![]() ![]() Let me finish this lesson by pointing out a vital difference between these two strategies.Ĭreating a meal plan in advance, on paper is a PROACTIVE strategy: You decide in advance what you are going to eat and then you eat it.Ī food diary is a REACTIVE strategy: You eat something and then you write it down. The Difference Between Planning and Tracking You can always come back to it in the future if you find you've started to slip or if you have a big new goal you want to pursue with more precision. Others find it a chore to log in every food they eat, every day forever, so they only do it in the beginning, the first time they pursue a body transformation. Some people make daily nutrition tracking a habit and it becomes a part of their healthy lifestyle. Otherwise, you go through life uneducated. Just like you go through school for a period of time at least once in your life, I consider keeping a nutrition journal an absolutely mandatory experience to go through at least once in your life for at least 4-12 weeks. It's like taking a nutrition class - except you come away with street-level learning not just book learning. Nothing will teach you about nutrition like tracking food, calories and macronutrients for an extended period of time. As long as you have a calorie and macronutrient goal for the day, if you're journaling in real time, you can adjust your food intake in real time based on how many calories you have left for the day.įood journals can also provide a learning experience about nutrition that you cannot equal any other way. Writing down what you eat is also another way to be sure you are eating the correct amount of calories and macronutrients for each day. What is measured and tracked is improved. The simple act of writing down what you eat - by itself-can change your behavior. However, tracking food intake in a nutrition journal or diet diary DOES have many benefits.įor example, the moment you start tracking and writing down food intake, you have created self-accountability. Most people don't understand that this is a totally different method than creating a meal plan in advance and I believe it does not take the place of having a meal plan in hand - before you start your day. Today more people use mobile apps, software and online tools. People were doing this long before the internet or software - they just used a notebook - and some people still do. This is where you eat something, and then write it down. The second method is the food journal or diet diary method. Method 2: The Food Journal / Diary Method ![]() The fact is, people without a plan usually eat whatever is convenient, available and accessible. well you know what they say about that road. Maybe it's "in their head" what they intend to eat, but vague ideas give no real direction, and good intentions. Millions of people stumble into each day with no plan for what they're going to eat. If your goal is improving fitness or body composition - half of the plan is the workout - the other part is the MEAL PLAN. and then beginning at once to take action on your plan. Success is about having a goal and having a PLAN to achieve it. The odds are overwhelmingly against you getting your nutrition right if you don't have a plan, by the numbers, in writing - on paper (or online, digitally). Well, it's a proven fact that people who guess at their calorie intake are not only almost always wrong - they miss by a country mile! One study showed that even registered dieticians couldn't estimate their calorie intake with more than 85% accuracy when they only guessed and didn't have a tool or method to track their numbers. Why would you bother to do meal plans by the numbers like this? Along with the daily totals, the macronutrient ratios for the entire day are also tabulated. I also use the sheet's built-in math functions to add up meal subtotals and daily totals. I then use the spreadsheet software to plug in the "Atwater factors" (the multipliers for the energy content of the macronutrients - protein = 4 calories per gram, carbs = 4 calories per gram and fat = 9 calories per gram). ![]() It also has rows divided out into the number of meals I want to eat. It has spaces (cells) for food, quantity, protein, carbs, fat and calories. I create a meal plan template on a spreadsheet such as Microsoft Excel or now, using the online software equivalent. This is the method I've been using for years. Today I'd like to introduce the topic by sharing with you the 2 top strategies for effective meal planning and explaining the powerful positive effects of them both and the difference between the two. I'll also show you a new online tool that will help you create your own customized meal plans (with foods you enjoy), faster and easier than ever. In this article, I'll be focusing on one of the hottest topics in the fat loss and muscle building field - meal planning.
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