Evidence, Strategic Eating, and Hydration
Unarguable Evidence
Unarguable Evidence
Free
Daniel Raz
Fat Loss Coach
In this lesson, I'm challenging you to record everything you eat for at least three consecutive days, though I personally do it every day because it's simple, easy, and keeps me accountable. You can write it down, take pictures, or use an app
Introduction
Right off the bat, I'll tell you this module's challenge. Record everything you consume for at least three straight days. If you're really serious, you do it for seven straight days.
I personally record every day because it's simple, easy, and it keeps me accountable. You can do it by writing it down, taking a picture of what you eat, or what I do is record it on an app.
I'm not saying you need a super descriptive food log, although having one definitely helps, since it's an arguable evidence as to why you've lost or gained weight. But, your food log can be simple. This is not mandatory to lose weight; it just helps significantly.
Whether you're using an app, taking a picture, or writing it down in a notebook, remember to record BEFORE you actually eat the food in front of you.
The Importance of Food Tracking
Doing this will not only remind you to make better choices but also eliminate any surprises as to why you've lost or gained weight. If you record for seven consecutive days, next week, without even looking in a mirror or a scale, you should be able to accurately predict if you've lost or gained weight based on everything you consumed.
I'm going to emphasize this the entire program: eating healthy and being shredded should not be difficult. It shouldn't be this great obstacle you have to overcome. It's simply making a few minor adjustments to your daily rituals, which will soon make a gigantic difference over time.
That should be fun. It should be enjoyable. But way too often, we eat without even noticing. We think we eat healthy but then forget about the milkshake and cookies we had after lunch. What gets measured gets managed. Having some type of food log will bring more awareness of what your diet truly looks like.
There's often a gap between what we think we eat and what we actually eat. This simple but wildly effective exercise will bridge that gap and clear all the confusion as to why you've been gaining weight when you thought you were eating healthy. I recommend, and personally use, My Fitness Pal.
Using My Fitness Pal Effectively
I want to reiterate that recording your food and drink intake does way more than just track your calories.
Firstly, you'll be much more aware of what you're eating. It is extremely easy to forget about the doughnut you ate a few days ago, but if you track everything you consume before or immediately after, you'll realize your true caloric intake.
It often occurs that people drastically underestimate how much calories they consume over the day. The reason why I suggest you record for three straight days is that it will give you a pretty accurate representation of what your usual diet is.
I recommend you either do it Wednesday, Thursday, Friday - Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, so you include two weekdays and one weekend day where you may be eating out.
Secondly, you know what foods fill you up that are low on calories, and what foods you don't even like that much that keep you hungry and are actually high in calories. As a quick side note, don't be too obsessed with getting the exact number of calories recorded. Guesstimate.
You can even use Google if My Fitness Pal doesn't find the exact number of calories it has. Make sure to take into account serving size. Remember that My Fitness Pal allows you to adjust to servings, milliliters, and cups, as well as let you adjust the number of servings it has.
Aim for your weight in pounds times 12 to get the approximate number of calories to consume. Don't be too hard on yourself if you surpass that, as it can be a learning experience for later days.
Another word of caution: this should not stress you out. If you're truly too busy and can only record at the end of the day, that's fine, do that. Or, if for the life of you, you simply can't figure out how many calories are in certain foods, either do the best you can or don't worry about it and let it go.
Reframing Your Mindset
Losing fat is not an all-or-nothing approach. Eating too much one day will not destroy all your results and everything you worked so hard towards. It might have actually helped you, but more of that in the next module.
So, like I said, making a few bad food choices won't make or break you. In the same manner, eating a salad one day won't all of a sudden make you skinny forever. It's what you do consistently that counts.
Never say, "This day is ruined, so I might as well eat junk for the rest of the day." I didn't do well this week, so I might as well give up. Your body doesn't wait till the end of the day, week, or month to count all the calories it consumed and then makes fat.
The second you consume anything, your digestive system works and uses all the useful nutrients, and any excess calories is stored as fat. No one meal, or day, or even week can make or break your fat levels forever.
You are never doomed and can always change to feel better and eat healthier. Do not view this as an all-or-nothing approach. View it as you making many small, positive decisions continuously for a consistent period of time that'll soon make a massive impact on how you look and feel.
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Complete the following task:
Activity : Track your food for three straight days based on the guidelines provided in the lesson above.
What gets measured is what gets improved! So don't neglect this very important step in your fat loss journey.
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QUIZ
Why is it recommended to record your food intake for at least three consecutive days?
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Leave your comments and questions below.
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