I started tracking my food again and I was surprised! Here are my thoughts!
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Super Vulnerable Confession: I took a video of myself doing overhead squats in my garage gym the other day. I hadn’t done them in forever, 85 pounds felt like 185, but I thought it was a cute setup…. Beatrix was in her little jumper watching mama lift weights… Would be fun to share on my Instagram story, right?! Wrong! Well, I decided I wasn’t going to share it, at least. Why?? Because I didn’t like how I looked!
Wait a second… Don’t I talk to people all day long about embracing how they currently appear and also committing to goals about making desired changes?? YES! But, I suppose that doesn’t make me immune to feeling uncomfortable with my current body size.
Wait another second… Didn’t I write a blog post the other day about worrying less about my weight?? Also YES! I’ll come back to this thought in a second…
Anyway, what was my first thought after seeing this one silly overhead squat video?? The thought after the one I decided I wasn’t going to be posting it, that is. My thought was: “Wow, I guess it’s time to start tracking my food.”
…
Before anyone freaks out at me for any reason, hear me out. There are lots of reasons to track food… some of which deal with making sure we’re not eating too much, but others to make sure we’re getting enough.
Here are some thoughts:
I KNOW I’ve been having more treats, sweets, and ultra-processed foods than I need. I’m talking like 6+ Oreos per night.
If I’m going to be lifting weights and focusing on strength, I better make sure I’m getting enough protein. (This is one of those “getting enough” examples!)
I also know that I could afford to be a little more thoughtful with my heavier carb and fat portion sizes when I make up my meals. I’m talking about being mindful of amounts of butters, oils, rices, crackers, dried fruits, etc. Not restricting, just reigning in. You know, the old “this is a serving of peanut butter, right??” situation.
I’ve also been dealing with a postpartum thyroid issue, which I’m seeing an endocrinologist about, that can cause weight gain so I would like to keep that in check as much as I can help it!
I fully admit that this decision came at least partially from a place of vanity and wanting to feel better in my skin. But that’s allowed, as long as I do so in a safe and healthy manner that still allows me to feed my baby! This is where it’s critical to find an appropriate caloric balance and not be in a deficit. This is more about seeking body composition shifts than actual weight loss.
To point 5 above: As I’ve written about, I’ve been putting off any kind of tracking since giving birth because I didn’t want to limit any intake and wanted to be sure I was eating enough based on what my body told me it needed. I’ve been going by feel and hunger levels, focusing on protein, eating fruits and veggies, drinking water, etc and Baby Bea is thriving! So yay! Equally, it’s been 7 months of breastfeeding, and I think that’s an appropriate amount of time to be in the swing of nursing and also check in with my food. I hope I’m being clear that my intention is NOT to slash calories or anything extreme like that, trust me I found out I’m eating plenty, but instead to keep myself in a reasonable range.
Okay okay okay, enough explanation. Here’s what I learned…
I started with simply tracking a bunch of days of what I was already eating. Turns out, without making any adjustments, I was eating between 2500-2900 calories per day. See, plenty! I knew I was eating a significant amount of food, but I was admittedly surprised it was this high… I probably would have guessed 2200-2500 instead. I imagine this speaks to the fact that humans are poor estimators of their intake, which also points to the benefit of tracking food every now and again.
The good news is that my protein was over 105 every day! (weight: 150 x 0.7 = 105g for a minimum protein intake goal!) My fiber was also between 20-30g every day which I was pumped about!
So, now that I had a baseline, I decided to make my new calorie goal 2500 with a protein goal of 125g per day. Debatably, not even a caloric deficit, but just making sure it’s not a caloric surplus.
With that new goal, what have I learned so far?
I take far fewer random bites/handfuls of food (when I’m not actually hungry!) than I was before. I just don’t want to log 25 raisins so I just don’t eat them.
I put reasonable limits on sweets/treats/ultra-processed foods. I still have them, but only at night when I’ve eaten all my other nutrient-rich foods and stay within my reasonable calorie limit.
I eat a lot of fats! See image breakdown below! This isn’t necessarily a good or bad thing, just a noticing! Remember, as long as you’re hitting your protein and are within a reasonable calorie limit it doesn’t really matter how your carbs and fats are split.
I’m tracking as close to everything as I can—even the 3 mini Butterfingers I’ve already had on this Halloween day!—and even if it would put me over. Who am I lying to here?!
Getting back into tracking takes some work… saving favorite foods, scanning labels, remembering to measure/weigh things before you eat them, etc. but once you get a few days in it’s easier!
As I always preach, I still am aiming for my daily water, fruits and veggies, movement, sleep, and protein!
It’s only been like 2 weeks total so far on this new tracking venture so I can’t say that I have results so far, but I’ll keep sharing as I go!
With this all being said I KNOW that tracking food is NOT right for everyone. So, please don’t take me sharing this as saying that you should also do so. I know my personal relationship with food tracking and the process and feel comfortable with the path I’m currently on; I’ll adjust if needed moving forward!
What questions do you have about this process?? Share in the comments or send me an email at sara@nutritionforlifeproject.com!
As always, thank you for reading!
xoxo,
Sara