Food logs and food trackers are making the ultimate rise in popularity due to necessity and the long list of benefits. They can greatly impact the ability to stay on track with a meal plan and can make any weight loss goal a little more achievable. With the ability of keeping it “old school” with a pen and paper or with a user-friendly app on your phone, keeping track of your meals, snacks, and time can be incredibly helpful.
Visualize Your Eating Pattern
Sometimes being in a routine can lead to inconsistencies in meals and snacks. Whether you are simply forgetting to eat or perhaps eating one too many snacks during the day, keeping track of your eating can absolutely help visualize your current eating pattern. By doing so, you might be able to make helpful changes to your diet. Bump up your results by keeping track of meal/snack times and portions!
It Allows You to Backtrack
Finding a good balance when it comes to your diet is key to getting to a weight/physical goal. But if you’re simply “winging” your meals and eating schedule, you might not be able to stay balanced for very long. In the same spectrum, feelings of bloat or sluggishness caused by your meals can be left undetected. With a food log, you will be able to look back and take note of what worked for you and what didn’t.
Keeps You Accountable
Sneaking in a few snacks here and there can seem harmless – and it probably is! But if you find yourself rationalizing more often than you should, a food log can help you stay accountable to what snacks you are in fact eating. Seeing consistency in your meals with healthy and wholesome foods can make you a bit hesitant to add “potato chips” or “ice cream” and in hand ruin your health streak. You might even opt out of eating a candy bar completely knowing that you will have to document that not-so-healthy choice.
Whichever way you decide to keep track of your meals and snacks, a food log is a great way to keep you on track with your goal. If hesitation to keep track with a food log settles in due to time and inconvenience, it is important to know that the positive outcomes outweigh the bad. With time, a consistent habit of keeping a food log will only make it a natural part of your daily routine.