Tracking Food

If anyone reading this knows me then they know i'm BAD for insisting people who train with me track their food to some degree. I'm not saying it needs to be measured to the gram (unless competing on stage) but there needs to be some sort of accountability. Whether its by an app like myfitnesspal, pen and paper, photographs of each meal etc in order to get results and make dieting that little bit easier and your progression quicker you need to track your food.

At No Limits gym we have professional boxers, whose career is dependant on making weight. Or if your insistent on looking “stage ready” or you want that "Victoria secrets look" with your physique, you will also need to track your food with extra care at some point.

Anyone who is pretty lean already and wants to go that next step to become even more shredded, must also become more diligent over tracking their food. That's just how it is if you want those results. As their margin of error is reduced and the physical changes become more subtle. 

Don't get me wrong it's all a guess. Setting up calories, working out maintenance, what you're burning to what's being consumed. All of it. But the minute you track your food intake that guess starts to be a lot more educated. Your gathering information, and if done consistently and accurately as possible over time you can begin to see what works and what doesn't. You can then make the adjustment according to your food intake and what the scales (calipers, tape measure etc) says.

Once you understand the whole process of how to track it's incredibly educating. You start to learn about what works for you, being flexible in your choices, understanding calories and portion sizes. Its a real eye opener. You become more mindful over what your eating, and once mastered it will get you to your goals a lot quicker. We use Myfitnesspal and definitely recommend getting some type of food tracking app. Id also recommend www.eatthismuch.com which is a automatic meal planner and can be really useful.

Measurement is motivation! When you track you bring awareness. There are about 6 different methods i've used on various people as no one individual is the same. Here is a list of some of the options used

• Full tracking of calories and macronutrients (protein, carbs, fats)
• Calorie and protein track. Which is a calorie and protein figure to hit, leaving carbs and fats to fill in the gap however they wish. Check weight and adjust accordingly
• Just calorie tracking and check weight every morning
• Intermittent tracking. Which is more flexible for the sociable. Tracking Monday - Friday and having the weekend off
• Portion control according to hand size eg protein for men is 2 fistfull per meal, for women its 1 etc. This is devised from Precision Nutrition and is pretty handy when you eat out for guesstimating (we have this available via email if anyone is interested in it)

These are just some options, as we said its whatever brings the most success and enjoyment for the individual. But id recommend tracking becomes part of your daily ritual and the more detailed you go the higher the percentage of success. Feel free to drop us a message to see if we can help you out.