2 ways tracking your food intake with an app could be holding you back

It’s gotten pretty popular to keep track of what you eat with apps like MyFitnessPal. These can be a cool way to help you stay accountable and give you feedback on where it’s going wrong.

But there are two big mistakes I’ve seen people making when getting started with apps like this.

Mistake 1) Getting too caught up in the detail

You get loads of data from using something like MyFitnessPal. From how many calories you’ve eaten, to how much fibre and even salt.

But it’s all to easy to get lost in the data and become too focused on the minutia.

Like trying to balance out how much protein, fat and carb you eat each day.

Sure, it’s a really good strategy to balance your ‘macros’.

But unless you’re below 15% body fat (male) or below 22% body fat (female) you probably don’t need to be doing this just yet.

There’s probably some easier stuff you can get fat loss results with first

Focusing too much on the detail will only distract you from the more fundamental stuff, like are you eating a serving of protein with each meal?

How about eating at least 4-5 servings of veg each day?

If you’re not already doing those two things every single day then don’t worry about the exact ratios of protein:carb:fat for now. It’ll most likely send you over the edge!

Note: If you feel like you’ve got a stone or more of fat to lose (particularly around the middle) you’re probably over the bodyfat percentage range mentioned above.

Mistake 2: Using an app to track rather than to plan

We found the best use of meal tracking apps isn’t to record what you already ate. (If you’ve already eaten all tracking will do is tell you you’ve gone over your limit and make you feel like you failed).

If you’re trying to lose fat, discovering you didn’t hit your target after the fact is no good . We need the info before so we can make adjustments to the plan as we go along.

Let’s say you’ve got tomorrow’s meals all planned. Then at lunch you don’t manage to get one of your planned veggie servings in. Cool, no problemo. Just hit up an extra serving of veggies at dinner and you’re right back on track.

Put what you plan to eat tomorrow in your app today.

That way you can make sure you get a good balanced day of eating that supports your goal and keeps you within the calorie range that allows you to lose fat.

Then instead of recording everything you have all you need to do is make adjustments when you deviate from what you had planned.

Summary

It’s easy to get hung up on all the data your food tracking app gives you.

Instead of trying to do everything perfectly, just pick one thing you’re going to focus on improving (like getting 4-5 servings of veggies in each day) and set that as your goal.

Ignore all the other notifications for fibre, salt etc, knowing that you’ll get to addressing those later.

For best results use your app as a planning tool, rather than inputting meals after you’ve eaten them. Simply plan what you’re going to eat a day in advance. Then adjust through the day based on what you actually eat.

That way you can make sure your diet each day at least starts off looking like the kind of diet that’s going to get you one step closer to the health, fitness and body you want 🙂

Need a little guidance on where to start?

Book in for a free consultation and we’ll discuss where you’re currently at, what you’d like to achieve and cover some ideas on how to move forwards with your health and fitness goals.