I CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH...The Truth About Tracking!

NO...I CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH...the truth about the foods I eat, well the truth about the bad food choices I make. When I choose poorly, I conveniently forget to TRACK. Why do I conveniently forget to TRACK? I don't want to face the truth.


 Last week's WW meeting on TRACKING, arrived just in the nick of time! I missed the previous meeting due to my son's high school graduation. Which I might add took place OUTSIDE!  "It was HOTTER than a whore in church with no panties on!"  WHO plans a graduation, OUTSIDE, in JUNE, in TEXAS!?!? WHO DOES THAT?!?

Okay I digressed a bit, so back to the meeting. The WW program advocates weighing, measuring, and tracking all foods and beverages consumed. And as a WW member, I struggle with tracking. THE TRUTH....lately, I rarely track! And the consequences of not tracking, no weight loss or unwanted weight GAIN! I just need to be honest with myself and track EVERYTHING!

When it comes to tracking, I lack consistency. I usually start off strong, tracking like a champ. And at some point during the week, I slowly but surely STOP.  Instead of tracking and looking up accurate points plus totals on e-tools, I guesstimate and track points in my head. From experience, I learned guesstimating equals underestimating!

To help with my tracking struggles, I decided to try a few new strategies:

iPhone:

Last month, I finally purchased an iPhone. One of he first apps I downloaded, Weight Watchers Mobile! When time allows, I use the WW app to track food and beverages consumed, physical activity, and the WW healthy guidelines.

Two things I discovered last week, while using the app:

1. You can set tracking reminders. Three times a day I receive a message telling me to track.
2. You can designate foods as favorites. The designated favorites will be listed together. When I track I can find the foods that I eat often (e.g. eggs, oatmeal, fruit, etc.) conveniently in one place.

dietSNAPS

I recently read an article about keeping a visual food journal. Well...I skimmed the article and found out what I needed to know. Basically, people that maintain a visual food journal tend to make better food choices. I guess the pictures keep you honest. After reading the article I perused the iTunes app store and found the dietSNAPS app for $1.99. Sometimes I don't have time to track using the WW app; so, I use dietSNAPS to take a picture. When time allows, I track using the picture to help me remember exactly what I ate.



Other Strategies I decided to try include:

• Plan ahead...easier said than done. When I plan ahead, I track ahead. Every now and then I sit down  and plan a weekly menu. When I know what's on the menu, I can track before I eat. Tracking ahead gives me the flexibility to make changes as needed
• Start small...set small tracking goals. Next week my goal is to at least track breakfast and lunch. I can always go back and track using my pics from dietSNAPS.

Tracking works. At my last weigh in, tracking helped me remove 2.6 lbs!! You know, this week I came to the conclusion that, I am NOT going to beat myself up about tracking. If I fail to track, then I plan to recommit and track the next morsel of food that enters my mouth. If I want to continue losing weight, I know I need to track.

Plain and simple, I need to be honest with myself and start handleing the TRUTH..the truth about my bad food choices.