“If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it!” Peter Drucker
“If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it!” Peter Drucker
I’m sure you’ve heard that before… We know how much is in our bank account, our gas tank and what our mortgage balance is. We live by our metrics at work, whether it’s increased sales, inventory reduction or manufacturing deadlines. We use gauges, dipsticks, spreadsheets, charts and apps to understand data and guide our next steps. Why? Because if we can’t measure it, we can't manage it!
In regards to our health and wellness, we tend to fly by the seat of our pants and read everything on Google and Pinterest, which usually leads to information overload and analysis-paralysis! OR we set extreme goals & follow extreme programs, plans and regimes. We seek instant gratification and search for the easiest way to reach said goal. Sometimes this leads to success and sometimes it leads to failure and frustration. Why? Because most of the time, the process of achieving the goal isn’t sustainable once you get to the goal!
“Once you start tracking your goals, you’re able to see the small, day by day progress that you might not otherwise notice.” – Betsy Ramser Jaime
When we seek long-term lifestyle change, tracking calories, macros, frequency of meals/snacks and portion sizes allows us to measure our current state and guide our future actions. Without tracking, we don’t know where to start, aka, we don’t know how to manage it. How do we know how much money to save for a trip, if we don't know where we are going, how we’ll get there or how long we’ll be there? Just like we need funds and a roadmap for a trip, we also need parameters and directions for our health and wellness journey. And because we want results that will stick once we reach our goal, the process we use to get to the goal must be sustainable, not extreme! This is why tracking is a great place to start!
“Most ‘impossible’ goals can be met simply by breaking them down into bite-size chunks, writing them down, believing them, and then going full speed ahead as if they were routine.” – Don Lancaster
Tracking your calories/macros isn’t meant to be something you do for the rest of your life. It can be used in a very healthy way as a temporary tool. You can track on paper, in a journal or with an app that simplifies every step. Using a food scale or measuring cup/spoon is also a great temporary option that helps you understand portion sizes. Once you’ve used these tools for a while, you'll be able to “eyeball it” and you’ll no longer need to weigh/measure your food. You can also use “handy” tools for guess-timating portion sizes. For example, a deck of cards is about 4 ozs of chicken or fish and the end of your thumb is roughly a tablespoon of olive oil.*.
Tracking, like any tool, can however be used improperly. If used with extreme plans, tracking can become a negative tool, creating feelings of restriction and can foster a bad relationship with food. It is only recommended to set goals within the dietary guidelines and your daily caloric needs.
If your goal is weight loss, you can track while setting a healthy calorie deficit or shoot for specific macro ratios (protein, carb, fat**). You can set daily, weekly or monthly goals. If your goal is to simply eat healthier, you can track the number of veggies, fruits and/or lean protein servings or look at specific micronutrient goals (vitamins/minerals). You can also track your water and shoot for a specific number of ounces each day. All these measurements & goals assist with true lifestyle changes versus just “going on a diet” or following an extreme plan for a designated period of time! And you learn so much in the process, you learn what is sustainable.
"Awareness is often enough to motivate change. Simply tracking your food intake will motivate you to alter it. Merely writing down your problems may spark ideas for possible solutions. The process starts with seeing reality clearly." James Clear
Tracking your food can also help you correlate how certain foods make you feel. For example, after tracking, you can ask specific questions:
How did that meal affect my sleep?
My digestion?
My cravings?
My energy level?
My mood?
My mental clarity?
My emotional connection/response to food?
Do I feel bloated?
Is my stomach upset?
Was I hungry an hour later?
Asking these questions and reflecting, can help with future choices around specific foods.
Tracking is also an accountability tool! Whether you are holding yourself accountable to an app or journal, you will think twice when making a food/drink choice. The same is true if you have a Health Coach looking at your daily details. We never want to use our tracking as a tool for shaming, but rather for awareness and guidance as we strive to improve our lives and reach our health and wellness goals.
“We often overestimate how often we do things, but tracking eliminates this weakness. When we track we just have the facts, not our subjective reflections.” – Betsy Ramser Jaime
So where do you start? You could try tracking everything for just 3 days or only tracking your dinner for 5 days. You can enlist a friend as an accountability partner or work with a Coach! Either way, when you track, you have a way to measure, which gives you the leverage to manage. You have the ability to create a process that is sustainable, for results that are sustainable as well!
“For a successful life, or successful business, measure what you want to improve.” – Jerry Bruckner
If you are looking for guidance with your tracking, I can help you! As a one-on-one, Certified ACE Health Coach, my goal is to help YOU identify where YOU are on YOUR health journey and create a roadmap alongside YOU that will get YOU to YOUR health and wellness goals. I will help you bridge the gap through true lifestyle & behavior change! Book a call with me now for more information!
* Hand Portion Guide - Precision Nutrition https://www.precisionnutrition.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Hand-portion-guide-FF.pdf
** AMDR: Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range - the range of intake for a particular energy source that is associated with reduced risk of chronic. disease while providing intakes of essential nutrients.
Comments