5 Reasons Why Tracking Your Food Is So Important To Our Program
Written by Rev Nutritionist, Kristin Mason
Flexible nutrition is the concept of counting and tracking your macronutrients (or macros) in order to achieve a body composition goal. At RevolutioniZe, we get away from the idea of “good food/bad food” in order to form a healthy relationship with food. The idea though, is to consume mostly clean, whole foods with some treats, NOT to consume cake and donuts all day. Yes, some foods will give you more energy, increase satiety, and have more micronutrients, but you are still able to fit in some treats (in moderation) while achieving your body composition goals. The main concept of flexible nutrition which ensures its success is the method of counting and tracking of your food, yet a very common statement we hear is, “I didn’t track but I still ate well.” Here are five reasons why tracking your macros are so important to the program.
If you are not tracking, we don’t know if you are consistently hitting your macronutrient ranges. The idea is to consume the proper amounts of protein, fat, and carbs, specific to your body and your goals, while also fitting some treats in so that you do not feel restricted or like you are missing out. If you do not track, you don’t know if you can fit a cookie in without going over your numbers. We also can’t help you if you’re feeling hungry, tired, bloated, etc. if we don’t know exactly what you ate or if you are even hitting your macros.
2. Eating clean does not necessarily put you in a calorie deficit.
In order to lose weight, you must be in a calorie deficit. Consuming all clean foods can easily put you in a calorie surplus or maintenance. It is important to be in a sustainable calorie deficit while simultaneously fueling your body properly.
3. "I ate well” could mean anything.
Does it simply mean you ate clean? Didn’t have dessert? What about alcohol? Bites, licks, and tastes? Oh, and that bag of chips you completely forgot about because you didn’t track anything? Saying “I ate well” could mean something different for everyone, so honestly it doesn’t mean anything to us.
4. Under-eating is just as bad as over-eating.
If you are not tracking, you have no way of knowing whether or not you are falling within your macronutrient ranges. Food is your body’s fuel and each macronutrient has different, very important purposes. Undereating is just as bad as overeating and restriction often leads to overeating. Your body will also eventually maintain your weight at lower and lower calories, which means that in order to be in a deficit you would have to consume less and less, which eventually becomes unsustainable.
5. We can’t adjust your macros if progress stalls.
If you consistently hit your numbers and you stop seeing progress, we can make adjustments that will allow you to continue to see progress. If you are not tracking, not only do we not know if you are consistently hitting your numbers, we don’t know what kind of adjustments to make in order to keep you in a calorie deficit. We don’t know if the current macronutrient is working, therefore will not make any adjustments.
Written by: Kristin Mason B.S. Nutrition and Dietetics