And you’ve heard me say it before but if we’re living in such a way that cannot be sustained, we cannot expect sustainable results to match.
We want easy, we want effortless and tracking is just that. It’s the 1.0 version: numbers in, numbers out. Unforch, it’s not that simple. If you want sustainable results, you’ve got to put in the work i.e. put on your detective hat a la Sherlock Homes and figure out what works best, for YOU. There’s no way around it. In the words of my friend Jade Teta of Metabolic Effect, “Easy is earned.” Nailed it! Cool thing is, it’s really empowering to be able to create your unique to you plan that takes in account, well, you.
So, how to go from balls-out tracking to a more moderate approach?
- Practice not tracking; if that’s too big a step and you’re tracking daily, maybe you track every other day, then only a few times a week, then only a single day until you’re comfortable not tracking at all
- Practice not weighing, measuring food; instead, listening to your body #selftrust (*hint: the body is really good at telling you what it needs; it becomes your job, then, to listen)
- Practice, instead of tracking cals/macros, keeping a log of what you eat, to include things like time of day, food type and approx. amount, how you are feeling before/after e.g. hunger, energy, cravings (HEC a la Metabolic Effect) high or low; also, stress, mood, sleep, skin, digestion.
Check this post from Eat To Perform for tips to lean out WITHOUT tracking, then let me know what you think on my Facebook page! Interested to hear any/all perspectives, even if your views differ from my own. Let’s just keep it respectful. Please and thanks. 
