Wednesday, January 12, 2011

The Power of The Count

by Kris Pitcher

Those of you who have taken this step know the power in the knowledge of the count. The calorie count! In the world of weight management tracking your food is like having a map. You can see where you've been, what's working, what you might need to change, where you can learn,  where you made "a-ha" moments, and where you made "OMG!" moments.

It can be very eye opening to learn about nutrition and the calorie values that go along with the things you like to eat. As you begin to learn their values, you can make decisions about how they fit into your plan. One thing I find with a lot of people is they aren't eating enough at the right times of the day. This can lead to over eating in the evening. Hello floodgates! Tracking your intake gives you insight into your patterns and can help me help you design a better plan.

Tracking your food is excellent accountability too. Knowing you need to track it makes it a lot easier to keep on walking past that plate of what ever isn't on your plan in the break room at work. It's also very eye opening. You can undo the hard work you did all week with a few hours watching the game, or girls night out. Nachos and 3 Bud Lights, yeah track that!

And guess what? There's an app for that! You smart phone has an app for tracking your food and exercise. It is so easy when it's in the palm of your hand all the time. There are also some great web sites where you can track for free. livestrong.com is one of my favorites. Find one you like, that's going to work for you and get tracking. This is the step that will propel your program to the next level.

It takes time and repetition to learn the values of foods. You'll find there are certain things that just don't fit into your new plan, they don't help you meet your goals...they "cost" too much in terms of their caloric value. I still weigh and measure every meal, every day. I track what I eat. It works! Get on board and take the steps toward the power of the count.

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