I want to start this blog with this sentiment. You do not need to track your food in order to lose weight. Tracking your food is a tool that you can use to assist you in losing weight along with many other tools. This does not define the entire process. What defines whether or not you lose weight is whether or not you consume more than you expend. With that being said… Let us dig into different ways of tracking food consumption and how effective those measures can be when it comes to weight loss.

There is a time and place for everything…

Different tracking methods are better for different moments in time and for different people. What does that mean? It simply means sometimes you need a certain tool to be more aware of your portion sizing, and your overall consumption than others. It also means that there are times when you don’t.

I really enjoy some of the different layouts that have been provided through a variety of nutrition certifications recently. There is a much larger focus on our eating habits and behaviors than there ever was before. For reference because we will go into some of these things regarding the habits and behaviors below, here are some of the mindful eating habits.

Eating slowly by taking small bites, placing your utensil down in between bites to slow the eating session, or attempting to be the last person eating at a table.
Eating “just enough” by checking in with your body throughout a meal for the awareness of when you are reaching fullness.
Savoring your food. Engaging your senses. Chewing thoroughly.
Choosing foods that align with your wants now AND later by observing how different foods make you feel and choosing food accordingly.
Avoiding mindless distractions like the TV or phones.

Many of the eating habits and behaviors could help somebody achieve weight loss. However, there are times when I work with clients, and they mention not understanding what just enough may be. This is where the action of food tracking enhances the level of awareness and knowledge to be able to better provide for your body or achieve a specific personal goal.

Additional Resources:

Different methods for food tracking

When we discuss food tracking, there are endless ways that someone can go about things. Going into a little bit more detail than the graphic above. These are some of the different things that I have personally done with my clients.

Messaging a coach with food details or a picture
Worksheets with food portions & set servings to have each day
Food journaling with details regarding food consumption and other mindful eating-related details
Working towards hand-portioning goals
Food tracking on paper or in an app with a calorie target
Food tracking on paper or in an app for macronutrient targets
Tracking measured food for portion size using cups & spoons
Tracking weighed food for portion size using a food scale

The biggest component that we are looking for when it comes to being in a weight loss phase is the understanding of being able to consume less than you’re expending. Most of the time, the most effective way to do, this would be to do food tracking. The goal is to numerically track food to the nutritional goal, have an understanding of what that visually looks like on a plate, and also have an understanding of what that feels like within the body. Being able to make this correlation allows you to know more about yourself, and how specific foods make you feel when consumed in different amounts and balances. This information can carry over to other nutritional goals or phases of life.

Food tracking brings awareness to many. Awareness of how our body feels when we reach specific numbers that we may have never reached. Awareness of how certain consumption levels look in comparison to our entire day. The more that we pull back from this awareness and are more accountable for our consumption without these means of confirmation, the less we may see effectiveness with our approach and the speed of the rate of loss may decrease.

Outside of food tracking, there might be more preparation and planning to achieve nutritional goals with as much effectiveness and speed within the rate of loss. You may have to get more and more regimented with your food choices and the portioning and possibly create more structure to the actual foods themselves. Essentially, food tracking can allow us to be a little bit more exploratory, while still achieving the goal with the effectiveness and the speed that we desire.

Full Levels of Effort & Rate of Loss

Methods of Tracking

Have you ever tried to track your food through a worksheet, app, or in a food journal? Gaining insight into how you eat, when you eat, and how much you eat can be an invaluable practice when working through different types of nutritional or behavioral goals. The more that we are able to grasp the details of what we are consuming, the more we can understand what we need to do, remove or continue.

Worksheet for Food Portion Tracking

There are many worksheets out there that can help people track their food consumption through the guidance of servings and portions. I have personally worked with clients under a dietitian in a facility that used the Institute for Functional Medicine worksheet with serving sizes listed on it. We would guide clients through the understanding of how many servings of proteins, carbs, and fats. They may need each day to reach their nutritional goals.

Food Tracking Apps

There are so many apps out there right now. I am going to narrow down my conversation of these to the ones that I used while in school and as a coach. Each of these different apps has its own database and can help people understand serving sizes and nutritional goals, but each one may require some personalized input via recipes or custom food entries.

MyMacros+
MyFitnessPal
Cronometer
Carb Manager
Calorie Counter
Lose it!
Fooducate

Mindful Eating Journaling App

These are a variety of different mindful eating-related food journaling apps.

Mindful Eating App
Shutterbite
Mindful Bite
Ate Food Diary (Photo Journal)
The Mindful Eating Coach
Hachi Bu

Daily Food Journaling

Food journaling is what you make it. Some people really enjoy that factor. Others may not enjoy the uncertainty of food, journaling, and how that equates numerically to what their body needs. That is why we are going through the different ways to go about this.

Guide to Basic Hand Portioning for Weight Management

Hand Portion Goals

This works really well for some clients who need some reference to portion sizing and what that means for their overall numerical goals.

Sample Daily Goals:

1-palm of protein: 0/4
1-fist of veggies: 0/4
1-cupped hand of carbs: 0/4
1-cupped hand of fruit: 0/2
1-thumb of healthy fats: 0/4

Note: Larger individuals, requiring more food, typically possess bigger hands and thus receive larger portions. Conversely, smaller individuals, requiring less food, generally possess smaller hands and consequently receive smaller portions. This is always good to remember especially if someone else is cooking, and portioning.

Simple Reflective Template

This encompasses some of the mindful eating strategies as well.

What did you eat? Simply list the types of foods you consumed.
Where did you eat? Note whether you enjoyed your meal seated at a table, at your desk, or in front of the TV.
How did you feel after? Describe whether you felt full, still hungry, nourished, or experienced any other sensations.

Mindful Journaling for Awareness with your Food Relationship

These journal prompts and reflection questions will help you gain insights into your current relationship with food and embrace mindful eating as a way to find what works best for your body. Mindful eating focuses on the how rather than the what or how much of your eating habits, putting the emphasis back on your mealtime experience.

Describe how you currently approach food using terms like balanced, imbalanced, negative, easy, restrictive, or enjoyable. This reflection sets the stage for the following questions:
List what you like about your current relationship with food, such as being able to eat what you enjoy while nourishing your body.
Identify what you don’t like about your current relationship with food, such as feeling restricted or stressed about food choices.
Think about the last time you felt hungry or satisfied, both physically and mentally.
Explore how your emotions affect your eating habits, especially if you turn to food when sad, stressed, or overwhelmed.
Write down all the foods you like to eat, considering both enjoyment-based and nourishment-based choices.
Identify the foods you often crave, distinguishing between items you enjoy and those you strongly desire.
Look at any food rules you follow and see if they are balanced or rigid, finding ways to make them more flexible.
Check if you label certain foods as “good” or “bad,” and think about why you see them that way.
Assess your confidence in your relationship with food, recognizing areas of strength and areas where you want to improve.

Additional Resource:

The Benefits of Food Journaling – American Society for Nutrition

Takeaway

We can use a variety of things when we are working towards awareness of our consumption levels, or to achieve results towards body composition goals. The most important piece to all of this is that we use the method or tool, that best aligns with what we need personally. That may take some trial and error with testing some of the different methods. But like I say, in many different posts, everything and anything is possible, as long as you don’t quit.

Ways of Tracking Food Consumption & Its Effectiveness for Weight Loss