I have had it plenty of times that clients have approached me saying they have not lost any weight despite eating healthily and exercising regularly. There is one simple and easy way to find out the answer to the solution to this issue…….daily nutrition logs.
Without making notes like a daily nutrition log it would make it very hard for me or anyone to discover where there may be certain mistakes, of which you can then make constructive changes to your nutrition. How could I recommend any certain changes, if I don’t know what I am changing?
Nutrition logs are extremely effective at showing what has been eaten or drunk across each day. It can also help to identify certain trends in nutrition or possible nutrient deficiencies. Additionally, it may help to identify which foods may be leading to any sluggishness or tiredness felt at points in the day. Finding out this information can then help us to make certain corrections and alterations to your nutrition of which can help you to feel much healthier, energetic and help achieve your goals.
Daily nutrition logs also help to provide some accountability and provide you with some awareness of the foods you are actually eating each day and when. Having greater food awareness and knowing how certain foods affect us each day can help to find better alternatives to try and maintain our energy levels, productivity and positivity each day. For example, each day you start to feel sluggish at the same time each day and feel that something you are eating is not having a positive effect, but don’t know what food is causing the problem. This is where nutrition logs come in to their own by helping show what you have eaten and when. Thus helping identify the food source causing the problems, from which you can then tinker and make some adjustments to avoid that sluggish feeling each day.
How Can I Record Accurately?
A good way to start is by logging everything as you go, this way you will not have to risk trying to remember what you have eaten earlier in the day and possibly getting it wrong. A really easy way is through the myfitnesspal app which logs everything and calculates food nutrient content, which saves you having to scroll through endless food labels looking for carbs, fat, protein and calories.
Record what you eat — if you feel some foods don’t agree with you or the variety of your food choices may be lacking, you can call on your records to see how many times you have consumed certain foods each week.
How much — record the uncooked weight of your food items, as some foods can change in size, structure and weight when cooked. I would suggest using pre-cooked weights where possible.
Time – It is important to record what time you eat each meal and how much you ate. Because if you start to feel tired after lunch, it may be the food and/or amount of that certain food you ate which may be causing such problems and may need to be removed/reduced.
How you felt — did you feel good after you ate, did it energise you and provide you with lots of energy, or did you feel tired and rubbish? These are important questions to ask yourself each time you eat, as this will help to identify which foods may make you feel tired or on the other hand more energised.
From recording this information you will be able to discover some interesting habits and trends that you may not have noticed without noting your daily nutrition log. For example, you may find that you have certain food habits that you struggle to break and lack variety in your diet. Making notes will also confirm to you exactly what you eat, from which you can then identify whether you are lacking certain macronutrients in your diet, such as whether you are eating too many carbs, or too many fats each day. Making certain changes to your nutrition from this information can then help to optimise your nutrition to help achieve the best results possible.
However, making a daily nutrition log can be time-consuming and boring, especially if you start to note very specific details. So, for those of you who feel you would struggle I recommend you start by just trying to note the basics like food eaten, when and how much. This will help to get you into the habit and then you can gradually increase the level of detail noted each day, which will help you even further with your diet and results.