INTIMIDATED BY TRACKING?
For many people the prospect of tracking macros, hitting targets and not getting overwhelmed by it all is a daunting prospect. I wanted to take the opportunity in this blog to share some tips and strategies that may help you put this tool into practice in a useful and powerful way. Your first question might even be, why is tracking important?
Coach Jon loves to say what can be measured can be changed or adjusted. And when it comes to weight loss and caloric intake, one thing that many studies have shown is that without measured tracking human beings statistically are under estimating their intake. (Click here for just one of many examples of this being studied!) The fact is if weight loss is your goal, if finding the right nutritional approach that will allow your body not only to function but flourish, tracking can be a very helpful tool when you need to dial in the details.
And I will say, I did not track anything when I first started keto, and I lost weight, a lot of weight! But then the loss stopped. That stall eventually turned into seeing the scale climb. I hadn’t changed anything! At least I thought I hadn’t. I was still eating keto foods, mostly paleo too actually, and following all the prevailing advice to eat to satiation. I was wracked with cravings and getting more disappointed in my progress by the day. It was then I started doing some research and realized, surprise surprise! The amount of food I was eating mattered! My initial plan naturally reduced my intake in a way that allowed for fantastic progress but I was now out-eating that plan, and yes, gaining weight eating meats, vegetables, low carb fruit and fats. I came to the realization that I need to not only get a measured handle on what I was eating but also get some help because I was completely overwhelmed when I tried to start tracking on my own. Today I want to share the lessons I learned because they may help you if you have also realized that you need to start tracking your food and maybe even targeting some macros!
Get The Right Tools
Oh man is this going to sound simple but get a kitchen scale, measuring spoons and a liquid measuring cup. The point I want to make here is get the scale! Weighing most food is going to be the most accurate way of knowing what you’re eating. And get to know the tools! Figure out how to properly tare (zero out your scale when using a measuring vessel like bowl or plate) your scale and switch the measurements (grams to ounces, etc.) so you know what you’re dealing with. Also, liquids are best measured by volume (the cup and spoons!) while most other foods are best measure by weight (proteins, vegetables, dry goods, fats, nuts. Etc.)
Choose Your Log
You will need to find the right way for you to track your food. I stress the “right way for you” because there are many apps out there, never mind using a Google Sheet, a paper journal, etc. The benefit to an app is that the math is all done for you when it comes to calculating the caloric values of the foods you eat based on the macros. (If you didn’t know, each gram of fat is 9 calories, while protein and carbs are 4 calories per gram!) Apps also have a ton of data pre-loaded for many foods including the USDA numbers for most food items. They also allow you to add custom foods usually so if you can’t find something you can add it. I started with a Google Sheet, I liked the manual nature of it but I was making things way more complicated than necessary. I eventual broke down and started using Cronometer and now I love it! There are many apps out there like My Fitness Pal, My Macros Plus, Carb Manager, and Cronometer. I encourage you to download a few of them and look for the interface that makes the most sense to you. Ease of use matters when it comes to using something consistently!
Become A Label Reader/Professional Googler
Arm yourself with knowledge! Read the labels on foods you buy to understand the portioning, macro profile and calories. You will find information there on sodium, potassium, the fat breakdown, fibers, sugar alcohols and more. Foods without labels will usually already be in your app but you may need to use Google to find the details. Google is often a great place to find the nutritional information provided by restaurants you frequent. If you are going to a chain restaurant or fast food location, google the name of the restaurant and the word keto, you may find other folk have already gone there, scoped out the menu and gathered some great information and ideas. You can also often find similar parallel information when the exact details of your meal location isn’t out there.
Start Small and Build a Foundation
This tip is for everyone who read the first two points and their heads are spinning already! I am not kidding when I say I have been there and I was lucky to be working with a coach to help me figure this all out, but if I hadn’t been I think the first step I would have taken in getting into tracking, specifically from a keto perspective, and start with just tracking carbs. The eventual goal is to track everything of course but if you start with carbs you will at least have a handle on the macronutrient that has the strongest impact on entering nutritional ketosis. Setting a target number for your carb grams and shooting for it is a totally fine place to begin this process. Once you get comfortable with the ins and outs of tracking your carbs, you can then ease into tracking fat and protein. How do you set a carb number, heck how do you set any macro targets? There are plenty of specific macro calculators out there that can help, yes I am again sending you to Google. Part of our Build Your Keto Road pdf program is a process to determine your specific macro needs in a way that gives you an understanding of where they come from when you get the numbers. Click here for more info!
Raw Vs Cooked
When we cook something it’s macronutrient profile can change, whether it is due to water or fat loss when it is heated. This goes for most meats, vegetables and fruits. So be aware of how you are tracking the food. If you use a raw entry but you’re measuring the food when cooked, you may be off by a significant amount. Meat for example, if you track your ground beef raw and sauté it and then drain off the drippings you have tracked a significant amount of fat you are not eating. Luckily most apps have raw and cooked entries for most foods! I don’t want this idea to confuse you but help you find your way through the confusion. Don’t overcomplicate it, make a choice on when you will track something in its process of preparation and go with it.
Don’t Plan to Fail
How do you plan to fail when it comes to tracking your food? You don’t plan at all! One of the biggest challenges I see folks encounter when they start tracking their food and working on hitting macro targets is that they “track as they go.” Often this leads to an off balance macro surplus by dinner. Instead of trying to figure out how to eat 75g of fat, 4g of protein and 5g of carbs, plan your full day out in advance. Even if you just do this for a few weeks until you get a better sense of how to balance your day it will help! I often tell clients that it is easier to make adjustments to your plan when there is a plan in place, instead of starting with nothing, ie. You have your dinner planned for home but unexpectedly have to eat out. If you know what you have work with nutritionally already it will be easier to adjust.
Be Willing to Conduct an N1 Experiment
Simply put, see yourself as the subject of your “experiment” to find the right path to wellness. Part of an experiment is following strict guidelines so the procedure can be replicated and tested. See tracking your food as your way of creating an experiment that you can replicate and regulate to help you reach your goals. Tracking your macros tightly can help you see how your body responds to the fat/protein ratio you’re at and will allow you to see when adjustments might need to be made. What seems like a lot of work to get started can end up being a time saver in the end when it makes it easier on you when you do need to raise or lower your intake. Having a clear picture of what is going into your body can be very helpful!
Oh, Know When Not to Listen to Me at All!
So while I have just spent a long time explaining why I think tracking your food is important, understand that I acknowledge that one of the purposes behind breaking all of this down today is helping with the stress you are feeling around this new tool. There still may be times where you decide it is okay to not track tightly for a meal or time period, like going out to dinner and not wanting to whip out your scale and spoons at Chilis. Remember that this process is yours to manage. Will tracking tighter help you gather more useful data? Yes. Will you ruin the entire process if you don’t get to weigh your chicken at a wedding dinner? No! An undercurrent of this is doing the best that we can, and building on that. Ok, so maybe you should still listen to what I am saying here!
Again, I wrote this to help that person out there who has never tracked their food before and might feel a bit intimidated. If that is you, know it is okay to dip your toes into the tracking pool and try something new. It just might be the piece you are missing right now! One step into the unknown could lead to a solid foundation to build your future on!
