Eat It, Track It: The Problems of Not Tracking Your Food Intake

At Weight Watchers, we have a wee saying: if you eat it, track it. It doesn’t matter what you eat, as long as you write it down and it is within your propoints allowance.

While not everyone follows Weight Watchers, it is still important to track what you eat if you want to lose weight. You could follow Slimming World, Scottish Slimmers or even have a calorie-controlled diet.

Whatever it is, you need to create a calorie deficit.

Did you know that by not tracking, you’re more likely to eat 30%-50% more than you should?

That’s the problem with not tracking. You eat too much.

You Don’t Remember the Little Things

If you don’t track everything you eat, it’s easy to forget.

But it was just one biscuit, I hear you say. Well, what about if it was two biscuits, or one biscuit every day? That’s still extra calories/propoints that you’re eating. Do you really have the allowance for that extra biscuit or two that went untracked?

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You’re not perfect, so you’re not going to remember everything. Don’t expect yourself to. Track it and you will remember it!

You Feel Guilty

Can I have that extra slice of cake? That’s another common question. If you don’t track, how do you know if you can or can’t have it?

You eat it anyway and then feel guilty. If you don’t eat it, you feel grumpy because you’re telling yourself you can’t have it. By tracking, you clearly know and you know the damage that you’ve done if you have gone over your propoints/calories for the day. You know what you need to do the next day to claw it back.

There’s no need to feel guilty when you’re tracking. You’re in control.

You Don’t Know the Past 

That tracking isn’t just for the week. You have access to it all the time. Just think how great that is for the future.

The more you track something, the more you know the propoints values/calories in it. It makes it easier to plan in a rush, or decide on something last minute.

It can also give you the chance to compare weeks. You can see if extra exercise can help you or if you need to cut back on something. You can look back at where you struggled in weeks and see how you managed, or look back at recipe ideas to try something you haven’t done in a while.

There are many ways to track. I have my Weight WatchersJournal and use the app on a daily basis. Some people like to have a diary, while others do it on the computer. Do whatever works for you. Just track anything that you eat and you will lose weight.

How will you track?